LEXINGTON — An unassuming double doorway off a garage opens to a decked-out space for musical creativity, social media madness, and a profound sense of sisterhood in Lexington.

Driving down the local backroads, you would have no idea that iHeartRadio’s Next Music Star competition winner and a 4th-place finisher on NBC’s The Voice with 3.5 million followers on TikTok sits on flower-print couches and records music here.

Who is this?

Together, the doo-wop-like singing sister trio Madi Heichel, Ana Heichel, and Bella Heichel are Sorelle.

They’re coming to the Mount Vernon Music and Arts Festival on Friday, Aug. 8.

Before the fame

The Heichel sisters grew up in a musical environment. It started with their dad’s acoustic guitar from his college days sitting in the family room, waiting for one of them to strum something new.

“We had those toothbrushes as kids that would sing to you,” Madi Heichel said. “So, they [their parents] would walk by in the morning, and they would hear us harmonizing to our toothbrushes.

“They were like, ‘Oh, wait, maybe they can actually sing, we should get them into lessons and see if they like it.'”

As for what helped the trio in the early stages, social media and Grammy Award-winning artist, Meghan Trainor, have long been part of the Heichel sisters’ path.

Before there was TikTok, there was Vine, and before Sorelle, there were 10- and 11-year-old Ana and Madi.

“We were the cringy 10- and 11-year-old girls singing with our hearts for like six seconds,” Ana Heichel said. “We have always been inspired by Meghan Trainor, and we kind of felt like everything that we’ve done has somehow mixed with her.

“Our first repost by an artist was her on Vine. Then we worked with a vocal teacher, who we still work with today, who knows Meghan Trainor. We recorded some of her original music that she never put out, so it was always Meghan Trainor.”

Hometown love supports stardom

Sorelle has always held the local community near and dear to its heart.

Local support has included a grade school teacher telling Madi she was such a good singer that she could sing a phone book, to billboards urging residents to vote for the trio on The Voice.

“There were billboards in our local areas, places that were hosting watch parties,” Ana said. “It was really cool to see that, we weren’t expecting that much love.”

Sorelle made its way to The Voice after people at NBC saw its TikTok page and messaged the trio to audition. This wasn’t the group’s first trip to the world of TV; the sisters previously appeared on Nickelodeon’s America’s Most Musical Family.

“The Voice is a little bigger than the show we were previously on, and we saw the coach lineup, I’m obsessed with Blake Shelton,” Bella Heichel said, “so I was like, ‘Guys, I think we should try it out and actually do it.’

“I’m glad we did, the opportunities we got from it and the fans that we got from it was really incredible to see.”

Opportunities from The Voice

After nervous B-roll footage before performing and a 90-second blind audition, Sorelle became a part of Chance the Rapper’s team.

As each episode of the show went on, Sorelle exploded with new renditions of songs, captivating fans across the country.

Ultimately, the sisters finished 4th on Season 23 but found their sound, a remarkable amount of fame, and plenty of new shows to perform.

“We performed at MGM in Vegas, we did a lot of corporate events, we performed in Florida at Sanding Ovations,” Madi said. “That kind of led us to competing in the Next Music Star competition, which we just recently won, and we got to open at Wango Tango.”

Growing as artists and crafting their music hasn’t been easy. The sisters described the music industry as scary and uncomfortable at times.

However, through their performances and seeing other artists, Sorelle has found its confidence and thus a place in music.

“You watch other artists and you’re like, ‘OK, it’s kind of cool to be odd and weird and stand out, you don’t do what other people do,’ Bella said.

“We changed KATSEYE’s ‘Gnarly’ rap song into a ’50s ‘doo-wop’ version, and the love we’ve seen from that has really shown us that you can go for what you want.”

Performing new music at home

Headlining Mount Vernon Music and Arts Festival show will be Sorelle’s first time playing in the area, and their first time singing their upcoming song, “Best Friend.”

“This is something a little bit different than what we’ve been releasing,” Ana said. “This one is more about the sisterhood that we’ve created.

“We’ve always wanted to make a song about the bond we have, and this is the first time where we were able to do it and it not be cheesy.”

“Best Friend” is set to release on Aug. 22 and will be just one track on Sorelle’s upcoming EP.

The Heichel sisters are excited to bring some incredible harmonies to a hometown crowd. They will take the stage on Friday, Aug. 8, at 8:30 p.m.

Sorelle’s at-home studio. Credit: Jack Slemenda