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There’s a moment right at the very beginning of any Twitty & Lynn show that affords country music fans the chance to lookback in time. Just after the band has played the signature intro to “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man,” Tre Twitty and Tayla Lynn shoot each other a glance that summons the electrifying chemistry oftheir grandparents: Tre is the grandson of Conway Twitty, Tayla is the granddaughter of Loretta Lynn.

Audiences can’t believe their eyes. From that moment, for the next 90 minutes, they’re in the presence of living country music history.

“Fans have told Tayla and me that when they see us onstage singing, talking, and just looking at each other, they think,‘Wow, there must be something genetic inthose two families,’” Tre says. “It validates the experience of the concert forthem. We’re telling our grandparents’ story through our story.”

But Twitty & Lynn — and their internationally popular show“A Salute to Conway & Loretta” — aren’t impersonators. Tredoesn’t groom Seventies sideburns and perm his hair; Tayla doesn’t mimic her grandmother’s mannerisms. Rather,  onstage celebrating country music, the lost art of duet singing, and the two beloved icons they refer to as “Poppy” and“Memaw.”

“I think of us as the ambassadors of the Twitty and Lynn names — we’re just the new version of what they’ve already established,” Tre says. “But we also want to be caretakers of the past. At our shows, weget generations of fans becausecountry music is passed down.”

“It’s about family — the fans’ familiesand our own,” Tayla says. “We have somuch love and respect for Conway andLoretta and we want to carry this on in such a way that we makeour families proud.

”Loretta herself was impressed. The Country Music Hall ofFame member helped her granddaughter and Tre with their show and had the same time-traveling experience that today’s audiences do while watching them perform. “Memaw just loved it. It brought up so many memories of Conway for her and took her back to a place in her life when they were building their careers. She’d always say that Tre has Conway’s heart,” says Tayla,who lives at Lynn’s Tennessee ranch and used to tour with her grandmother, cuddling up together in the bus’s bedroom to watch old movies while on the road. “We were very close,” she says.

Tayla first had the idea for the show after witnessing  Conway’s songs during a concert at the ranch. She approached him about teaming up and, after a few shows to test the waters, they embarked on a tour of Canada in 2018. “Even though we didn’t grow uptogether, meeting each other wasn’t like meeting strangers,” Tayla says. “It was like we had always known each other because we had the same experiences.

”Now together as “Twitty & Lynn” for five years and poised to launch a huge summertime tour, the duo has cultivated anaudience and caught the attention of Nashville along the way. In2022, they made their debuton the world-famous GrandOle Opry, singing “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” on the very same circle of wood where Conway and Loretta once stood.