Cigar-box guitar gives musical duo Hymn for Her unique sound

It’s got three strings, two pickups, and a broomstick handle. But what really makes Lucy Tight’s guitar stand out is its cigar-box body.

“It’s a beautiful yellow color and it’s empty of its cigars, but it’s still rockin’,” said Tight, who performs with her partner, Wayne Waxing, in the musical duo Hymn for Her.

While on tour with a past band in Memphis, Tight and Waxing met a musician who built cigar-box guitars.

“He gave us one of them as a parting gift because there was an accident with a chainsaw and our bandmate,” said Waxing. “But our bandmate’s OK.”

Now Hymn for Her piles into a vintage Airstream trailer and tours the United States with its unique blend of musical genres. One critic described the duo as a cross between the Amish and Hells Angels.

“We have a soft side where we have love songs,” explained Tight. “And then we have our wild, crazy side where we just pull everything out and crank the amps up to 15.”

But since the duo became a trio with the birth of Tight and Waxing’s daughter, life on the road has become a family affair.

“Big stars sometimes have to leave their children behind,” Tight said. “For us, we can just be together all the time.”

Hymn for Her will perform tonight, cigar-box guitar and all, at World Cafe Live.