Country Trio Cover Taylor Swift’s ‘Welcome to New York’ [Watch]

Taylor Swift officially left country for pop with her latest album, '1989,' but a new cover from Kristin & the Stephs lets fans hear one of the new songs in a rootsy version.

The trio -- composed of Kristin Andreassen, Stephanie Coleman and Stephanie Jenkins -- used acoustic guitar, fiddle and banjo for their old-time rendition of 'Welcome to New York,' which they arranged for tradeoff solo and harmony vocals.

Lead singer and guitarist Andreassen previously performed with Americana ensemble Uncle Earl, and is set to release her second solo album, 'Gondolier,' on Feb. 17. Coleman is a veteran of competitive fiddle festivals, and also played with Uncle Earl. Banjo player Jenkins regularly performs with a group called the Calamity Janes.

The trio's Appalachian arrangement of Swift's pop tune is not as big a stretch as it might appear. Coleman simply transposed a repeating keyboard riff to the fiddle, while Andreassen moved the bass line to guitar. Jenkins used the banjo to supply a percussive rhythm part.

“In old-time music, there’s a set melody that you play over and over. It gets hypnotic. That makes it much different than playing bluegrass or jazz, which is improvisational,” Coleman tells Speakeasy.

“Old-time music is really focused on creating a danceable groove, which is also what [Swift's] music is doing,” Andreassen adds.

In order to capture the true vibe of New York City, the trio shot the clip above in an NYC subway station at night, between announcements.

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