Kat and Ashley Hess know how to get people dancing. When this deejaying duo—better known as the Hess Twins—takes the stage, they create a vibe before even turning up the volume. Blond, blue-eyed and beautiful with an edgy sense of style, the sisters radiate an undeniable rock-star quality as they spin records from behind their DJ booth.

Over the last two years, the twins have taken Nantucket by storm, rocking a six-hour set at Cisco Brewers, raising the roof at the Dreamland’s Silent Disco, and, most recently, bumping the feathers right off the Chicken Box. This Labor Day weekend, they’ll be playing a season-ending party at Cru. But when the music stops, who exactly are these striking sisters behind their headsets? Born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Kat and Ashley Hess were introduced to music early on by their mother, Sconset summer resident Linda Holliday. They began playing piano at the age of seven, followed by voice lessons three years later. Soon they were singing at school, in choir, at county fairs and beauty pageants. (Ashley earned first runner-up in Miss Teen Arkansas.)

Along with their formal lessons, the sisters developed their musicology from their mother. “Her music taste is impeccable and broad,” said Ashley. “The genre we were most influenced by was disco.” Doing their Sunday chores to the Bee Gees every Sunday afternoon as kids, Kat and Ashley started growing a mental playlist that they would draw upon years later. When it came to their education outside of music, the sisters attended Phillips Andover Academy followed by Trinity College. Their senior year they served as co-editors-in-chief of a small publication on campus. Upon graduating, they briefly considered pursuing careers writing for fashion magazines—but then they had a different idea. With the advent of influencer marketing, Kat and Ashley decided to capitalize on their growing social media following, unique sense of style and eye for emerging trends to “monetize their creative pursuits.” Their “Hess Twins” childhood calling card became a fully-fledged LLC for creative consulting, social media influencing and modeling.

“People are often surprised about how serious and business-minded we are,” said Ashley. Indeed, the sisters are doggedly entrepreneurial. Since going out on their own, they’ve curated their brand identity to align with some of the premiere companies in the country. “That’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” said Ashley, “the brands we’re working with.” They’ve partnered with companies like Adidas, Concepts and Puma on promotional campaigns. In 2017, the Hess Twins started adding to their offering by going pro with their love of music. While living in Boston, the sisters befriended a number of DJs, including one that goes by the stage name Braunski Beat. “If you’re naturally curious and you hang out in a DJ booth for long enough, you want to learn how to do it yourself,” Kat said. With that in mind, they eventually asked another DJ— DJ Lazy Boy—who frequently performs on Nantucket and had just played their mother’s birthday the year before—if he would give them lessons. “Shockingly he said yes,” Kat said. “He taught us the basics.” Ashley added, “He’s a great DJ; he knows how to control a vibe, how to open a set, how to take it to its highest level and how to close a set.”