Let’s face it, a lot of modern R&B music lacks soul. That’s not the case with The Regrettes, the Columbus-based retro act performing at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton on Saturday, Dec. 29. The group played its first show in February and has already headlined major hometown events like ComFest and its own CD release show at The Newport in early December.

Englewood native Lizzy Morris recently answered some questions about the new album, “Don’t Talk Back,” and The Regrettes’ swift evolution from fledgling group to buzz band.

Q: How did The Regrettes begin?

A: “Our drummer (Adam) Scoppa decided last summer he wanted to do a Motown group. He heard Meghan (Alexandra) and I sing together so immediately it was two female lead singers. It started out with the three of us and we brought everybody else in. But they had all been performing together one way or another for years except for the bassist, Danny (Barnes), and I, and it was a real musical homecoming for the two of us.”

Q: How familiar were you with R&B music before this?

A: “My mom was a huge girl group fan so I was always listening to The Shirelles and The Supremes. Then when I was in The Switch about 10 years ago with Nathan Lewis, who is now is Magic Jackson, he got me listening to James Brown, Prince and stuff like that. I started emulating them and The Supremes.”

Q: Did you perform after The Switch?

A: “No, but that stuff was always like my karaoke go-to. I never thought about playing that type of music with a band until Meghan wrote one song. We started working on it and I realized it was my style. I was like, ‘OK, I can do this.’ Then I wrote three songs in a week.”

Q: Did you consciously try to avoid being a bar band or was the leap to major events and big venues unplanned?

A: “It started out when we won this contest through our local independent radio station to play at the outdoor LC Pavilion for CD101 Day. We put in to play ComFest and they had us headline Saturday night. Then we decided if we’re going to do an album release show we should really try and do it as big as we can by playing The Newport and seeing how many people we can bring in. We decided to push instead of staying where it’s comfortable and it turned out to be a great night.”