There’s something about sibling voices that harmonize especially well. I remember being enchanted the first time I heard my wife and her sisters and cousins sing together; their several voices blended together into a single gentle sound, smoother than silk, warmer than the fire crackling in the wood stove. A few members of the family would break out instruments, too—here a guitar, there a banjo—to accompany the vocals. In this way, long autumn evenings passed sweetly to the sound of music.
Some sibling and family groups take their musical gifts beyond the parlor. Over the years, my wife and I have enjoyed sharing with one another wholesome family bands that play both traditional and contemporary folk music. More recently, we’ve loved introducing our 3-year-old daughter to these same musical ensembles. It’s a joy to hear on her lisping tongue the lyrics that have accompanied our relationship for so many years. In this article, I hope to share these same groups with other families who may be looking for family-friendly melodies to warm hearth and home.
The Hunts
Like a modern-day Von Trap family, this seven-piece band consists entirely of siblings who began performing together as a band while some of them were still in their teens. The Chesapeake, Virginia-based Hunts family plays indie-alternative folk music with rich, sweet harmonies (sometimes stacked sevenfold) and a backdrop of lively acoustic instrumentation. The siblings’ parents are Clint and Sandy Hunt, who were also talented musicians and performers and raised the kids in a musical household. The band collaboratively writes original music with roots in the great tradition of American folk music as well as pop musicians like the Beatles and the Bee Gees, combining rollicking rhythms and soaring vocals with a rustic texture. Lyrically, they focus on simple but timeless themes like loyalty, trust, love, and growth.
The Hunts—all siblings—are based in Virginia. (Courtesy of The Hunts)
From rousing toe-tappers like “Life is Good” to soulful ballads like “Travel” or “Douse the Flame,” The Hunts have a wide emotional and instrumental range, with something sure to please everyone.
The Cotton Pickin Kids
The
Cotton Pickin Kids are like a younger version of The Hunts. Another sibling group, this band was
formed in 2017 when the youngest member was just 7 years old. But despite their youth, they’re hugely talented—particularly in terms of the three sisters’ syrupy-rich voices that harmonize so well together. The Cipollari children who form the band grew up in a family of 13, playing bluegrass songs, which, as their website bio quips, is the best music because it “sounds the same when the power goes out.”
The Alabama-based Cotton Pickin Kids play a mixture of traditional folk, Gospel, bluegrass tunes, and original songs. Their music rings with a country twang that beautifully counterbalances the warm vocals. In their own words, they’re “determined to keep making music that brings happiness and harmony to the world.”
The Petersens
Hailing from Branson, Miss.,
The Petersens are another family band rooted in American folk music, showcasing twanging banjo, shimmering mandolin, soaring fiddle, and other traditional acoustic instruments in covers of many classic songs. The talented bluegrass band includes four siblings, their parents, and a family friend.
The Petersens perform in Branson Miss., in 2018. (Courtesy of Ellen Haygood)
While at a Gettysburg bluegrass festival, Mr. Peterson Sr. noticed families gathered together playing music instead of glued to electronic devices, and he decided that looked like a healthy pastime for his own family to embrace. Since then, the Petersens have toured nationally and internationally and accumulated over 20 million streams on Spotify and nearly a million subscribers on YouTube. Their instrumentation is crisp, vocals flawless, and texture bright. Their nostalgic music wraps around listeners like a warm blanket.
The Carter Family
Considered a founding influence on modern country music, The Carter Family was a folk group active from 1927 to 1956. They were some of the first musicians to commercially produce country music and to be considered country music stars. Although the group’s membership changed and evolved with time, the initial members were Sara Carter, her husband A.P. Carter, and her sister-in-law Maybelle Carter. All three grew up in Virginia. Later, Maybelle Carter continued to perform with her daughters, Helen, June, and Anita.
The Carter Family in Texas, 1940. Standing, from left: A. P. Carter, Janette Carter, Brother Bill Carter, Sara Carter, and Maybelle Carter. Seated from left: Helen Carter, Anita Carter, and June Carter. (Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
The group initially exploded into public consciousness—bringing country music with them—during the 1927 Bristol Sessions conducted by Ralph Peer. The event has been called the “Big Bang” of country music. For decades afterwards, the Carters continued to play and popularize many songs now considered country standards. They also pioneered techniques, such as the guitar picking pattern known as the “Carter lick” or “Carter scratch,” which has become common in the industry.
A collection of old recordings from the various iterations of the group can be found on a YouTube channel. These lovely old, scratchy recordings take listeners back to the dawn of country and folk music as we know it.
The skill and passion of each generation since then has kept this style of music alive, with new champions today, such as The Hunts or the Cotton Pickin Kids, keeping the flame lit—and keeping families dancing.
