The Petersens play regularly in Branson’s music theaters, and tour when they can, including throughout the United States and Europe. Who knew it would morph into something that continues to employ the respective members today. Being a military family that moved around often, it was a way to bring the family closer together. Hatched by the father when the family attended a bluegrass festival and was inspired by so many families bonding over the music, they sent the oldest daughter Katie to a fiddle boot camp at the fest, and bought the 2nd oldest daughter Ellen a banjo. Sticking together through life’s changes, from when they were younger kids to now young adults who’ve cycled through their college years (youngest member Julianne just started college this year), they’ve held on to their motivation and magic, and made bluegrass music the family business. That is one of many things that make The Petersens out of Branson, Missouri so unique. But the shelf life of family bands sometimes keeps you from getting too attached. It’s still a stitch in time that was important to that family and their fans when it was around. Often as the kids age, they find other interests, go off to college, move away, and start families of their own. It’s how they embody a sense of hope and simplicity that gives the experience a unique warmness you can’t get from anything else but family itself.īut there is also a certain fatalism that comes with the family band experience, especially when it starts when the children are so young. Hearkening back to a time when families and friends were often locked away in rural America with nobody else to entertain them but themselves, it’s not just the blood harmonies, or the prodigy talent, or the preservation of tradition that makes these outfits so compelling and enjoyable. When it feels like the world is upside down, hearing or watching a family band perform can be a great way to help you find a compass point and equilibrium. There’s nothing more wholesome, heartening, grounding, and historically elemental to the country and bluegrass realm than the family band.
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