{"id":11901,"date":"2023-04-06T13:05:47","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T18:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/?p=11901"},"modified":"2023-04-06T13:07:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T18:07:09","slug":"williamson-branch-a-bluegrass-revelation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/2023\/04\/06\/williamson-branch-a-bluegrass-revelation\/","title":{"rendered":"Williamson Branch: A Bluegrass Revelation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s Thursday and I’m breaking with our tradition — OK, that’s misleading; let’s call it a proclivity — of posting about several random and generally unrelated topics. Instead, I want to focus on one subject. We’ll return to our regularly scheduled programming at a later date. Probably. Possibly. Eh, who knows?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We traveled to West Texas last weekend, and in the process put 800+ miles on Debbie’s car in just over 48 hours. I may write more about that madness later. Three hundred of those miles came on Sunday as we wanted to be back in time for a late afternoon concert at the Resort, sponsored by Horseshoe Bay Cultural Enrichment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williamson Branch<\/a> is a bluegrass band based in Nashville and consisting of five family members plus one additional instrumentalist. I guess you could say that they’re the smaller, bluegrass version of the von Trapp family<\/a>. I wouldn’t say that, but you could…I think they’re way more entertaining than those Trapp kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The family has been performing professionally for almost a decade, although they’ve been singing and playing together since the oldest — Melody Williamson Keyes, age 24 — was a toddler. This article<\/a> provides one of the most complete descriptions of the history of the family\/band that I was able to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo:
(l-r) Debbie (Mom), Kadence, Melody, Kevin (Dad), Caroline, Chad Darou<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our long drive back home on Sunday did not go unrewarded, as we were treated to an exceptionally enjoyable couple of hours. The family has an engaging stage presence, and every member is an accomplished musician. Their vocals feature the flawless tightness that comes from years of singing together as a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melody is the “emcee” for the group’s stage performances. In 2020, she won the International Bluegrass Music Association\u2019s (IBMA) Momentum Vocalist of the Year award, an honor given to young, rising stars who bluegrass industry leaders feel will have a long, successful and influential career. She plays guitar (as shown in the following video), but her fort\u00e9 is fiddle…and as Charlie Daniels said about Johnny<\/a>, she “plays it hot.” The amateurish video (by me) at the bottom of this post proves that claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kadence is the middle daughter, age-wise, and she’s a fireball on stage, as befits a bass player. How skilled is she? She’s a featured artist<\/a> on Kala Music Brand Co.’s website playing their four-string acoustic\/electric bass (check out the following video showcasing her talent, along with others in the band). However, for the Sunday performance, she played a five-string electric bass…which is, of course, 25% more difficult. Or something. Anyway, her performances are electric, pun intended. Kadence also has a beautiful voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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