Banjo Boys Bring Young Bluegrass to OBX Festival [Concert Preview]
Three brothers from the western hills of New Jersey, The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys will make their local debut at the first ever Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival in Manteo next month as the youngest performers to take the stage on an all-star bill of bluegrass legends …and they’re not even old enough to drive yet!
With a combined age that is younger than music’s Hip-Hop era, 10-year-old banjo picker Jonny Mizzone along with his brothers Robbie (13) on fiddle, and Tommy (14) on guitar are determined to bring their up-tempo acoustic string music to a new generation.
The young trio became an overnight sensation when their YouTube bedroom practice videos went viral with over 9 million views in early 2011. Since then, the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys have performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and NBC’s Today Show.
You can watch the boys performing on CBS’s The Late Show with David Letterman in the player below!
The brothers made their debut at the historic Grand Ole Opry in August 2011, and were named official Martin Guitar Ambassadors that same month.
Their first album, America’s Music was recorded in Nashville and has sold over 5,000 copies since its release in September of 2011. In February 2012, America’s Music debuted on Billboard’s Bluegrass Album Chart as the 8th most popular bluegrass album in the country.
To top it off, the talented youngsters played the prestigious Carnegie Hall just last month.
With more than 2.5 million views so far, you can watch one of those early 2011 viral videos of Jonny Mizzone practicing in his bedroom in the player below!
Featuring more than a dozen performers, the innaugural Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival is scheduled for October 5-6, 2012 at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo.
Click here for the complete lineup of bands and schedule of events, and stay tuned to OBXentertainment.com, as we countdown the days until this landmark concert with more artist profiles coming soon!
_______________________________