Bluegrass sensation Flatt Lonesome up for IBMA awards
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Some young, emerging artists have really taken the Bluegrass world by storm.
They've put their own spin on a genre of music that's had people toe-tapping for decades. For Flatt Lonesome, it's been nothing less than amazing.
We had a chance to sit down with the group nominated for two IBMA awards this year, and they're about to release a new album.
Flatt Lonesome are the 2014 IBMA Emerging Artists of the year. All six musicians are in their 20's, and three of them are siblings.
"We've been fortunate to do this together, see the success together, and go through this all together," said Flatt Lonesome musician Buddy Robertson. "It's been really cool."
Buddy and his two sisters, Charli and Kelsi, gained a love for music through their father. Their father, a pastor who moved around a lot, let his children sing at his churches.
"He bought us all our first instruments and said, 'If you want to do this, I'll push you. If you don't, you don't have to,'" Charli said.
After years of traveling, Dad decided to settle down and his kids started a band with their three friends Dominic, Paul, and Michael.
The newly formed group took their talent to the stage for the first time in 2011 at the International Band Championship in Nashville and took third place. The next year, they were first.
"That's kinda what got our band going, honestly," Charli said.
"I don't think we ever expected to be where we are right now after years of hard work. Much less, after less than 5 years as a band. It's kind of insane," Kelsi said.
Now when Flatt Lonesome books a gig, fans pack in to see them play.
"I think people are looking for music that is real now and that they can connect to and the music kind of has its own soul to it," Michael said.
Flatt Lonesome is releasing their new album Friday, Oct. 2, while here in Raleigh for the Wide Open Bluegrass Festival. This is their third album and the one they say really feels like their professional album.
The group is nominated for Album of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year at Thursday's IBMA Awards Show.
