Seeing a talented child who put hard work into developing his or her gift is enormously satisfying.
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that met further development by musicians who played on acoustic string instruments like the fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and string bass. The question is, do kids belong in bluegrass? After watching this video, we’re thinking yes!
Three brothers from this video certainly do, and their version of “Flint Hill Special” will fascinate you.
The Mizzone Brothers definitely know how to handle stringed instruments.
The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys are composed of three brothers: Johnny, Tommy, and Robbie Mizzone.
Johnny, the youngest one, was just nine years old at the time of this performance. Johnny plays banjo, Robbie’s instrument of choice is the fiddle, and Tommy opts for a guitar. The video was posted in 2011, when the boys were invited to The David Letterman Show, and they blew everyone in the studio away. As Letterman said, the boys were invited because they were already an accomplished bluegrass trio, despite their age.
“None of them are yet old enough to drive!” Letterman jokes.
It was all fun and games until these boys picked up their instruments and got things done.
These adorable brothers might be young, but they are also professional, dedicated and very focused. The scene heated up, the audience cheered in excitement, and yet they looked like humble and innocent kids. The famous host also added they’re about to release their first CD titled America’s Music.
What an amazing family—all three of these children have such natural talent!
It seems that music runs in their blood.
All three brothers are very gifted and play their instrument enviably well. We were speechless after every solo and the song they played brings the “Wild West” to mind. We could almost picture an outlaw running away in the Old West with a bounty on his head while listening to the young Mizzone gentlemen play.
You have to keep in mind one fact: the banjo is a heavy instrument and it’s impressive that a nine-year-old kid stands on that stage and plays it well.
In fact, that’s where the trio’s name comes from! Because the banjo is so heavy, the youngest one sometimes struggled to play long sessions while carrying it and had to take frequent naps. From that, he got the nickname Sleepy Man!
When the song ends, Letterman comes up to shake their hands and jokes about girls loving the banjo.
You’ve got to love his sense of humor and how relaxed these kids are during the show!
Since it was posted, the video has accumulated an impressive 36 million YouTube views.
We gave it a look, and New Jersey’s Mizzone brothers are all grown up now and still performing. Their official YouTube channel has 147,000 subscribers, and the three boys describe their music as bluegrass with a youthful, rocked-out twist. The Mizzone gentlemen have released three albums so far. In 2015, at the Annual Independent Music Awards, the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys won awards in the Americana and Instrumental categories as well. These New Jersey brothers are more mature performers now, and they have said that their parents are their biggest support. Needless to say, we’ll definitely be seeing more of them in the future!
Check out the full performance in the link below:
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