Southern Raised, A Family Bluegrass Band You Need To Listen To

Meet Southern Raised, a band that is best known for their bluegrass music. If you haven't heard of it Folkways gives this definition:
"Bluegrass music is the synthesis of American southern string band music, blues, English, Irish, and Scottish traditions, and sacred and country music. It is distinguished by its high energy, fast tempo sound.

The band is made up of siblings Lindsay, Sarah, Emily Grace and Matthew Reith. They were born in northwest Arkansas to parents Rick and Sharon. When they were young, they lived mostly in Northwest Arkansas and Missouri. All the kids were raised with music and took lessons on classical stringed instruments, particularly instruments that used a bow.

Lindsay also took piano lessons from the age of ten. Their musical education was designed to take an unexpected turn when they moved to the Ozark hills, however. It was here that they first heard bluegrass music, and their eyes and ears were opened. They no longer played violins, they became fiddles, and their love for bluegrass grew.

They wanted to expand their abilities and their repertoire, they began to learn other principal bluegrass instruments. The siblings took up the banjo, guitar, mandolin, and upright bass. Lindsay, who is the oldest, plays the upright bass, Sarah plays the banjo, Emily Grace plays the fiddle and the mandolin, and solitary boy Matthew plays the guitar. If that isn't enough talent for one family, all four of them sing too.

Lindsay has always had a love of writing poetry, so she became the band's principal songwriter. The Reith's love of music led them to form Southern Raised in 2007. Since then, they have released five albums, Make A Difference in 2014; Another World in 2017; Love Carries On in 2020; American Made Southern Raised also in 2020 and Sixteen Tons in 2021. Many of the singles released from these albums have gone to number one on the bluegrass charts. Check out this video from their first album, What A Day That Will Be. Their musical talent really is incredible.

Writing and recording all these albums must take a lot of time, but the band still found time to tour extensively. Unfortunately for their international fans, most of these tours have been around the United States. However, they have also built up a substantial YouTube following so even folks who can't attend their shows can enjoy their music. They currently have 135,000 subscribers, and 30,000 people listen to their music on Spotify every month.

A busy recording and touring schedule could make maintaining relationships a challenge. However, Lindsay and Sarah both got engaged within a week of each other. In April 2019, Sarah got married to a man named David Noland. They are still happily married, and the pair have one daughter, Lizzy Jo Noland and another girl on the way. In 2021 Lindsay married Aaron Killingsworth. Not wanting to be left out, Emily Grace married Alex Clayton in March 2021, and the pair are awaiting the arrival of a son who is due a couple of months after big sis Sarah. It appears Matthew hasn't met the one yet, but as he's only twenty-five, he still has plenty of time.

In 2020, the band had a change of lineup. Sarah chose to take a step back and take a role that didn't involve touring. She was replaced by Emily's now-husband Alex. Whether this is how they met is unclear, but it's a great story if it was.

Since then, the band has continued to go from strength to strength. They have been nominated for dozes of bluegrass awards and made several TV appearances on country and gospel music channels. If you love bluegrass or even want to try it out, this band is a great place to start. If you would like to see more from this talented band you can subscribe to their music on YouTube or you can follow them on Facebook. You can also visit their official website for more information about them.

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