THE
PETERSON BROTHERS If, as many of us happily believe, music can make dreams come true, Glenn Peterson Jr. and his younger brother, Alex, are on both the giving and receiving end of the deal. The Peterson Brothers describe their music as a modern blend of blues, soul, and funk, but that doesn’t begin to capture the magic of the 21- and 18-yearold brothers from Bastrop. To see them live is to know freedom and joy, the kind, for the performer as well as the audience, that comes from not knowing exactly what’s going to happen next but understanding that, whatever it is, you’ll want to do it again. While they’ve toured with Gary Clark Jr. and played shows like the Chicago Blues Festival, the Petersons have maintained a regular gig at The Continental Club for the past five years with Glenn on guitar and Alex playing bass and occasionally violin, his first instrument. “It’s great because we get to try out new things and do what we feel works at that moment,” explains Glenn. “We love improvising. It’s what keeps us learning all the time, which is important.” Shared mannerisms and knockout smiles make it obvious they’re siblings, but the musical mind-melding onstage is more than basic brotherhood. About their recent dream-come-true opening for Robert Randolph & the Family Band’s Grammy-nomination party in New York, Alex says, “The whole thing was unbelievable for us. The best part is,we didn’t have to try and explain what it was like to our parents, because they travel with us. They do everything to support our music, and it was even better that we were all there together.”
70 MARCH 2018 |
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