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GALLERY
It’s hard to believe Ben and I have been at this for over 30 years. In the early days we were 100% instrumental. But with the encouragement of others, we now include vocals in each concert. We never thought we’d do that, but now can’t imagine not singing.
We really are classically based because of our years in Bourbonnais, Illinois which includes College Church and Olivet. But if you went way back to our roots in the Smokies, there would be hints of mountain music with a little “Grassy” influence.
It was just two years ago when Ben got the crazy idea of playing Ukulele. He bought a beautiful Martin made of Koa wood. It’s such a natural fit, it feels like it was with us from the beginning.
For Ben it began with the Marimba. Before long, he upgraded to the Mallet Kat which offered nearly a thousand more sounds. From there he began adding several different flute and recorder instruments. His own whistling and the Ukulele are the most recent.
Every January we help host a gospel cruise to the islands. You can’t tell from the photo, but this water is about 20’ deep and crystal clear all the way to the bottom. Gospel music and warm fellowship is such a great way to spend five days. Go to our contact page if you’d like to see a brochure for January 2027.
Every mallet has its own sound. Still, it’s hard to believe they were the main focus back at the beginning.
Keeping the Ukulele handy, Ben breaks out the Riverdance “D” Whistle which has a haunting sound and is a favorite of many.
We grew up with parents that were Song Evangelists, so it has always felt natural to make music on the stage of a big boat or the platform of a small church.
For several years, Jon played guitar, banjo and mandolin at Opryland Musical Theme Park. But when the Burchfield Bros started touring in the early 90’s, Jon focused on just Classical Guitar and has never changed since.
This photo of Ben whistling “Wayfaring Stranger” was taken many years ago at the Black Fox Lodge.
This was one of our original posters we used for a long time, until people began asking if that was our children.
We stopped at an island once that had a couple playing a very large marimba. They handed Ben a pair of mallets and all three broke into “Blue Spanish Eyes”. It drew a nice little crowd and our boat can be seen in the background.
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