KEARNEY — Nick and Tyler “Ty” Talbott, who form the Talbott Brothers music group, took part in both a song writing seminar and put on a special performance at Kearney High School on Wednesday, Sept. 27.
The brothers were born and raised in Imperial and began performing together in the summer of 2012. Both recalls playing various spots in Kearney during their early days.
“We started out playing at Cunninghams back in the day,” Nick said.
The brothers relocated to Portland, Ore., their mother’s birthplace and have performed across the country.
“Tyler, the youngest, lead vocals, baritone guitar, harmonica and Nick, the oldest, backing vocals, lead guitar, discovered their love of music after digging their dad’s old dreadnaught guitar out of the basement and teaching themselves to play along to Johnny Cash, Bob Seger and the Beatles on vinyl,” according to an article by Hey Nonny, a live music venue in Illinois.
Billboard defines their music as “captivating with haunting brotherly harmonies.” Rolling Stone stated that their music is “cinematic folk-rock for open highways, widescreen skies and the limitless reach of the American Heartland.”
“We try to stick to that songwriter mentality when we write,” Ty said, “We have influences from pop and Americana encompasses a lot of what we do.”
Nick said they are inspired by many of the artists that they have listened to over the years.
When asked how the event at Kearney High School came to be, Nick said that Assistant Principal Paloma Mena-Werth is a friend from their college days and she invited them to the school while the duo is touring in Hastings.
“The Talbott Brothers are awesome men. I’m excited that they’re going to spend some time with our students and share their talents! This is an exceptional opportunity for our students,” Mena-Werth said.
Nick said they always took note when music artists visited their school when they were growing up and found it interesting, they are on the other side of that role now.
Under the guidance of the English department staff, the Talbott Brothers also lead an engaging and interactive creative writing class during a class.
“The collaboration between the Talbott Brothers and Kearney High School highlights the importance of nurturing creativity and artistic expression among the student body. It is a testament to the school’s commitment to providing diverse and enriching educational experiences,” Kearney Public Schools stated.
Ty said the experience was, “awesome,” and added that he and Nick had done something similar at music festivals, where they either listened to other songwriters putting on the seminars or they would host one themselves.
Ty noted that many of the students had the same exact questions the brothers had when they were getting started with song writing.
“They are figuring out how to be musicians,” Nick said.
The day’s festivities culminated in a concert held in the KHS Concert Hall and Theater, the duo performed several of their songs.
The band is performing at for a sold-out show at the Lark in Hastings on Sept. 30.
For more information about the Talbott Brothers and their music, please visit their official website at https://thetalbottbrothers.com/.
