ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sleepy Man Banjo Boys - Bluegrass musicians
The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys is made up of 11-year-old banjo sensation Jonny Mizzone and his brothers Robbie, 14, on fiddle, and Tommy, 15, on guitar.

Why you should listen

These days your kid can get famous on YouTube for having water sprayed at him, for being duped about his Halloween candy, and for being high off laughing gas. But what if your 8-year-old gets famous on the Internet for being an absolute genius on the banjo? So goes the story of Jonny Mizzone, who first became a YouTube sensation in early 2011 for videos of him and his brothers tearing it up playing Earl Scruggs's Flint Hill Special. It wasn't long before the press started calling.

Now Jonny, Robbie (fiddle) and Tommy (guitar), known as the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys, are 11, 14 and 15 respectively. In 2011 alone they got calls from The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and in the summer of 2011 they appeared as musical guests on The Late Show with David Letterman and NBC’s Today Show.

While the trio grew up in New Jersey -- which is known more for rock music than for bluegrass -- they fell in love with the unique sounds of J.D. Crowe, Ralph Stanley, Clarence White and Earl Scruggs after some creative YouTube searching. Now, having become sensations on the platform themselves, the trio has accumulated more than 17 million video views. Their first album, America’s Music, was released in September 2011 and charted top eight on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart. In October 2012 they released their second album, The Farthest Horizon, which cracked the top three. The group is already at work on their next album.

More profile about the speaker
Sleepy Man Banjo Boys | Speaker | TED.com
TED@New York

Sleepy Man Banjo Boys: Teen wonders play bluegrass

Adolescents prodiges jouent du bluegrass

Filmed:
2,427,615 views

Les frères Jonny, Robbie et Tommy Mizzone sont les Sleepy Man Banjo Boys, un trio de virtuoses de bluegrass qui jouent avec une vivacité éblouissante. Avons nous précisé qu'ils ont tous moins de 16 ans ?
- Bluegrass musicians
The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys is made up of 11-year-old banjo sensation Jonny Mizzone and his brothers Robbie, 14, on fiddle, and Tommy, 15, on guitar. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
TommyTommy MizzoneMizzone: TonightCe soir we're going to playjouer you two songsChansons.
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Tommy Mizzone : Ce soir nous allons vous jouer deux chansons
00:19
We're threeTrois brothersfrères from NewNouveau JerseyMaillot,
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Nous sommes trois frères du New Jersey
00:21
and the funnydrôle thing is that,
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et le plus drôle c'est que,
00:22
believe it or not, we are hookedaccroché on bluegrasspâturin des prés
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croyez le ou non, nous sommes accro au bluegrass
00:25
and we're excitedexcité to playjouer it for you tonightce soir.
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et nous sommes très excités de le jouer pour vous ce soir.
00:27
(MusicMusique)
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(Musique)
02:23
(ApplauseApplaudissements)
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(Applaudissements)
02:26
TMTM: Thank you, thank you.
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TM: Merci, merci.
02:28
(ApplauseApplaudissements)
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(Applaudissements)
02:32
RobbieRobbie MizzoneMizzone: Thank you.
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Robbie Mizzone: Merci
02:34
I'm RobbieRobbie MizzoneMizzone. I'm 13, and I playjouer the fiddleFiddle.
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Je suis Robbie Mizzone. J'ai 13 ans, je joue du violon.
02:36
This is my brotherfrère, JonnyJonny. He's 10, and he playspièces the banjobanjo.
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Voici mon frère, Jonny. Il a 10 ans, et il joue du banjo.
02:39
And on guitarguitare is my 14-year-old-Age brotherfrère, TommyTommy.
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Et à la guitare, mon frère de 14 ans, Tommy.
02:42
(ApplauseApplaudissements)
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(Applaudissements)
02:45
We call ourselvesnous-mêmes the SleepySomnolent Man BanjoBanjo BoysGarçons.
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Nous nous appelons les Sleepy Man Banjo Boys.
02:52
(MusicMusique)
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(Musique)
04:48
(ApplauseApplaudissements)
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(Applaudissements)
04:51
TMTM: Thank you.
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TM: Merci
04:52
JMJM: Thank you all.
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JM: Merci à tous.
04:53
TMTM: Thank you very much.
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TM: Merci énormément.
Translated by Clément Comis
Reviewed by Anna Cristiana Minoli

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sleepy Man Banjo Boys - Bluegrass musicians
The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys is made up of 11-year-old banjo sensation Jonny Mizzone and his brothers Robbie, 14, on fiddle, and Tommy, 15, on guitar.

Why you should listen

These days your kid can get famous on YouTube for having water sprayed at him, for being duped about his Halloween candy, and for being high off laughing gas. But what if your 8-year-old gets famous on the Internet for being an absolute genius on the banjo? So goes the story of Jonny Mizzone, who first became a YouTube sensation in early 2011 for videos of him and his brothers tearing it up playing Earl Scruggs's Flint Hill Special. It wasn't long before the press started calling.

Now Jonny, Robbie (fiddle) and Tommy (guitar), known as the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys, are 11, 14 and 15 respectively. In 2011 alone they got calls from The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and in the summer of 2011 they appeared as musical guests on The Late Show with David Letterman and NBC’s Today Show.

While the trio grew up in New Jersey -- which is known more for rock music than for bluegrass -- they fell in love with the unique sounds of J.D. Crowe, Ralph Stanley, Clarence White and Earl Scruggs after some creative YouTube searching. Now, having become sensations on the platform themselves, the trio has accumulated more than 17 million video views. Their first album, America’s Music, was released in September 2011 and charted top eight on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart. In October 2012 they released their second album, The Farthest Horizon, which cracked the top three. The group is already at work on their next album.

More profile about the speaker
Sleepy Man Banjo Boys | Speaker | TED.com