I first met The Chapman Brothers a few years back when I worked on a NAMM project with Jeremy Chapman. I didn’t get to hear them play music until a year or so later, when their bluegrass trio played at a NAMM breakfast event. Although we had known each other for a while, this was the first opportunity I had to hear their trio. After picking myself off the floor and regaining the ability to speak, I caught up with them as they came off the stage.
I looked at Jeremy Chapman and simply said: “You could have warned me.”
My favorite style of harmony is when a musical family sings in harmony together, because the blend of the voices is so unique, and The Chapman Brothers are a great example of strong vocal blending, as well as the same principle being executed instrumentally.
Simply put, The Chapman Brothers — Jeremy, John, and Jason — have a great bluegrass trio, along with a great music retail business. After knowing them for a while now, I have watched them execute one unique idea after another.
I have watched the Champman’s pull off some very distinctive things. For example, the culture of their business is centered entirely around community. I also think a tip of the hat to the bluegrass community in particular is in order, because loyalty is a staple in that corner of the music world. That being said, bluegrassers have very high standards, and the Chapmans meet thoes standards consistently.
Because of the respect that the Chapman family has gained throughout their musical journey and in regards to their unique music store The Acoustic Shoppe, they have also gained the respect of, as well as major visibility among the high profile bluegrass stars. They have established relationships with actor Jeff Daniels, mandolin extraordinaire Sierra Hull, noted artist Ronda Vincent, and Jake Workman, IBMA’s 2020 Guitar Player of The Year — just to name a few.
Where I find that the Chapmans really shine is their YouTube page. Currently, they have 109K subscribers and 3.1K videos posted. How powerful is that? Let me put it into perspective: They have generated 39,610,596 views, and from the first click, their message is clear.
“Welcome to The Acoustic Shoppe YouTube channel! Whether you’re a seasoned musician, a guitar enthusiast, or simply someone who loves great music, you’ve come to the right place.”
As if these stats aren’t enough, one of The Acoustic Shoppe’s latest YouTube offerings deserves a standing ovation. Before I found out about the American Idol fan-favorite Hannah Harper from the show itself, I stumbled across a version of her song “String Cheese,” which she performed with The Chapmans on their YouTube channel. The musicality behind Harper’s vocals was so well blended and smooth, I was moved to leave a comment on the page. I was just so taken by the attention to detail and the quality of the performance. It was a week later that I found out Harper was an American Idol front runner.
I reached out to Jeremy and asked him to tell me a little bit about how they had come to know Hannah, and he shared the following back story.
“We’ve known Hannah since she was a little girl. We grew up playing festivals almost every weekend with her parents, who were part of a family band in Missouri. We reconnected with her when she started posting videos of herself singing on Facebook and TikTok, and invited her to the shop for the livestream that we do every Wednesday: “Shoppe Talk.” We teamed up with her to give away a Martin Guitar as a fan drive on her Facebook, and made her our first The Acoustic Shoppe Community Pro affiliate/artist.
Then, when she made the cut for “American Idol,” we helped start her YouTube channel and offered to record a couple of songs that she could add to her new channel to gain followers. Her appearance has helped us gain new followers as well, and also solidified our community around supporting her on American Idol and beyond.
The biggest thing that has spurred our growth on YouTube and in sales is collaboration. I think the biggest thing with a lot of these events we’ve done is that we had to get outside of our shy comfort zone and proactively reach out to ask them to collaborate with us. So far, everyone has said yes.”
With The Acoustic Shoppe and their massively successful online presence, The Chapman brothers have shown us the magic that happens when you blend tradition with technology.
