NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Flat River Band consists of three brothers Andy Sitze, Chad Sitze, and Dennijo Sitze, who grew up in a multi-generational family band. Performing alongside their parents and grandparents, they held residencies at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, and at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
No strangers to success, the Missouri natives have charted #1 hits on the bluegrass gospel charts and have opened for Natalie Maines, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent, TG Sheppard, and more.
However, about 20 years ago, Chad Sitze moved to Nashville to start a career as a country artist. Within the next few years, Andy Sitze and Dennijo Sitze followed suit. With their amazing family harmony, the trio quickly got residencies at the Alabama Grill and Nashville Palace.
Several years ago, Flat River charted several singles, including “Ain’t a Woman Like a River” and “Shining Through My Window.” While they certainly have a country sound all their own, you can hear traces of the bluegrass influence they were raised with.
Flat River teamed up with the Gatlin Brothers to cover “I Just Wished You Were Someone I Love” to bring some of the best harmonies I’ve ever heard in country music. You can’t beat two sets of brothers for an out-of-this-world musical experience.
They said, “We learned to sing harmony listening to the Gatlin brothers because mom and dad would have the Gatlin brothers in the cassette player, and we would be listening and singing to that. It was kind of a full-circle moment to sing with them. It was a bucket list thing for sure.”
The most fun and lively song Flat River has is “Every Dog Has Its Day.” Chad Sitze explained, “We filmed the video over in Hickman County. We strapped a GoPro to one of Dennijo’s bloodhounds. And we just had a ball cutting that thing.” (Only in the south would you hear those words.)
In April of 2022, after losing their manager to suicide just days before learning of Naomi Judd’s death last spring, the guys were inspired to write the song “Wings of a White Dove.”
Dennijo Sitze told People magazine, “In the spring of 2022, we lost our manager, Doc. He was a one-of-a-kind guy whom we loved dearly. We felt he was in a dark place and wanted to do more for him. In the end, he took his life. Not long after Doc’s passing, we received word about Naomi Judd. It was devastating to us.”
They knew then they wanted to raise their voices for those without a voice. Their message of hope is evident with the words Our love/ Is strong enough/ When times are tough/ Sent down from up above/ On the wings of a white dove. They even donated a portion of the proceeds from the song to NAMI.
Last year, the trio released the nostalgic, “God Bless the Radio.” It recalls times when the radio was all you had to help you “drift away to another time and place.” Those of us of a certain age will relate.
At Christmas, Flat River teamed with country icon Jeannie Seely to bring us the original holiday song, “Christmas Time.” Written by Chad Sitze, the song was immensely popular and likely will remain so during the next holiday season.
Also written by Chad Sitze, on their latest single, “Home Sweet Home,” they talk about traveling everywhere and “No matter where we perform, we always feel like we’re at home.”
Even though the band no longer makes gospel music the primary focus of their show, their parents have been very supportive of their new endeavors.
Andy Sitze said , “Our faith and our belief system, that will never change. That will always be it will always be what it is. Our foundation through our faith through Jesus will always be there no matter what genre we’re doing, whether it’s gospel music or country music.”
Dennijo said, “There’s something in country music that you feel when you hear three-part harmony. Our niche is our three-part harmony. It’s like in-your-face, three-part harmony on everything we do. So that’s kind of how we get our word out and what we do is all about it’s all about the harmony.”
I have covered many groups and families (even identical twins) who have amazing harmony. And while they certainly are a credit to the genre, you will be hard-pressed to find any more talented than amazing Sitze brothers, Chad, Dennijo, and Andy, also known as the Flat River Band.
This spring, Flat River Band will be in the studio, creating new music and touring. Be sure to follow them on their website along with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and all streaming platforms.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and X(Twitter).
