The Bankester Family has been performing as a bluegrass band since 2004, operating from their home in Carbondale, IL. The show consists of Phil and Dorene Bankester and their four daughters, plus a son-in-law.

Melissa (21) plays bass, her husband Kyle Triplett is on banjo, Lindsey (20) is on mandolin, and Emily (16) and Alysha (14) play fiddle. Mom and Dad both play guitar.

The group got started when their eldest, Melissa, was only 16 years old and now five years, two CDs and a great many road miles later, they have been invited to showcase at IBMA in September. They have produced a music video for one of the songs from their latest CD, Somewhere In Between, which is expected to debut shortly before the World Of Bluegrass convenes in the fall.

The video is for the song Carolina Rain, written by Becky Buller, and sung by Melissa Triplett. It was was directed by Demetria Kalodimos and produced by Genuine Human Productions.

Carlos Torres of GHP has put together a “making of” video with a sneak peek at what we can expect to see in the finished product.

“As we prepare to release the long awaited video of Carolina Rain performed by the Bankester Family we thought it was time to let the fans in on some of the behind the scenes video and a few clips off this upcoming release. This is the Bankesters’ first video ever and certainly not their last.

It was filmed inside an antique mall in Nashville, TN (winter ‘09) with a skeleton crew of volunteers and friends willing to put in their time and expertise to what we think will be the next greatest musical sensation the world has ever seen or heard.”