The Bankesters Make New York Debut On Shelter Island

It all started nearly 10 years ago, when the Bankester family attended a bluegrass festival in their native Illinois.

The family of five—husband and wife Phil and Dorene, and daughters, Melissa, Emily and Alysha—had already waded into the musical pool, having learned a couple of songs by bluegrass artist Alison Krauss. It was a twist of fate that landed the three young girls next to Ms. Krauss’s former banjo player during some down time at the festival.

It was an even bigger twist when that same musician invited the girls on stage to sing during his band’s set. And they just happened to impress an event promoter in the audience, who offered the band its first gig.

Their destiny was sealed in the summer of 2004, when the family played its first show at the Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Festival in Lincoln, Illinois, and never looked back.

In the years since, the Bankesters have evolved into a six-member band—Melissa’s husband, multi-instrumentalist Kyle Triplett, joined in 2007—with a unique sound melding folk, gospel, Americana and old country with the traditions of bluegrass. They are no longer afraid to play outside the book.

“We were trying to really stay true to the bluegrass roots. We didn’t want to do anything wrong,” explained 22-year-old Emily Bankester last week during a telephone interview from the family’s home in Illinois. “[Now] we listen and we hear songs that we like, and we play music that we love.”

On Saturday night, the Bankesters will finally make their New York debut at the Shelter Island School—this year’s January bluegrass show hosted by Sylvester Manor—after years on the road and in the spotlight.

Homeschooled all their lives, Emily and her sisters have spent years touring the country, traveling with their parents for weeks at a time and learning more about music every day.

“It’s a blast. I can’t really compare it to anything else,” 21-year-old Alysha Bankester said last week during a telephone interview. “Just the bond that I have with my sisters, I think it’s gotten more and more strong over the years. I think the music has really made my family really close.”

The three girls, who share lead vocals and play an assortment of instruments—from fiddle and clawhammer banjo to mandolin and upright bass—are best friends on and off the road, according to 27-year-old Melissa Bankester, who also works as a classical piano teacher. Playing together is “intuitive,” she said, even though they have had zero professional training.

“It’s just such a cool experience, being able to sing … with my sisters,” Emily said. “And then we get home, get off the road from singing, we want to hang out together.”

Reflecting on their family’s growth, both in size and talent, guitarists Phil and Dorene Bankester are the definition of proud parents. But one of them has been absent from the stage recently, and it has taken a toll on the musicians.

Instead of touring with her family, Dorene has been home, caring for her grandchildren—5-year-old Jude, 3-year-old Joel and newborn Vivian—in lieu of the band finding a full-time babysitter. It is an issue only a true family band could ever experience.

“Maybe there were a few tears shed. [But] this was the only option we had,” Dorene said last week during a telephone interview. “Yes, it’s kind of sad. It was very odd to not be on stage, and yet at the same time I know that everything is in the right place. The band is really important. We want the band to continue. I want to see my daughters sing as a trio.”

The Bankesters are far from the only family band on the bluegrass circuit—The Cox Family, the Whites and the Marshall Family, to name a few, all have a following—and the family matriarch said she hopes the group will shift away from the unit and focus on the girls.

Melissa, Emily and Alysha aren’t opposed.

“It’s different, but it is a new chapter,” Emily said. “We’re being positive about it.”

The Bankesters will make their New York debut on Saturday, January 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Shelter Island School. Tickets are $25. For more information, call (631) 749-0626, or visit sylvestermanor.org.