CASA GRANDE, AZ — Inside a ranch in Casa Grande, the sound of bluegrass has not only brought a family together but is truly a family business.
The dexterity in all the musicians' small fingers and tapping of tiny boots is guaranteed to make everyone swoon.
“You just sit there and go, how is this possible? It’s so fun,” said Tiffany Dietrich with a giggle.
Tiffany is the mother of five very talented children. Almost all are multi-instrumentalists but it’s the fiddle that’s found its way into their hearts, certainly not to be confused with the violin.
“A violin has strings and a fiddle has 'strangs,'” said 12-year-old Brie Dietrich.
“Both my husband and my grandpa played different instruments, so fiddle, dobro guitar, but it was my grandpa who was a self-taught fiddler,” said Tiffany.
This made perfect sense considering 7-year-old Sawyer was named the National Small Fry Fiddle Champion over the weekend.
“The last two people standing, it’s so intimidating, who’s gonna win, it felt really good,” said Sawyer with a huge smile.
He’s the second Arizona child to ever win the title at the national competition. He's following in the family's footsteps as none other than his older sister Brie was the first child to win in 2018.
“I’ve been playing since I was about three or four,” said Brie.
In fact, they all have. Band leader and former State Champion Fiddler, Ranelle, aka their big sister, says it’s not always easy wrangling this group together.
“We do lessons every day and Sawyer's all over the place all the time and you’re trying to find him and get him and get him to get his fiddle,” said 13-year-old Ranelle.
But when they do finally get a hold of him and the rest of this brood, oh, what music they make!