About Us

Nothing matches the connection siblings have when they play music together, and that's exactly what you see when Kayla and Matt take the stage. With 45 years of music experience between them, each has a special, stylistic way of playing their instruments that is a direct result of being brought up in a family with roots deep in country, bluegrass, and Canadian old-time music.

Born and raised in Ardrossan, Alberta, Canada, Kayla and Matt have come together after years of separate projects to play high-energy, high-calibre bluegrass music. Their influences include The Stanley Brothers, The Monroe Brothers, The Carter Family, and many other pioneers in the genre.

While they are both multi-instrumentalists, in their duo Kayla plays guitar, and Matt plays mandolin and fiddle. They switch between lead and harmony vocals with ease.

In 2014, they released an album entitled 'Kayla Hotte & Her Rodeo Pals' which was a country project. They are excited to be working on their duo album, which will be released later this year.

How It Started

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Kayla and Matt grew up in a musical family. Their parents are musicians, and they enrolled their kids in music lessons as soon as they expressed an interest in music. For Matt, the oldest, that happened at the age of four. There are stories about him playing a 'fiddle' made of sticks before he procured on his first fiddle.

Kayla, three years younger, started piano lessons at the age of six. They began playing Canadian old-time music, with Matt playing fiddle and Kayla accompanying him on piano.

It didn't take long for the kids to start learning other instruments. Kayla picked up the fiddle and mandolin, and Matt turned his focus to the banjo but had an aptitude for playing any stringed instrument he could get his hands on. The family was introduced by a family friend to their local bluegrass club upon being invited to the club's weekly jam.

Their mother Carolyn is a guitar player, so she fit right in at the jams, but their father Ken had been a drummer, so he picked up the bass.

The family began playing music together. They performed locally and stayed involved in the bluegrass club. Their mother is the longest serving president of the Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society (NBCMS) in Edmonton, Alberta. In 2016, the Hotte family received an award of recognition from the NBCMS for their involvement in the bluegrass community, and they were dubbed The First Family of Alberta Bluegrass.

Matt

Matt has had an impressive music career for his young age, especially for being a young man from rural Alberta playing an American form of music. He has toured globally and has been a member of accredited bluegrass bands such as Lost Highway (California) and the Liberty Bluegrass Boys (Texas). Matt is also an accomplished guitar player and has toured and recorded with Canadian legend Ronnie Hayward. He is a household name in the bluegrass and country scene in western Canada. He has won numerous fiddling trophies, as well as Western Canadian Banjo Champion at the age of 13.

Kayla

Kayla started playing guitar at 13 years old. She delved into other forms of traditional music, including obtaining a diploma in Jazz from Grant MacEwan University, but always came back to bluegrass and old-time music. Her other project, Kayla Hotte & her Rodeo Pals, is a traditional country band, and they released a self-titled album in 2014.

Kayla's accolades include winning the title Western Canadian Mandolin Champion at the age of 10, her residencies in Nashville, TN, and being a graduate of the Leadership Bluegrass Program (2013).