Truman is a brother duo band from Nashville, TN. Combining a range of influences from Stevie Wonder to John Mayer, the brothers create a pop/rock/soul sound that Broadcast Music, Inc. calls “ear-tickling.” Ben and Chad Truman are sons to keyboardist Dan Truman of the award-winning country music group Diamond Rio.
They have performed with Kelly Clarkson, David Archuleta, Josh Kelley, Diamond Rio, and The Nashville Tribute Band. While Ben and Chad take center stage, they also collaborate with their third bandmate Doug Collins to write original songs.
In describing their style, Ben explained, “I’m more pop/rock; Chad is more jazz/soul. So it’s a good mix. But it’s pretty mainstream. We’re not indie. We’re not grassroots. We like to say Truman is classic, fun and honest.”
While attending Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, their band took first place in the university-wide Battle of the Bands competition two years in a row.
Ben Truman graduated from BYU with a degree in finance, and Chad plans to get a degree in media music. They started writing music together in 2005, after Ben got home from his LDS mission to Mexico.
“We started to write songs and do some playing,” Ben said. “Then Chad left on his mission. While he was gone, I kept writing songs. We like to think that while he was gone for two years, he was progressing spiritually, but the band was progressing as well. In a way, it’s like no time was lost.”
Ben and Chad Truman hope to one day end up on the radio with Number 1 Hits, and refuse to let anything get in their way. They hope to eventually move to L.A., get a record deal, and hear their songs on the radio. However, that’s not their only goal.
“[Most musicians] really want to make music that resonates with people. They want to leave a mark on people’s hearts,” Chad said. “We want to be among those who do.”
For the Truman brothers, making music is more than making money. Their band, Ben says, “is all about the songs. We don’t have any hype, any gimmicks. Just songs. We hope that people fall in love with the songs. When someone comes up to you and says, ‘I love your song’ or ‘that song helped me through a rough time’—that’s the best feeling in the world.”
They released their first CD, “Hold on to Love,” in 2009.
