Four musically-driven seventh graders at Northwestern Middle School are rocking the Zachary community with a new band called Scenic Highway. The band is made up of triplets Harry, Jack, and Max Bertrand, and their friend Easton Olivier, who together are turning their love for music into an exciting journey. Although they’ve only been playing together for a short time, their sound is quickly gaining attention.

It’s worth mentioning right here that they’re good. Like, really good. Here's a rendition of "10,000 Hours" by Dan+Shay with Justin Bieber, and here's their cover of "You Get a Line, I'll Get a Pole."

“Thanks to Baton Rouge Music Studios, we formed our band and got the opportunity to play at Chelsea’s Live all in the same week this past summer,” the boys shared on their Facebook page, Scenic Highway. They also played at Tin Roof and the Electric Depot in Baton Rouge in October, and opened for the Michael Foster Project at Curbside Burgers this past weekend. 

The band’s lineup is as dynamic as their enthusiasm: Harry commands the drums, Jack plays bass and provides vocals, and Max shines as lead vocalist, while Easton adds depth with keyboard and a strong vocal harmony.

Their adventure began on the tennis courts at the Americana YMCA. Mikki Bertrand, the triplets’ mother, recalls learning of the boys’ shared love for music during a casual conversation among tennis practice parents. “Mikki found BRMS at BR Mid City’s Hot Art Cool Nights and suggested we send them to a summer camp week together for fun and music,” says Meryn Olivier, Easton’s mom. “They were put in a group together to perform with other members their age. At the end of the week, they had so much fun that they decided to officially form their own band. Since then, they have rehearsed once a week at BRMS and they get together on their own for practice one or two other times per week,” she says. 

While all three brothers sing, Max has really honed in on technical vocal training, Jack has focused on bass and is now learning the guitar, and Harry’s passion is drums. The triplets have taken private vocal lessons with Cassi Doherty (NMS choir instructor) and Harry takes drum lessons with NMS teacher and track coach Justin Doherty. Easton adds versatility to the group having played music since starting the piano at age 6 and continuing with the saxophone and percussion instruments. Currently, Harry and Easton are percussionists in the NMS band and Max and Jack are in the NMS Choir. 

Although they’re not quite a “band for hire” yet, they’ve played several local gigs thanks to the support of BRMS, which organizes and promotes music gigs for young bands and provides professional sound equipment for their performances. The boys play fun covers from various genres that emphasize their strong vocal harmonies.