The entire Price family is pictured in front of the Guthrie, Oklahoma Junior High School where they performed this summer. Pictured, from left, are: Lauren Price, Rhonda Price, Leanna Price and Tim Price.

Two things came together to make 2012 a stellar year for the family. First of all, Leanna and Lauren have developed their talent to a level that affords them more opportunities to play at larger venues. The second thing that happened was Tim and Rhonda decided that they would make every effort to ensure the girls’ last year before college a memorable one. “With the girls going to school next year, Rhonda and I wanted to schedule as much as we could. We were glad we could do it,” Tim said.

The family certainly did go “all out” in 2012. Tim (who plays guitar), Rhonda (vocals), Lauren (mandolin and vocals) and Leanna (fiddle and vocals) have participated in shows or camps in six states this year including Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Michigan. Along the way, they have experienced many new things and met some of bluegrass’ superstars.

Perhaps the family’s most visible activity this year was the girls’ performance on the Cumberland Highlanders show. The weekly show on RFD-TV (which is a channel received by 150 million people in 60 million homes) is broadcasted nationally. The girls visited the show in Rosine, KY in September. Since then, one of their songs was aired on Nov. 17 with another set to be aired on Dec. 15 during the 9:30 p.m. show.

The girls were also broadcast, albeit on a smaller scale than RFD-TV, in April on WWVA’s Wheeling Jamboree and in May on WOUB public radio in Athens. During their visit at WOUB, they played an hour-long segment that was broadcast live.

Despite their time over the airwaves, the family’s best experiences have been with the people they have met. Lauren and Leanna have played (on-stage and off) with multiple IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) winners and have even met Grammy winners this year. All the time spent with world-class musicians has been gratifying for the family. “I’m very grateful for how nice and willing to help these people have been,” Rhonda said.

Those the girls have met have certainly helped. This year, they have both received tips from some of their favorite musicians. Many of the opportunities they have had to meet such people were afforded to them via scholarships they each won from an organization led by Byron Berline (a famous fiddle player).