Growing up in California, Bryan and Pat Kay had limited exposure to contemporary music. The sibling-founders of The Kay Brothers band didn't have MTV or VH1 in their home, and they didn't get the internet until their late teens.
The annual Lupus Chili Festival was their main window into the world of live performance.
"That one day a year was really something that I very much looked forward to," Pat said. "I remember being in a state of wonderment. It felt really magical to me. People paid attention to the bands that were playing out there."
Bryan and Pat both started playing guitar in 1995 at ages 10 and 13, respectively. Their parents sang in the choir at the California United Methodist Church, and their mom occasionally played the piano during services.
"Both of our parents are fantastic singers," Pat said. "I remember our mom playing piano in the living room when I was a kid. I remember being in awe of what an accomplished musician she was. I had an instant respect for her talent."
Although they didn't have much connection to popular music, unplugged albums from the rock groups Alice In Chains and Nirvana served as early inspirations. Pat said the vocal harmonies and acoustic instruments spoke to him.
"Those things are very much the cornerstone of what we are doing now," he said. "Everything we do in this band is all on acoustic instruments. The vocal harmonies are an important part of our arrangements and they get a lot of attention."
The Kays are self-taught musicians. Instead of formal training, they spent much of their time in high school experimenting with instruments and playing in their own bands.
"I never learned, with guitar anyway, how to read sheet music," Pat said. "I still know very little about music theory. I just adopted a way of playing that worked for me within the confines of my understanding of music.
"It was fun to cut our teeth and try to learn from the ground up knowing absolutely nothing."
Bryan and Pat launched The Kay Brothers in March of 2012, after years of playing in other ensembles. They describe their sound as Missouri stompgrass - a mix of old-time folk music and traditional bluegrass.
Everyone in the band sings. Bryan plays the double bass while Pat covers lead vocals and also plays banjo, guitar, harmonica and kick drum. "Shakin Jake" Allen on percussion, Roger Netherton on fiddle and Molly Healey on cello and fiddle round out the group.
"One of the unique things about us is that, because we weren't brought up on bluegrass, we aren't so attached to old ways of thinking and performing the music," Bryan said. "However, we do respect it and try to replicate it as often as possible, but it has given us more freedom to do our own thing and create something more forward-reaching with an old style."
The Kays said they reach a wide audience and are able to keep their performance schedule full, without traveling far from home. They have played more than 20 shows in the past seven months.
"A lot of the time, people have no idea what to expect from our music, because this genre isn't being played on the radio," Pat said. "A hundred years ago, this is what was being played in barns on Saturday night and in churches on Sunday morning. It has so much history in the Midwest.
"It has an element of familiarity that is in your blood. People hear it and they like it and they have no idea why."
For the Kay Brothers, 2018 has been a banner year. In January, they released their self-titled debut album and a music video for their song, "Find Your Love." The band sold 532 tickets to a July show in Columbia - their biggest audience to date as headliners.
To honor their roots, they showcase a 12-by-20-foot Missouri flag as their stage backdrop.
"I am grateful we grew up in California, Missouri," Pat said. "We are excited to come home and play the Moniteau County Fair with a completed album of songs to perform live.
"For us, the flag is not just an expression of pride, but also of gratitude to the environment and the conditions that led us to where we are now."
The Kay Brothers will perform as part of the 2018 Moniteau County Fair at 8 p.m. Aug. 9.