THE SIBLING SOUND
Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Derik Nelson & Family's signature sound features velvety three-part pop/folk vocal harmonies only a family can deliver. Siblings Derik, Riana, and Dalten have been performing together since childhood. They’ve garnered over 4 million views on YouTube, performed in 150+ cities across the USA, and reached 100,000+ students of all ages with educational music workshops, outreach programming, and fundraising assemblies. Derik has appeared regularly as the lead guitarist on television’s “Glee,” among other shows.
Derik Nelson & Family has performed the US National Anthem at Seattle Seahawks NFL, Seattle Sounders FC, and Portland Trailblazers NBA playoff home games, and are proud to tour nationwide with their own headlining concert as a family in some of the finest performing arts centers and historic halls in the country including the Levitt Pavilion (Dayton, OH), the Bartlesville Community Center (Bartlesville, OK), the Corn Palace (Mitchell, SD). Two-time American Music Abroad alumni, Derik, Dalten, and Riana are each Cultural Ambassadors for the United States. With tours to Moldova and Albania, upcoming tours in Egypt and Eritrea, (and a recent State Department Arts Envoy contract in Kyiv, Ukraine leading a songwriting incubator through the U.S. Embassy) they represent the United States' mission to promote peace through cultural diplomacy in arts and music. The sibling trio was invited (and approved) to tour Turkmenistan by the U.S. Embassy Ashgabat and Ministry of Culture in 2019.
If you're attending one of the family's mainstage full-production concerts (featured in Performing Arts Centers across the country) you can expect pristine sound, a state of the art light show, and an integrated 20-foot video display. Derik’s interactive “clones” are featured throughout the show on the 5 screen video “wall.” The multiple “Derik clones” play many different instruments as a “virtual band.” This innovative technical marvel designed by Dalten uses the latest in audio/video technology to take audiences on an aural and visual journey through time, space, an impressive array of landscapes, weather conditions, and musical “settings.”
Acoustic shows and settings highlight the siblings' raw vocal talent, which David Crosby (Crosby, Stills and Nash) called "very nice."
Listeners will be impressed with the perfectly blended three-part-harmony vocals, in addition to Derik’s thoughtful arrangements of cover songs from a variety of genres, styles, and eras. Derik's original music is very well received by all ages, with lyrical themes of home, family, and the seasons of the Pacific Northwest. Backed with warm acoustic guitar, and "silk on the ears" musicality, these genuinely kind, charming, and talented siblings have a bond that’s palpable, both on stage and off. Audiences of every age are sure to be mesmerized from the opening to the dazzling finish. It's a concert experience unlike any other.
Singing voice heard on FOX’s “Raising Hope” and “New Girl,” CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother,” and NBC’s “Go On” and “The Voice.” Bachelor of Science from University of Southern California, where he helped to shape the curriculum that became the Popular Music Degree program. Awarded the Brian Wilson Music Scholarship for songwriting and received first place in the Indie International Songwriting Competition for his original song, “The Way It’s Gonna Go.” Derik was invited by the USC President’s Office to write the music and lyrics for the USC Graduating Class of 2011’s commencement anthem. His song, “Take Chances,” was featured at commencement, and was the catalyst for his first independent tour across 40 locations on the West Coast.
RIANA
vocalist, management.
Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan. Casting Associate for FOX’s “Empire.” Onscreen vocalist for Renee Zellweger’s pilot “Cinnamon Girl.” Lead vocalist for Princess Cruises. Managed summer program for Disney in China teaching children 5-7 years old. Riana serves on the Board of Directors at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia, WA as a female ambassador and role model in her hometown. Social media/marketing, painting + calligraphy, yoga, and empowering young women are her passions in addition to singing.
Attended Arizona State University with an extensive musical theatre background. Favorite stage roles include Jean Valjean in LES MISERABLES, Batboy in BATBOY, and Harold Hill in THE MUSIC MAN. Appeared on several episodes of television’s “Glee” and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Dalten has conceptualized, designed, filmed, edited, & executed over 250 separate videos in perfect sync, to create visual "immersion" to the musical experience of Derik Nelson & Family's signature mainstage concert, spanning a 20-foot-video "wall."