By taking elements of several different genres of music, Kentucky natives Brad “Lil Round” Davis and Vernon “Kuntry Twang” Roach have created their own genre which they call Ameriflow.

Davis and Roach are more commonly known as Twang and Round, a musical duo based out of Kentucky that has gained popularity over the last seven years. Twang and Round’s sound is something that is not commonly heard.

“I don’t know what to call our music,” Davis said. “I don’t really like country-rap because people feel like they’ve heard it before … Ameriflow lets people go into it with an open mind.”

Twang and Round combines what Roach calls the “best parts” of genres such as country, bluegrass, rap and hip-hop. Davis and Roach said that their new genre “bridges the gap.”

Before they were Twang and Round, Davis and Roach were in a band together named The Blue Collar Boys in the early 2000’s. Around the same time, The Blue Collar Comedy Tour featuring comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy gained popularity. Davis recalled having a difficult time booking gigs because everyone was expecting the comedy tour.

After the Blue Collar Boys broke up, Roach went on to join a southern rock group named Minimum Wage, and Davis opened Bluegrass Cheddar Studios in Bowling Green. It wasn’t until 2011 that they released three albums together as Twang and Round.

Roach compared his musical partnership with Davis to the yin yang, and both of them agreed that their writing process was “magical.” Davis said that he creates beats without any lyrics in mind and presents them to Roach for him to add his lyrics to.

Davis said that their song-writing process happens so quickly that they could have a song released in three hours.

“The emotions and the energy that are there in the creation process—we capture that lightning in a bottle,” Roach said.

Davis and Roach commented on making transitions in a changing music industry. Now their focus is on releasing a new single or music video every six weeks.

Despite their rise in popularity, Davis and Roach said they focus on remaining humble. Roach credits this to being ingrained in the community. This humility is at the heart of their genre Ameriflow.

“We’re very humble people,” Roach said. “I come from humble beginnings. There’s not a strand in my DNA that will make me think that I’m better than anybody else, it’s just not that way. I’m a man of the people and I always will be.”

Davis and Roach pride themselves on creating music that surpasses fads and leaves a legacy.

“When you listen to a song and you hear somebody’s emotion in that song, you have a deeper connection with it,” Roach said. “I feel that that’s the difference between music that’s a fad and music that’s timeless.”

Like their genre, Twang and Round’s music bridges the generational gap in music listening. Through their music, Roach commented on wanting to leave a legacy that his children would be proud of.

Roach said that he compares the legacy his music is leaving behind to Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”

“[Van Gogh] didn’t realize — all those years ago over in Europe when he painted it that it was going to be on some hillbilly’s wall in Kentucky,” Roach said. “That’s what art is. Art will be here long after we’re gone, and we want to make timeless music that people can enjoy.”   

You can learn more about Twang and Round by visiting their website. 

Features reporter Laurel Deppen can be reached at 270-745-6291 and [email protected].