The Boutilier Brothers, Bill, Larry and Kenny are the third generation of the famous family of country and bluegrass musicians. Their grandfather, John David Boutilier and their father William David Boutilier were well known oldtime fiddlers. Bill and Larry made their first professional appearances with their father at the Gaiety Theatre in Halifax around 1950. They did a lot of Johnny & Jack material and were exceptional at the brother duet style singing that was so popular in United States at the time. In the early 1960s Bill and Larry were making appearances with well known banjo player Vic Mullen and their style was perfect for bluegrass music. The boys wanted to record and Vic was A & R man for Rodeo Records at the time so this became their label. Their first LP was in 1963, with Larry on guitar, Bill on upright bass, Vic Mullen on banjo and Len MacDonald on dobro. By now younger brother Kenny was getting interested in music and bought a 5-string banjo. Within a year he was playing regularly with his brothers and is on banjo on all their later records.
Around 1967 the Boutilier Brothers reached Number Three on the local hit parade with their recording of, "Where the Wild, Wild Roses Bloom." Bill Boutilier has had Lou Gehrig's disease for several years now and has not been able to perform. Larry and Ken keep the band active and are extremely popular on the festival circuit. For many years in the 1960s and early 1970s The Boutilier Brothers were the only bluegrass band active in Nova Scotia and were a great influence on the many bands that are active in the province today.
