The Petersens’ Ellen Petersen Haygood: Masters of Bluegrass and Gospel (Part 4)

John Farrell: When all is said and done, what does your family and Emmett hope your legacy is?

Ellen Petersen Haygood: We are in the process of figuring that out. We’ve had a lot of people reach out to us this year and ask what the master plan is and we’re truly just along for the ride. The Lord keeps opening a door over here and closing a door over there. I see He’s kind of showing us a little bit more of what our path is, but I love sharing music online.

I love that we’re able to bring hope to people as a family. We are not a perfect family. We do not claim to be. We make mistakes, but it is really cool to work through that. Just because you get in a fight with a sibling, you don’t write them off. You work through it and you kind of lean in and, I think, become better for it. So, if we’re able to just share the gospel with people through our music and make them smile and enjoy it, I think we would all be very pleased for that.

JF: Which artists or musicians would you say are your biggest influences?

Ellen: I think as a group, there’s no one that compares to Alison Krauss. She is just the gold standard of great bluegrass music and she also has a lot of good variety. We all love Alison Krauss. As a band, that’s pretty good. We also really love Ben Rector and Cody Fry as a group. They’re not what we do at all. We just really enjoy their music.

JF: Is social media the best place for people to keep up-to-date with what’s going on with the band?

Ellen: Yes, people can find us just by searching the Petersen’s. We also love hopping on YouTube and just talking with people, answering questions. We’re normal people, just like everybody else. If people are curious about something, we usually just try to answer it.

JF: Outside of music, what do you like to do that helps you take a step back from all the grind of the business? What helps rejuvenate you?

Ellen: I think for a lot of us, we love experiences. My husband and I got to travel to Mexico. So, really being able to unplug from our current environment and go experience something new is fun. We also all really love coffee. When we’re on tour, we will drive 30 minutes the wrong way, just for an excellent cup of coffee, and then we’ll get back on the road. So, we enjoy that. It just is kind of like a fun little thing. The Ozarks are really beautiful too. So, we’d go out hiking, just anything to kind of get us out of the normal everyday routines.

JF: What’s the latest with the UPS driver?

Ellen: Oh my goodness I love this question so much. You know, January was pretty sparse and I need a new update, but it is my favorite when we’re practicing and the UPS man pulls up at Katie’s house. It just brings me a lot of joy. Actually, I need to ask if this is finalized, but I’m coming up with a t-shirt with Katie and the UPS saying, “I ship it.” So stay tuned for that lovely little piece of merchandise.

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Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of Inspiration Ministries’ interview with Ellen Petersen Haygood

Featured Image Credit: The Petersens’ YouTube Channel

For more information on The Petersens, visit their website.