Back Story of Troubaduo

In 2008, solo artists Bryson VanCleve (from Arkansas) and Jill Marie (California native) met while performing at the Room 5 Lounge in Los Angeles, California. Their friendship quickly blossomed making music together and soon after, the two married. Instead of planning a honey moon, they planned to leave the city for a life on the road. The two troubadours, aka Troubaduo, traveled across the United States, completing seven tours between 2009-2011.

In April 2011, they found out Jill was pregnant, but continued through two more tours. On the way home from their seventh tour, their son Jedidiah was born three weeks early and Bryson ended up delivering him, on the road, in their touring RV known as "The Sea Turtle."

Years later, they moved to Western Arkansas, where they helped start a family farm growing chemical free produce, as well as, flowers. They found out the meaning of hard work, 60-80 hours a week of physical labor making less than minimum wage, numerous crop failures and health issues due to overworking.

God made beauty from the ashes and blessed the singing farmers with seasoned songs birthed from the life lessons learned, hard work and country living, that many can appreciate and relate to.

In 2022, Troubaduo began traveling again, as they were blessed with several opportunities to share music. A highlight for them was having the opportunity to worship God at the Tobin Center in San Antonio, Texas, where they were one of the Top 5 Finalists in the You, God's Music Christian Music Showcase. They are grateful to have met and shared the stage with Jason Crabb, Danny Gokey, Jordan Feliz, Blanca and Jordan Smith.

In August 2022, Troubaduo was asked to be a part of a children's series called

Luna the Magical Pup. Luna is all about spreading Love, Light and Positivity. Bryson and Jill, along with their son, will also get to voice some of the characters for the cartoon, which they are all ecstatic about! They also get to help with the music, script writing, as well as creating Luna's online presence through social media before her cartoon is released. They are honored and grateful God has allowed them to be a part of such a beautiful Project and Dream!

Read more about Luna the Magical Pup HERE💜🐾

At the end of 2022, the singing farmers said goodbye to the farm business. They still love living in the country, growing food & flowers from time to time to enjoy.

In 2023, Troubaduo was selected as a 2023 Finalist in the Great American Song Contest for their song Storm Stiller and received 2023 Honorable Mentions in the SongDoor International Songwriting Competition for their songs Churches and Bars and Storm Stiller. They were also received 2023 Finalist in the USA Songwriting Competition for their song Churches and Bars.

In 2024, Troubaduo was selected as a 2024 Semi-Finalist in the Unsigned Only Music Competition for their song Storm Stiller. They were also nominated by the Josie Music Awards for Duo of the Year (Multi-Genre) and Song of the Year (Country/Duo) for their song Churches & Bars. They had the blessed opportunity to attend the awards at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN.

Troubaduo has always loved playing music with their son, Jedi. They admire family bands such as The Staple Singers and The Lack Family, so when their son Jedi started showing signs of musical talents at a young age, they were very excited, but never wanted to push their son into the music path.

In October 2024, their was a huge stake in Troubaduo's musical journey. The Lack Family band came to play a show at their Church venue. That night, Troubaduo's son Jedi was inspired and convinced that this was something he really wanted to do. He started learning drums and Jill started learning to play bass. With Bryson on electric guitar, they now have more diversity & flexibility for sharing music.

In November 2024, after over 26 years of doing music, and 16+ years as a duo, Troubaduo, along with their son Jedi signed their first record deal to The Fellowship Music Label. Today they share music as Van Cleve.