Family Talent Shines Through 'Diamonds Uncut' On Stage in Valrico

For the Diamond family of Greater Brandon, it just seemed easier to say, "Yes," rather than, "No."

So again the family took to the stage March 9 at the James McCabe Theater in Valrico, for the junior production of "Raise the Roof," to perform as "Diamonds Uncut," a group they formed about a year ago after singing together for years.

For sisters Carolyn, Mary Brook and Ann Marie those "years" have amounted to essentially their entire lives. Rounding out the group are the girls' parents, Brad and Jenny; their uncle, Eric; and their grandmother, Lynnell.

“We're singing all the time as a family and we all blend really well together,” said Brad Diamond, a voice teacher at the University of South Florida. "People had been asking us to do a few things and finally we just stopped saying, 'No.' "

Their style of music is “spiritual jazz,” said Lynnell Diamond, who also is a member of Sweet Adelines, an international group of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony.

"Their better than I am," Lynnell Diamond said about her family members. "As boys, Eric and Brad would sing harmony in the car."

On stage for "Raise the Roof," the Diamonds sang "Wana Baraka," a cappella, with the only accompaniment the beating of a hand-held drum by Jenny Diamond.

"The kids are getting older, and to integrate with them things we can do as a family the better I think their futures will be as they get into their teenage years," said Jenny Diamond, who studied as a music educator. "If parents can be cool, maybe not all the time, but sometimes, that's a good thing."