Childhood friends, Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing, have been exploring the outdoors together since they were kids growing up in Denver, Colorado. Whether making forts by the neighborhood creek or camping in the mountains, their friendship was built on imagination and adventure. Today, as the GRAMMY Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers, they turn that spirit into Americana folk songs that celebrate friendship, nature and the joy of discovery.
Their music has been called “the Shel Silverstein of family music” for the way it reaches both kids and parents. With banjo, guitar and brotherly harmony at the heart of their sound, they create songs that make you want to dance in the kitchen and sing by the campfire. Blending humor and heart, their work reminds listeners that wisdom can be simple, and that the best adventures can begin right outside your door.
The duo’s playful yet thoughtful songwriting has earned praise from NPR’s All Things Considered and USA Today, along with five Parents’ Choice Awards and a GRAMMY® for Best Children’s Album. They’ve been featured on PBS KIDS and Netflix for their short family films.
On their newest album, Little Old You, The Okee Dokee Brothers are going back to basics with an acoustic backyard set from the heart. Banjo and guitar take the lead on these playful songs full of life and the mystery of the natural world. It’s a big bucket full of sticks, mud and cosmic wonder. Joe and Justin continue to remind us that we are both silly and wise, young and old and infinitely big in all our little ways.
The Okee Dokee Brothers’ songs have become soundtracks for family adventures and everyday moments alike, offering comfort, laughter and a gentle nudge toward the wild and unplugged natural world. Their approach is guided by a few steady truths: friendship matters, nature connects us, laughter opens doors and the smallest things (and people) often hold the biggest magic.
