Southbound, an acoustic duet group from Escanaba, plans to try out next weekend.

ESCANABA -- Despite only being together for less than a year, one local duo is trying to work their way into the national spotlight.

Southbound, an acoustic duet group from Escanaba, plans to try out for a national talent show next weekend, and their well-blended sound could be their ticket.

Gabriella Fleury and Katrina Nance, members of the acoustic duo Southbound, have only been performing together for nine months, but their harmony blends well, and that's why they started their band.

"We just fell in love with singing karaoke together, it was so awesome," explained Nance.  "She does excellent harmonies and I compliment the melody to her harmony.  So we picked up the guitar--I taught myself to play--and so we started playing guitar and it was just, it was meant to be, really awesome.  We worked well together."

From country to their own rendition of hard rock, the duo has performed their songs in a number of competitions in the U.P. along with performances in local restaurants.  But their biggest gig is just around the corner.  The group plans to audition for America's Got Talent, and they both are more than ready to give it their all for a chance to make it big.

"Just living in a small town like Escanaba, there's not a ton of opportunities for people to see you or for exposure, so this just seemed like a good step for us to take, to sing in front of people who would have a say about our career," said Fleury.  "We're just really excited; nervousness hasn't set in yet."

And that enthusiasm is the reason behind their unique name...Southbound.

"You know, there's no where to go but south from here, you know," Nance explained.  "You can't go north, you got to head south and we're hoping to go to Nashville and places like that."

The duo plans to head down to Chicago on the 15th to audition for America's Got Talent.  Auditions for the show are the 17th and 18th where they're both hoping to land a seat on next season's show.