MAINSTAY - The Bumper Jacksons
The Bumper Jacksons revel in playing the sounds of authentic American roots music, from New Orleans street corners to Appalachian hollers. Unafraid to scrap together sounds from forgotten 78 records, they pay respectful homage to the traditions of vintage American music while fashioning their own unique, playful style. Your first impression may come from the voices of jazz clarinet and horns and swingy rhythms, plus Billie Holliday and Duke Ellington classics. But this masterfully gives way to the other ingredients in their lineup: fiddles and guitars, bouncy banjo-ukes, weepy country pedal steel, rock-and-roll electric guitar, jug-band kazoo and assorted percussion. Listeners are tempted to categorize their genre as early Western swing, trad jazz, bluegrass or country blues. The truth is closer to that golden time when American music was just fun, before categories like ‘blues,’ ‘country,’ and ‘jazz’ meant much of anything. Their music can quiet to a whisper, but then “hellaciously” can kick into a wail.” They have been honored multiple times as the Mid-Atlantic's "Artist of the Year," and "Best Country/Americana Band" at the Washington Area Music Awards.