Jug Band Music in New England

Hi jug band fans,

Before the pandemic, my jug band (The Squeakeasy Jug Band) sponsored a monthly jam in my home town of Arlington, MA (outside of Boston). In a few short months, we were drawing 50+ musicians of all stripes (quite a cacophony: got to keep them washboard players in synch! :)) We are looking for a venue to revive our jam in September 2021. I'm happy to hear from any cafe members who may be interested in getting on my email list so they can join us when we restart.

Two other items:

1. I've been trying to compile a list of "all things jug band" in Greater Boston and beyond: upcoming concerts, jams, etc. Right now, it's taken the form of a meet-up site.
https://www.meetup.com/Jug-Band-Music-in-New-England/
Please feel free to join, and let me know if you have a New England-based jug band event you'd like me to post.

2. Our local jug bands have been itching to perform after the long shut-down. We are hosting a free outdoor jug band concert - "The Great Jug Band Mess-Around" - on the evening of August 21 on the Charles River in Boston. It will feature our band, Squeakeasy, plus High Maintenance Jug Band and the Outrageous Fortune Trio. Details on the meetup site: https://www.meetup.com/Jug-Band-Musi...nts/278137760/


I'd love to chat with anyone else on the Cafe who is interested in jug band music and how to keep it vibrant. Around these parts, we are lucky that Jim Kweskin has moved back to the area, and equally fortunate that we have several active bands. I'm sure there are more jug bands in New England that I don't know about: let me know!

Michael Buonaiuto
http://thejugnut.com/

Yeah, over 100 views and no replies ... That deafening roar of responses you don't hear is indicative of the level of interest here. :( I know only one other guy here who's ventured into this area, and I haven't seen him mention it in a while. I've been in a couple jug bands, both in the Northeast, but not now nor for a long time, and I'm not there anymore, so I won't be much help. I'd say you could try contacting Washboard Slim and the Blue Lights, out of New Haven, but I doubt pros like them are going to be interested. I suggest you try facebook - the Jug Band Music! group is pretty active. Good luck!

Sounds like a lot of fun, good luck with the project.
I’m guessing one way to do it would be to associate the band with some other association(s). Street festival, something to do with food (!)
And have a leader who is very proactive in terms of repertoire printouts, on the internet practice tracks, and flexible with the music to keep people coming. (I’m guessing that if it’s alcohol driven then it might not cater to enough people?)
Please post vids of your next show!

A friend of a friend plays in Outrageous Fortune. They're pretty great. They do a great rendition of Louis Armstrong's "My Walking Stick."

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Originally Posted by jaycat

A friend of a friend plays in Outrageous Fortune. They're pretty great. They do a great rendition of Louis Armstrong's "My Walking Stick."

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Agreed! They are fine musicians. Outrageous Fortune played at our first northeast jug band festival in 2019. I’m looking forward to sharing the stage with them at our upcoming “jug band mess around”.

Well, bravo! If I lived in the Boston area, I'd be interested, but i'm in central VT, and busy with several acoustic roots/vintage jazz musical projects already. Best of luck!

Dave in VT

Sounds cool. I'm trying to organize a group of friends and relatives to bring a picnic and come out to listen.
Haven't been down to Boston in a long time.

Had a close encounter with a Boston area jug band musician the other day when I sold a vintage exercise bike to a member of the Busted Jug Band. He's planning on making it into a seated, pedal actuated washboard type contraption, which he plans to bring to an event in Kentucky in September. I asked him to let me see it when it's done. :))

Anyway, conversation turned to music and he recommended to me their video "Jugs In Space". It's pretty corny but yet entertaining and long, with some mandolin content. I felt inclined to share. Hope it's okay to put it here.

I can't say as I've ever really heard (or seen, to be honest) anything quite like this before in my life :)

Love it Sue, who wants to start a jug band?

Try watching Red Dwarf for something non musical space crazy.

Normally I'd say, yeah, let's do it. But starting a jug band around here is probably going to be tough. First of all, members are spread out all over the country and around the world, so the logistics of practicing, playing, and gigging will be challenging. And in all likelihood, there will be too many mandolins and not enough banjos. ;)

Thanks for the post, Sue. “Busted” was one in the bands that participated in our first annual (and last due to covid, for the time being) Great Northeast Jug Band Festival in 2019. They bring “hokum” - a feature of historic jug bands- to a whole new level, one that my jug band can only aspire to. Many of us in the jug band world use found objects to make noise - and they have some particularly creative devices. I hadn’t seen that particular video - thanks!

I bet that “event” they are gearing up for is the National Jug Band Jubilee, head in Louisville each September.
http://www.jugbandjubilee.com/

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Originally Posted by mjbee

Thanks for the post, Sue. “Busted” was one in the bands that participated in our first annual (and last due to covid, for the time being) Great Northeast Jug Band Festival in 2019. They bring “hokum” - a feature of historic jug bands- to a whole new level, one that my jug band can only aspire to. Many of us in the jug band world use found objects to make noise - and they have some particularly creative devices. I hadn’t seen that particular video - thanks! /[/url]

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You mean like the rubber chickens :)) !
(toward the end, but very impressive)

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Originally Posted by mjbee

I bet that “event” they are gearing up for is the National Jug Band Jubilee, head in Louisville each September.
http://www.jugbandjubilee.com/

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Yes, that was it!

I live in the Boston area, and am down for anything jugbanded. (Slide resonator, acoustic fingerstyle guitar, mandolin, and saw).

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Originally Posted by Dave Richard

Well, bravo! If I lived in the Boston area, I'd be interested, but i'm in central VT, and busy with several acoustic roots/vintage jazz musical projects already. Best of luck!

Dave in VT

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Hello from Santa Cruz, CA. I play a 1931 National Style 1 mandolin and Triolian Resonator with the Trolley Drops Jug Band. Check out our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thetrolleydrops/

and if you are ever in Santa Cruz, we hold a First Thursday Jug Band Jam open to all! Come and join in!

I am also interested in your Northeast group as my wife and I bought a cabin in Hanover, NH and we regularly go through Boston... l hope we can join you next Spring or Summer.
Attachment 197642

When you're in Hanover, you wont be too far from the instrument candy store, aka The Wildwood Flower, a place that would be very dangerous to my wallet if I lived much closer :mandosmiley:

https://jakewildwood.blogspot.com/

BTW that pickup truck behind you is awesome!

When you say "First Thursday" you mean that occurs on the first Thursday of the month, right? There was a first Friday Hootenanny and Potluck in New Haven for a dozen years or more, so I recognize the locution. (I think). Just making sure. ;)

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Originally Posted by Paul F

I live in the Boston area, and am down for anything jugbanded. (Slide resonator, acoustic fingerstyle guitar, mandolin, and saw).

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Things are quiet in the New England jug band delta-variant world at the moment, but hopefully more jams and concerts will be happening in 2022. I'll be continuing to list "all things jug band" in Greater Boston and beyond: upcoming concerts, jams, etc. at a meetup site https://www.meetup.com/Jug-Band-Music-in-New-England/
Please feel free to join, and let me know if you have a New England-based jug band event you'd like me to post.

Update: our near-Boston jug band jam is finally up and running again! Second Tuesday of the month in Arlington MA. Details here: https://meetu.ps/c/4p9kz/jMDHP/a

A Celtic jam used to meet downstairs at the Fox Library in East Arlington MA, check with them about having your's there.

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Originally Posted by mjp179

A Celtic jam used to meet downstairs at the Fox Library in East Arlington MA, check with them about having your's there.

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Thanks for the tip! Our new home is working out well, though - we’re now a “second Tuesday of the month” fixture, and they serve beer! We’ve had upwards of 35 people at each jam so far, with a sprinkling of mandolins within the washboards and kazoos. Great fun.