Like an old-time barn dance in downtown New Orleans, the Bumper Jacksons pull together a vast array of early American traditions into a deliciously cohesive sound that strikes you right in the heart. Joyous ragtime dances and roadhouse drinking songs are valleyed by delicate waltzes of loss and regret.
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The Bumper Jacksons began humbly in 2012 as a passionately driven project by the band’s two songwriters, Jess Eliot Myhre and Chris Ousley, who shared a common love for the old sounds. Jess, a New Orleans-inspired clarinetist and vocalist, traded tunes and dance moves with the biblically-bearded Chris, an old time banjo player and guitarist. The Bumper Jacksons started as an experiment in pushing the sonic limits of country two-steps and waltzes. They honed their chops into the dark jazz clubs of New Orleans as well as their favorite old-time fiddler’s conventions throughout the southern Appalachian mountains.
The core of the Bumper Jacksons’ sound has matured quickly over these few short years and expanded to include Dave Hadley (pedal steel), Alex Lacquement (upright bass, vocals), and Dan Samuels (drum kit, suitcase) and Brian Priebe (trombone). The success of the band’s last two albums - Too Big World (2015) and Sweet Mama, Sweet Daddy Come In (2014) demonstrate the ongoing refinement of their rich and rustic sound that explores a full spectrum of human emotion in its goal for the caramel core of Americana.
They’ve built a strong community of fans around their sound at home and it was through this community’s support that the Bumper Jackson’s have garnered the respect of regional arts organizations (2013-14 Washington Area Music Award winners, 2015-16 Strathmore Music Hall Artists in Residence, recipients of the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Touring Grant, two-time winners of the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest). With such deep local support, they’ve been able to push out into new cities and communities across North America.
So whether it’s a packed house in a historic amphitheater or a fireside in the hills of western Maryland, the intimate ballads, growly blues, and fast paced dance tunes will call you into another world that’s at once like home and the road. Their truly Americana sound grab at your soul and connect you with over 150 years of musical roots. If you’ve got lips, they’ll smile… if you’ve got feet, they’ll dance… if you’ve got a heartbeat, it’ll quicken… all when you hear the sounds of the Bumper Jacksons.
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