Singer

A powerfully gifted musician and a scholar of Black American music, Jake Blount speaks ardently about the African roots of the banjo and the subtle yet profound ways African Americans have shaped and defined the amorphous categories of roots music and Americana.

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Jake Blount Band

Bard College

Join us for an unforgettable evening of music with the Jake Blount, Nic Gareiss, Sammy Wetstein Trio on May 28, 2024, at 7:00 PM. This dynamic trio, known for their award-winning performances in folk, jazz, and world music, will take the stage to share their unique blend of vibrant synergy, deft movements, and stories long untold. Celebrating the vivacious rhythms and deep roots of America's eldest musics, they bring traditional songs, both familiar and arcane, to life in a performance not to be missed.

Jake Blount, hailing from Providence, RI, is a singer and multi-instrumentalist recognized as an Afrofuturist in roots-music garb by NPR. A 2021 Steve Martin Banjo Prize winner and a Smithsonian Folkways recording artist, he has been dubbed the King of Roots by American Songwriter. Nic Gareiss, a percussive dancer from Lansing, MI, has been named one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch and praised by The New York Times for his dexterous melding of Irish and Appalachian dance. In 2020, Gareiss received the Michigan Heritage Award, the highest honor his home state bestows on traditional artists. Sammy Wetstein, from Boston, MA, is a musician known for infusing folk and jazz music with improvisational creativity. Having performed at prestigious venues and festivals, he is currently a student at Berklee College of Music focusing on jazz and roots cello performance.

The trio's years of experience as performers, educators, and scholars in their respective traditions have drawn them close to the spontaneous creative force at the heart of music-making. This performance is a paean to both strong roots and musical co-infatuations traced in wood, flesh, and gesture.

The event will take place at Joe's Pub, with doors opening at 6PM. Tickets are priced at $25, exclusive of service fee, with a 2 drink or 1 food item minimum per person during the show. For last-minute tickets, please visit our Box Office at 425 Lafayette Street. Web sales and phone sales end when doors open, and tickets may be available for in-person, walk-up sale right before the show begins.

Don't miss this opportunity to experience the Jake Blount, Nic Gareiss, Sammy Wetstein Trio in a performance that celebrates the power of music and its ability to connect us to our roots and to each other.

Jake Blount, Nic Gareiss, Sammy Wetstein Trio

Joe's Pub

Join us for an unforgettable evening with Jake Blount at Caramoor on May 11, 2024, in Katonah, NY. This special performance, presented in collaboration with City Winery, will take place at 8:00pm in the American Roots Music Room. 

Jake Blount, an award-winning interpreter of Black folk music, will captivate the audience with his mastery of the banjo, fiddle, electric guitar, and synthesizer. His unique Afrofuturist approach blends centuries-old traditional songs with modern Black genres, creating a genrequeer experience that defies boundaries and celebrates the rich folk traditions of Black and indigenous Americans. 

Blount's performances are known for their energy and innovation, merging the acoustic with the electric, and the past with the present. His music has been recognized and celebrated by NPR, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and more, earning him the prestigious Steve Martin Banjo Prize among other accolades.

Don't miss this deeply fulfilling musical experience that promises to explore the roots and evolution of American music through the incredible talent of Jake Blount. Buy your tickets now and add this event to your calendar for an evening of powerful storytelling and mesmerizing music.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Caramoor website.

Jake Blount

The Rosen House at Caramoor

A powerfully gifted musician and a scholar of Black American music, Jake Blount speaks ardently about the African roots of the banjo and the subtle, yet profound ways African Americans have shaped and defined the amorphous categories of roots music and Americana. His 2020 album Spider Tales (named one of the year’s best albums by NPR and the New Yorker, earned a perfect 5-star review from the Guardian) highlighted the Black and Indigenous histories of popular American folk tunes, as well as revived songs unjustly forgotten in the whitewashing of the canon. Blount’s new album, The New Faith, is a towering achievement of dystopian Afrofuturism and his first album for Smithsonian Folkways (released September 23, 2022). The New Faith is spiritual music, filled with hope for salvation and righteous anger in equal measure. The album manifests our worst fears on the shores of an island in Maine, where Blount enacts an imagined religious ceremony performed by Black refugees after the collapse of global civilization due to catastrophic climate change. Blount’s music is rooted in care and confrontation. On stage, each song he and his band play is chosen for a reason—because it highlights important elements about the stories we tell ourselves of our shared history and our endlessly complicated present moment. The more we learn about where we’ve been, the better equipped we are to face the future.
This is Jake Blount’s San Diego premiere

Price Center

Jake Blount, Nic Gareiss, and Laurel Premo, award-winning folk performers, have joined forces in a bewitchment of rich tones, deft movements and stories long untold. Through traditional songs familiar and arcane, this new trio celebrates the deep rhythms and subtle harmonies of America’s eldest musics.

Jake Blount, Nic Gareiss, & Laurel Premo

Blackstone River Theatre is excited to welcome back Rhode Island favorites, The Vox Hunters, and also offer the BRT debut of the incredibly talented Jake Blount. Jake Blount is an award-winning banjoist, fiddler, singer currently based in Providence, RI. He is a 2020 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize. Blount specializes in the music of Black communities in the southeastern United States, and in the regional style of the Finger Lakes. He is also half of the internationally touring duo Tui, and a board member of Bluegrass Pride. A versatile performer, Blount interpolates blues, bluegrass and spirituals into the old-time string band tradition he belongs to. He foregrounds the experiences of queer people and people of color in his work. His teachers include Rhiannon Giddens, Bruce Molsky and Judy Hyman. He has claimed first place in both the Banjo and the Traditional Band categories at the prestigious Appalachian String Band Music Festival. Blount has shared his music and research at the Smithsonian Institution, Yale University, and Berklee School of Music, among other institutions. He has appeared on Radiolab, Soundcheck and NPR’s Weekend Edition and regularly teaches fiddle and banjo at festivals and camps like the Augusta Heritage Center and the Ashokan Center. His first full-length solo album, “Spider Tales,” debuted at #2 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart and earned five out of five stars as The Guardian’s Folk Album of the Month.

Jake Blount

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Events

Past events

Aug 15, 2024

Jake Blount Band · Bard College

May 28, 2024

Jake Blount, Nic Gareiss, Sammy Wetstein Trio · Public Theater

About

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