“...Still a masterful guitarist and storyteller... effortless, gently driving finger-picking style...” – The Guardian
“Kweskin virtually single-handedly created what was a significant musical genre in the USA in the early 1960s... traditional, old-school folk music delivered by an absolute master of the genre.” – Elmore Magazine
“Samoa Wilson [is] able to sing with depth and feeling in any style of music. ... The tunes share humor, sweet melody, driving rhythm, tension, and release. … a highly entertaining listen.” – Glide Magazine
Jim Kweskin is the founder of the legendary 1960s Jim Kweskin Jug Band with Fritz Richmond, Geoff Muldaur, Maria Muldaur, Mel Lyman, and Bruno Wolfe. During the five years they were together, they successfully transformed the sounds of pre-World War II rural music into a springboard for their good-humored performances. Their imitators were legion, including a San Francisco jug band that became the Grateful Dead, a Los Angeles jug band that became the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and a New York jug band that became the Lovin’ Spoonful.
These days Jim is best known as a singer and bandleader, but he also created one of the bedrock guitar styles of the folk revival, adapting the ragtime-blues fingerpicking of artists like Mississippi John Hurt and Pink Anderson to the more complex chords of pop and jazz.
Jim Kweskin’s shows radiate charm, humor, sophistication and talent. There’s an endearing sense of good humor to Kweskin’s interpretations that makes his performances a delight. Because of his vast repertoire and love of the music, Kweskin is recognized as one of the best interpreters of the great American songbook.
Samoa Wilson has been captivating audiences since she was 12 years old with a voice the New York Times calls “sweet, effortless, old-timey.” Raised in the riverbed of traditional North American folk music, she came up in the Boston scene, under the wing of jug band and folk legend Jim Kweskin. Her two duos – the Four O’Clock Flowers and Fatboy Wilson & Old Viejo Bones – have become staples of the thriving New York City folk community.