SPECIAL TO THE REPORTER
In their live shows, the Jake Leg Stompers present Pre-War Roots Music on period instruments in lively, authentic styles. The band opens the Mountain Valley Arts Council’s spring Concerts in the Park series on Thursday, April 18.Special to The Reporter
Mountain Valley Arts Council is starting its spring Concerts in the Park on Thursday, April 18 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Errol Allan Park in Guntersville.
It’s time to put your folding chairs in your trunk and come out to enjoy a great lineup of area musicians for six Thursday evenings in a row. You can pick up food at nearby restaurants and food trucks before the concert starts.
The April 18 opener features the Jake Leg Stompers. Although the band members’ musical roots date much earlier, by 2006 they increasingly started taking their “Chicken-Fried Pre-war Hokum-billy Jug” music on the road, playing regional festivals whether or not they were asked to.
Acclaimed for their spirited, eclectic, and wildly unpredictable street performances, the Stompers were even sometimes asked to play on the stage for actual money.
In their live shows, the Jake Leg Stompers present Pre-War Roots Music on period instruments in lively, authentic styles. The Stompers capture the rebellious spirit of pre-1941 American music from Memphis Jug bands to Appalachian Hillbilly to Fats Waller, when folk music was still considered dangerous.
Currently, the Stompers are cruising to stardom on the strength of their third and greatest album, “Hill Country Hoodoo,” produced and recorded by Jimbo Mathus of Squirrel Nut Zippers fame at his studio in Como, Mississippi.
For this project, the Stompers were joined by Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars, Jimbo Mathus, the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, Rev. John Wilkins (son of the late blues legend Robert Wilkins) and Mississippi cum Tokyo blues artist Steve Gardner.
“Hill Country Hoodoo” has received extensive airplay on XM satellite radio and is currently a top-selling album in both the blues and folk categories on CDBaby.com.
For more details about the individual band members and their records, check out their bios on jakelegstompers/bios.
The lineup for the rest of the concert series is:
April 25 – Emily Joseph Band (classic rock)
May 2 – Los Amigos (Mariachi – just in time for Cinco de Mayo)
May 9 – Foster (with new band members)
May 15 – The Stranded Band from Fort Payne
May 23 – Hard on Chickens
If the weather is threatening, check Mountain Valley Arts Council on mvacarts.org, Facebook, or Instagram to find out if the concert is rescheduled or where the concert will be held inside.
This concert series is free to the public through the generosity of Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) grants, city of Guntersville, and generous MVAC members and business sponsors.
