Gowanus Jug and String Band Sessions
Tuesdays April through October 6:00 – 8:30 PM 

What Jug band and String band music?

Let’s start with String band music. Black String band music, which will be our focus, was created by Southern Blacks and pre-dates the Blues & Jazz. Groups which consisted of mostly stringed instruments (guitar, banjo, bass, violin, mandolin, ukulele, etc) performed a wide variety of songs and styles for all manner of social functions and for personal enjoyment; two-steps, waltzes and breakdowns for dances, ballads and love songs, humorous & novelty songs, as well as blues, jazz, and pop tunes as they came into fashion. This genre, sadly, was under-represented by the burgeoning recording industry in the 1920’s and 30’s, which helped contribute to its already declining popularity in the wake of the success of the Blues and Jazz: though groups like the Mississippi Sheiks and the Dallas String Band did make great and popular recordings. The genre never completely died out, however, and is alive and well today thanks to the perseverance of its practitioners and the dedication of its fans, which has led to a rediscovery and a new appreciation by audiences young and old.

Jug band music developed in the early 20th century within Southern Black communities and was essentially a string band with a jug used as a “poor man’s tuba”, in the role of a bass instrument. Other household items as instruments were popular as well; washboard and/or spoons for percussion, washtub bass, and kazoo. These combined with the guitars, banjos, mandolins/violins of the traditional string band, along with the harmonica, made for a unique sound that won the hearts of the public in the early days of the recording industry. The Memphis Jug Band and Cannon’s Jug Stompers recorded well over a hundred examples of blues, ballads, pop and dance numbers – and they’re just the tip of the iceberg. The genre found new life in the Folk Music Revival of the 1960’s and remains popular to this day.
These sessions will be open to Intermediate and above players, and we encourage you to sing along and bring a song to lead. To lead a song, you will be expected to sing it loudly enough for those around you to hear, to know the key you will sing in, and to explain the chord changes and form of the song if need be. We may also discuss some ideas for performing in an ensemble to help everyone find their place in the music.

Papa Ernie Vega is a NYC singer, instrumentalist, bandleader, teacher, songwriter and performing/recording artist. He has over 20 years of professional experience and has performed at the Newport Folk Festival, the Jug Band Jubilee and the Osaka Jug Band Festival. He also taught and performed at the Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival from 2016-2021. He is a lover of fine cheap food, old movies, humor, and photography.