The Palms Playhouse

Live music venue in Winters, CA

BEN HUNTER & JOE SEAMONS – FRIDAY, APRIL 19 2019

8:00 PM, Doors at 7:30 PM

$20/$12 STUDENTS

www.benjoemusic.com

“Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons aren’t so much a throw-back to the music of the pre-war era songster tradition as they are alchemist-shamans, seemingly sent from those times to the 21st century to wake us up to the music that is embedded deep within us. It is our national heritage.”​ –  No Depression

Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons are songster revivalists who perform acoustic blues, field hollers, fiddle and banjo breakdowns, and early jazz that delights audiences in concerts and workshops nationwide. For seven years, their tours have extended their work as teachers and community organizers in their home of Seattle, Washington. With their unique integration of performance, education, and modern-day folklore, this duo redefines the role of a songster in the 21st century.

They have learned at the feet of the elders of the acoustic blues tradition. Their musical kinship and sense of joy in interpreting this music is evident and was the basis of an invitation from Dom Flemons (formerly of the Carolina Chocolate Drops) to tour and record for his album Prospect Hill. Rather than thinking of their music as blues, it’s best to situate Ben and Joe as American songsters. A songster traditionally refers to an artist whose repertoire is much broader than the old blues, and spans many of the genres that Ben and Joe inhabit. Uncle Dave Macon, Robert Johnson, and Charlie Patton are classic examples of songsters. Their music hews to the rough-and-tumble collisions of musical inspirations from the early 20th century; music that paved the way for everything we enjoy today.

In January of 2016, the Washington Blues Society sent Ben and Joe to the 26th annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. There, they were awarded first place—out of 94 solo/duo acts representing 16 countries—for their unique blend of  a cappella field hollers, fiddle and banjo breakdowns, and duet distillations of early jazz.

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