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National Jug Band Jubilee

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*  Jug band music relieves tension                                                                  Heather Leoncini

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11th Annual National Jug Band Jubilee Bringing Fun Downtown

LOUISVILLE, KY, (August 15, 2015) – The 2015 National Jug Band Jubilee takes place at the Brown-Forman Amphitheater on Saturday, September 19. This is the festival’s 11th anniversary and the organizers have a few special treats for fans this year. The highlight of the 2015 National Jug Band Jubilee will be recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Juggernaut Jug Band. Formed at Waggener High School in 1965, the Juggernaut members have spread the gospel of jug band music throughout the nation through their concerts, workshops, and volunteer work. The Juggernaut Jug Band is also one of two bands, the Cincinnati Dancing Pigs being the other, who have performed at every National Jug Band Jubilee!

The 2015 National Jug Band Jubilee also has a lot of other fun scheduled. In addition to hosting some of the best jug bands from around the country – and for the first time this year – CANADA, this year’s festival will include a special children’s jug band performance, several workshops between bands, and much more. Author Michael L. Jones will be on hand to autograph copies of his book, “Louisville Jug Music: From Earl McDonald to the National Jubilee”, winner of the 2014 Sam Thomas Book Award from the Louisville Historical League.

The complete line-up for this year’s Jubilee is below:

  • Juggernaut Jug Band – Louisville, KY
  • Steel City Jug Slammers – Birmingham, AL
  • Side Street Steppers – Memphis, TN
  • The Gallus Brothers – Bellingham, WA
  • Ever-Lovin’ Jug Band – Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
  • Bones, Jugs N Harmony – Urbana, IL
  • Cincinnati Dancing Pigs – Cincinnati, OH
  • Bourbonville Buskers – Louisville, KY
  • How Long Jug Band – Portland, OR

The National Jug Band Jubilee was created to celebrate the legacy of jug band music in the River City. Louisville is the acknowledged home of jug band music, a pre-war jazz style that features traditional and homemade instruments. In the late 19th century, African American musicians walked the streets of the River City playing tunes on improvised instruments like empty liquor jugs (“the poor man’s tuba”), kazoos and washboards. By the time the sound reached its peak in the 1930s, it had infiltrated towns up and down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, especially Memphis and New Orleans.

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