National Jug Band Jubilee named one of “15 Music Events to Attend in 2013!”
For Immediate Relief *
* Jug band music relieves tension
National Jug Band Jubilee named one of “15 Music Events to Attend in 2013!”
LOUISVILLE, KY, (August 15, 2013) – The 9th Annual National Jug Band Jubilee returns to the Brown- Foreman Amphitheater in Waterfront Park on Saturday, September 21, Noon-11 p.m. Louisville.com named the jubilee, which attracts bands and attendees from all over the country, one of “15 Music Events to Attend in 2013,” because it is free, family-friendly, and keeps getting better. In addition to the music, the festival also includes food vendors, a beer and wine booth, and a number of workshops for adults and children.
Louisville is the acknowledged home of jug music, a pre-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 […]
National Jug Band Jubilee promises the “happiest music on Earth”
Posted: Sep 18, 2014 5:48 AM EDTUpdated: Dec 01, 2014 4:20 AM EST
History
Louisville: Storied birthplace of jug band music
At the turn of the 20th century, the River City enjoyed the lively, traditional fiddle and guitar tunes of the day like everyone else.
But America’s 18th-largest city was harvesting music from an unlikely source: whisky jugs! The jugs abounded because of the community’s long association with bourbon. By the spring of 1900, jug band tunes were delighting citizens on the streets of Louisville.
In 1903, Kentucky Derby fans first heard the now legendary Louisville Jug Band. The tunes composed and recorded by Its leader, Earl McDonald, continue to have a positive impact on jug bands around the world. In July 2008, Japan’s Old Southern Jug Blowers released the CD album “The Jug Band Special” as a tribute to the 1920s recordings of Earl McDonald.
That’s the era in which the infectious rhythm of jug bands was serenading steamboat passengers up and down the Ohio River.
In the 1920s, Louisville’s proliferating jug bands were […]
Sara Martin Headstone unveiling
The Jubilee and the Kentuckiana Blues Society were successful in collecting enough funds to place a headstone for Sara Martin (1884-1955)!
Louisville native Sara Martin was one of the most popular classic blues singers of her time and her recordings with Louisville jug bands are thought to be the first jug band recordings ever made.
Click here to see Sara’s addition to our memorials page!
Click here to see photos of the headstone unveiling!