Events
Current
2nd Tuesday of each month, 7-9 pm
Jug Band Jam
Oakshire Beer Hall
5013 NE 42nd Ave, Portland
facebook.com
If you're interested in good-time blues and ragtime music or are looking for a low-key group to practice your skills, join our jug band jam. Anyone can play or listen.
former
November 3, 2018
Charlie Burse Gravestone Benefit
Artichoke Music, Portland
charliebursetribute.com
Since honoring Will Shade in 2008, I've wanted to do the same for his right hand man in the Memphis Jug Band. This project came to life with help from the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund, and became extra special when I found a couple of Burse's grandkids still living in Memphis and excited to participate.
Early Spring, 2012-2016
Jugapalooza
Various venues, Portland
jugapalooza.com
This annual showcase featured the best local jug bands, plus contests and events like a jug-off, a washboard whack-off and a fashion show. The fourth year was a jug band scramble and the fifth event featured dance lessons on dances mentioned in old songs.
January 29, 2013
National Kazoo Day Open Mic
Mississippi Pizza, Portland
facebook.com
In honor of National Kazoo Day, this kazoo-themed open mic featured store-bought, homemade and vintage kazoos with solo performers, bands and a poetry reading.
October 3, 2010
McCoy Brothers Gravestone Benefit
Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago
mccoybrotherstribute.com
Restvale Cemetery in Chicago is the famous burial location of Muddy Waters and Big Walter Horton, but two earlier blues pioneers were buried near each other in unmarked graves in a rear section. My second gravestone benefit concert was ambitious for the wider range of genres it spanned (the McCoys played blues, jazz and jug band music) and for the goal of buying two gravestones.
Late Fall 2008-2015
Chicago Battle of the Jug Bands
Various venues, Chicago
youtube.com
The Minneapolis Battle of the Jug Bands is such a thrilling event that it inspired me to try a similar event in Chicago. The first edition in 2008 was a blowout, and it kept going for eight editions, with Skip Landt taking over in 2010.
January 27, 2008
Will Shade Gravestone Benefit
Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago
willshadetribute.com
My first trip to Memphis took a somber turn when I found that my jug band hero, Will Shade, was buried in a pauper's cemetery. Inspired by an earlier effort for Gus Cannon, I located the exact grave location, then organized this benefit concert to buy a gravestone. Check out the videos of performances by Charlie Musselwhite and the Carolina Chocolate Drops, or of the inspiring dedication ceremony in Memphis the following spring.