Bumper Jacksons

Like an old-time barn dance in downtown New Orleans, the Bumper Jacksons pull together a vast array of early American traditions into a deliciously cohesive sound that strikes you right in the heart. Hard-swinging grooves and roadhouse drinking songs are valleyed by delicate waltzes of loss and regret. At the center of it all, is an invitation to join in – be it a rowdy dance, a moment of soulful intimacy, or a movement to make a better world.

The Bumper Jacksons have a steadily rising list of honors: Washington Area Music Awards Artists of the Year, Best Folk Album, Best Folk Group (2014-2016); Strathmore Artists-in-Residence; Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Touring Artists for 2016-2018 and others. They’ve also just signed with Opus 3 Artists (among greats such as Yo-Yo Ma, Roseanne Cash, Bela Fleck, & Wynton Marsalis) for their national representation. This success blossomed from their simple beginnings in 2012 as a country-meets-city duet between Jess Eliot Myhre (clarinet, vocals, washboard) and Chris Ousley (acoustic & electric guitar, vocals, banjo) in the backyards, living rooms and front porches of DC and Baltimore. They crafted a sound built from their time exploring the smoky jazz clubs of New Orleans and old-time fiddler’s festivals throughout the southern Appalachians. From the beginning, they focused on honest deliveries and energetic performances.

After Chris and Jess established the roots of the Bumper Jacksons’ sound, it quickly drew in the rest of the Bumper Jacksons members and matured into what you hear today. Dave Hadley (pedal steel), Alex Lacquement (upright bass, vocals), Dan Samuels (drum kit), & Joe Brotherton (trumpet) who masterfully amplify and diversify the tone, rhythm and power that defines the band’s core sound. The success of the band’s last three albums - I've Never Met a Stranger (2017), Too Big World (2015), and Sweet Mama, Sweet Daddy Come In (2014)– demonstrate the ongoing refinement of their scrappy-yet-elegant, familiar-yet-reaching sound that explores a full spectrum of human emotion in its goal for the caramel core of Americana.