Worth & Strain

Drawing from a variety of roots and blues influences with a modern flare, Worth & Strain are an inimitable acoustic duo. Christopher Worth & David Jacobs-Strain began playing together in 2018 after jamming around a songwriters fire and soon after were invited to play a variety of main stage sets at US festivals across the west coast. Within only a couple months they hit the studio to track what would become Rhududu Sessions Volumes 1 & 2.

Tracked live with minimal editing or overdubs, Rhududu Sessions Vols. 1 & 2 features original material from both writers, several co-writes, and a cover of the cult classic Robert Johnson song “Cross Road Blues.” Though their command of craft is clear from the first note, it is the rawness and honesty of the performances that are most impactful. David’s delicate and fine touch on slide guitar is the perfect complement to Christopher’s rhythmic backbeat, and the two both have rich voices that blend together seamlessly. Above all it is their attention to space and dynamic that sets these recordings aside.

Since the release of Rhududu Sessions, Worth & Strain dove into cowriting almost all their material together and have spent the past two years crafting their debut full length album, Xavanadu (scheduled for release in 2023). Xavanadu builds off some of the sonic landscapes of their first EP’s but represents a next step in the duo’s songwriting, craft, and performance. Their sound itself has gelled into a rich and expansive acoustic palette that feels more cohesive and singular than before. The two are singing in unison at times and, at others, trading off more complicated vocal harmonies and interwoven guitar licks. Lyrically, Xavanadu explores a variety of themes that forge into deeper waters than their prior material. Despite all this evolution, the sound of Worth & Strain remains rooted in the simple power and timelessness of two voices and two acoustic guitars singing together.


Between them they have shared stages with (to name a few): Etta James, Robert Plant, Allen Stone, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Rising Appalachia, SaQi, The Polish Ambassador, Dirtwire, John Craigie, Shook Twins, Fruition, and many more…