This weekend (July 11-12), roll up your sleeves for some hootin’, hollerin’ barn-burnin’ revelry – and you don’t even have to leave the city. The Great American Roots Stomp is back: a two-night Brooklyn festival showcasing eight acclaimed local bands audaciously bringing Americana roots back into the spotlight. Don’t miss it this Friday and Saturday at Park Slope’s eclectic watering hole Union Hall (while there, pick up a copy of our Ten Year Anniversary OIssue!.
Friday night features a range of high-energy performances, from bluegrass to country to jazz. Jumbo Brown (pictured and streaming) is a group of wild southern boys bringing the sounds of a back porch jam, gold rush piano parlor, and a Mardi Gras parade to the big city. Bobtown‘s compelling blend of voices and instruments move gracefully between elegy and celebration. The Melody Allegra Band‘s virtuosic instrumentals include Melody’s own fiddling, which has been featured on an episode of House of Cards. Seth Kessel & the Two Cent Band moves effortlessly from Prohibition-era swing to gypsy jazz to 1950s rock ’n’ roll without skipping a beat.
Saturday night features strong songwriting and colorful voices. Union Street Preservation Society, an irresistibly lively string band with a Cash-Carter dynamic, weaves new songs from the fabric of bluegrass, old-time and early jazz. Jan Bell & The Maybelles‘ lilting harmonies combine sounds from backroads America with a UK coal mining background; they are winner of the 2008 Independent Music Awards’ Alt. Country Album of the year. The Alex Mallett Band offers genre-jumping, banjo-driven sing-a-long songs with a strong beat and an uncanny wit. Opening the night, Sara Bouchard & the Salt Parade‘s signature salty-sweet vocals will stop you in your tracks while smart, colorful lyrics – taken from history books and other unlikely sources – will hold you hypnotized.