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LOUISVILLE, KY, (July 29, 2021) – The National Jug Band Jubilee returns to the Brown-Forman Amphitheater in Waterfront Park on Saturday, September 18, 2021. This will be the 16th festival for the non-profit organization. This year’s headlining performer will be acoustic blues talent Jontavious Willis, a 25-year-old multi-instrumentalist who was nominated for a Grammy in 2020 thanks to his latest album, Spectacular Class. The complete line-up for the 2021 National Jug Band Jubilee will be announced very soon!

Willis hails from Greenville, Georgia. He grew up singing gospel music at the Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church with his grandfather. Willis was drawn to blues music after watching a video of Muddy Waters performing “Hoochie Coochie Man.” He was later mentored by legendary bluesman Taj Mahal who has said, “That’s my Wonderboy, the Wunderkind. Jontavious is a great new voice of the 21st century in the acoustic blues.”

Part of the National Jug Band Jubilee’s mission is to preserve Louisville’s jug band legacy through education as well as music. The Jubilee board has joined forces with the Louisville Historical Society to present “Lost Sounds: Rediscovering Black Fiddlers” on Friday, September 17 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Roots 101 African American Museum, 124 N. 1st St. This panel discussion on Black fiddlers will explore the contributions of Kentuckiana musicians like bandleader Henry Hart, Clifford Hayes of the Louisville Jug Band, the Booker Family Orchestra, and Jess Ferguson of Whistler’s Jug Band. The event will also feature live music and a cash bar. Admission is free, but there is a suggested donation of $10 to benefit Roots 101.

The National Jug Band Jubilee is excited to be back on the banks of the Ohio River, celebrating this unique form of river music – as it should be. Louisville is the acknowledged home of jug band music, a pre-war 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 man’s tuba”), kazoos and washboards. By the time the sound reached its peak in the 1930s, it had infiltrated towns up and down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, especially Memphis and New Orleans. Louisville Jug Bands were the first to record, with Sara Martin recording “Blue Devil Blues” with the Dixieland Jug Blowers in 1924.

The 2021 National Jug Band Jubilee will take place on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at the Brown-Forman Amphitheater in Waterfront Park. The music at begins at 1pm and ends at 10 p.m. In addition to the bands, the Jubilee features other fun activities for kids ages 2 to 82. There is also great local vending, food, beer and wine. Lots of kid’s activities. And as always, the National Jug Band Jubilee will take a break from the music at 4 p.m. for several workshops. Learn to blow a jug, play a washboard, washtub bass, kazoo and more! The Jubilee is a free event.

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