A rare billing whose musicological value matches that of its entertainment potential, Banjo Tramps features three cross-generational artists, each representing different lengths of the same folky string. Tramp, vagabond, troubadour, all are slight shufflings on the idea of traveler and people’s poet. Tim O’Brien is the most renowned, and the common thread (having recorded with both), of the group. Born in 1940, J.D. Hutchinson has a catalog that spans the greatest stylistic breadth, from bluegrass through Delta blues to Randy Newman-esque piano rags — with his songwriting getting good coverage in O’Brien’s Hot Rize. Nova Scotian Old Man Luedecke is the younger, and the one for whom banjo is most the most centric in his story-rich, Appalachian-inspired songs. These days, especially in the case of roots music, touring is the way to put bread on the table, and banding together is how they get their ideas across. CY WINSTANLEY
Banjo Tramps w/Tim O'Brien, Old Man Luedecke & J.D. Hutchinson
