About the Artist
Bumper Jacksons are hot and sweet, painting America's story from the streets of New Orleans to Appalachian hollers. Unafraid to scrap together new sounds from forgotten 78's, the Bumper Jacksons elegantly balance paying homage to the traditions while fashioning their own unique, playful style. The group began as a duo, a city-meets-country experiment between songstress Jess Eliot Myhre and banjo player Chris Ousley. They hopped on bicycles, touring the country, instruments on their backs, seeking to reimagine roots music. In five short years, Bumper Jacksons grew to a fiery five-piece, with horns and pedal steel. They now tour internationally, and have been honored multiple times as the Mid-Atlantic's "Artist of the Year," "Best Country/Americana Band" & "Best Folk Band" at the Washington Area Music Awards. Bursting at the seams with some of the richest threads of old America, Bumper Jacksons bring you into the center of a party where everyone's invited and the dance floor never sleeps.
DUO FORMAT:
Entering a Bumper Jacksons Duo show is warm and inviting, like opening the front door of a neighbor who's just taken bread out of the oven. Roots jazz rhythms and country swing harmonies are vignetted by stories and sounds of Appalachia. Come in, take a seat, and be woven into a musical story that never stops being told. Bumper Jacksons' co-founders Jess Eliot Myhre and Chris Ousley lead with their signature sun-dappled vocal harmonies, and the multi-instrumentalists trade off on strings and horns, playing fresh originals and dusted-off tunes from their great-grandparent's coat closet. But don't let their disarming folksiness fool you: their performance is silver-polished and highly acclaimed. Bumper Jacksons have been honored multiple times as the Mid-Atlantic's "Artist of the Year" & "Best Traditional Band" by the Washington Area Music Awards while both Jess and Chris as individuals are award-winning songwriters, alumns of the Strathmore Artists-in-Residence program, and regular Maryland State Arts Council grant recipients. You can find Chris and Jess performing and teaching as a duo at ukulele festivals, music camps, house concerts, and smaller, more intimate venues.
