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| "Out standing in their field" |
The band formed while hanging out at the home of their mutual friend Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders, where they also met bandmate and mentor John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers. Their music reflects and extends the strong feeling and diversity of sounds found on old commercial and field recordings from as early as the 1920s and 1930s. The Down Hill Strugglers carry forward the sounds of the old, rural America.
The Down Hill Strugglers are:
Walker Shepard - fiddle, banjo, guitar, harmonica, voice
Jackson Lynch - fiddle, banjo, guitar, voice
Eli Smith - banjo, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, Jews harp, pump organ, voice
The band was co-founded by John Cohen (1932-2019)
Some Quotes About the Band:
“The Down Hill Strugglers are, to my ears, the very best interpreters of traditional material presently going.”
- Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker
"Many string bands have the tunes but not the chops. Some have chops and tunes, but can't achieve lift-off, marching along politely like so many historical reenactors. But the Down Hill Strugglers hit the trifecta, pulling their bows deftly across the best numbers in the old-time songbook with more grit and style than just about any group fiddling away today."
- Nathan Salsburg, Curator, Alan Lomax Archive.
“The Down Hill Strugglers bring back the true spirit of Old Time Music, where
every singer invented his own performance. Besides being excellent
musicians on fiddle, banjo and guitar, pump organ, harmonica, etc.,
they sing with the high voices that echo the sounds of young artists
heard on the old 78s, evoking the spirit of the “Golden Era” of
recording, and the mystery of their own identity.
They have built their repertoire from some of the best music of the
past and they keep it alive and lively. They have found resonance with
the intensity of rural music, while delighting in the nuances that
preserve the individual uniqueness of the genre. This is music that
will keep your mind dancing.
The Down Hill Strugglers are reaching for new musical highs, and they play the kind of music I want to hear.”
- John Cohen, New Lost City Ramblers.
“A really excellent stringband! They make this old music alive and present.”
- Bob Fass, WBAI 99.5fm New York.
“Here’s three of my favorite people to play and sing with ever, kicking
musical ass all over the landscape. If you like your trad/roots benter
and hotter than normal, you’ll love this!”
- Peter Stampfel, Holy Modal Rounders and Fugs.
Selected Appearances by the Down Hill Strugglers:
** The Down Hill Strugglers were formerly known as The Dust Busters.
Selected Appearances by the Down Hill Strugglers:
- The Kennedy Center - Washington D.C.
- Newport Folk Festival - Newport, RI
- The Library of Congress - Washington D.C.
- Vancouver Folk Festival - Vancouver, BC, CA
- Jalopy Theatre- Brooklyn, NY
- Brooklyn Folk Festival - Brooklyn, NY
- Washington Square Park Folk Festival - New York, NY
- Lime Kiln Theatre - Fries, VA
- Great Lakes Folk Festival - E. Lansing, MI
- The Freight and Salvage - Berkeley, CA
- The Old Town School of Folk Music - Chicago, IL
- Club Passim - Cambridge, MA
- Caffe Lena - Saratoga Springs, NY
- Ashokan Center, NY
- UC Berkeley, CA
- Oberlin College Folk Festival, OH
- Westport Bluegrass Festival - Ireland
- Borgas International Folk Festival - Bulgaria
- Black Banjo Gathering - Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
- Pickathon - Portland, OR
- Duke University - Durham, NC
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Woodsongs - Lexington, VA
- Mountain Stage - Bristol, TN
- Hillbilly Days - Pikeville, KY
- Whispering Beard Folk Festival - Friendship, IN
- City Winery - New York, NY
- Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
- The Bell House - Brooklyn, NY
- The Dock Boggs Festival - Norton, VA
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| The Down Hill Strugglers with John Cohen at the Washington Square Park Folk Festival. (Photo by J. Lee) |
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| On the porch with suits. |
