Tarbox Ramblers

• Blues
• Folk Rock
• Roots

Taking listeners to a place where Appalachian music, backwoods blues and rock ‘n’ roll meet in powerful, ever-changing combinations, The Tarbox Ramblers channel the ghosts of Charlie Patton, Bo Diddley and the torch singers of countless long-gone dives and roadhouses. They’re a four-man wrecking crew whose caveman rhythms, hillbilly violin and charismatic barbwire guitar led The Washington Post to call them “a force of nature.”

When they’re not busy tearing down the house the Ramblers can be a surprisingly lyrical band, playing more than a few lushly atmospheric songs. With nuanced lyrics and spiraling instrumental improvisations they’re among The Ramblers’ best work. They also testify to bandleader Michael Tarbox’s growing strength as a writer. His songs reflect a love of not just blues and country but the work of lyricists like Johnny Mercer, whose iconic “One For My Baby (and One More for the Road) ” is a song Tarbox will tell you he wishes he’d written.

Listen to The Tarbox Ramblers and you’ll hear musicians with an abiding sense of all that’s dangerous, dark and fun in American music. Guided by the spirit of Billie Holiday, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Geeshie Wiley and Dock Boggs, to name a few, their work values authentic emotion above all. The band’s rough-hewn sound is the perfect vehicle for getting their message across.

The Tarbox Ramblers are: Michael Tarbox, guitar and vocals; Adam Mujica, drums; Jim Haggerty, bass; Daniel Kellar, violin.