Jeffrey Foucault

• Roots
• Singer/Songwriter

In two decades on the road Jeffrey Foucault has become one of the most distinctive voices in American music, refining a sound instantly recognizable for its simplicity and emotional power. With a string of critically acclaimed studio albums – “Stark, literate songs that are as wide open as the landscape of his native Midwest” (The New Yorker), “Beat-up troubadour folk whittled to dolorous perfection” (Uncut), “Songwriting Brilliance,” (Irish Times) – he’s built a brick-and-mortar international touring career and a devoted following, one that includes luminaries like Van Dyke Parks, Greil Marcus, and Don Henley.

In September of 2024 Jeffrey Foucault will release THE UNIVERSAL FIRE (Fluff & Gravy, 9/6/24), his first album of entirely new material since 2018. A series of high-voltage performances cut live in one room, the album is both a working wake – Foucault lost his best friend and drummer Billy Conway, to cancer in 2021 – and a meditation on the nature of beauty, artifact, and loss.

Augmenting Foucault’s all-star band with members of Calexico and Bon Iver (drummer John Convertino and producer/saxophonist Mike Lewis) THE UNIVERSAL FIRE sets Conway’s death against the massive 2008 fire at the Universal Studios lot in California that destroyed the master recordings of some of our bedrock American music, to interrogate ideas about mortality, legacy, meaning, and calling.

Old Hat Stringband

• Bluegrass
• Old Time
• Roots

Old Hat is a string band based out of Eliot, Maine. Fusing tight vocal harmonies with a lively rhythm and groove section, Old Hat’s sound draws from bluegrass, old time, folk, and country traditions. The band is comprised of Whitney Roy (Guitar, Vocals), Steve Roy (Mandolin, Fiddle, Vocals), Amanda Kowalski (Bass), and Carolyn Kendrick (Fiddle, Vocals).

Whitney Roy’s lilting vocals provide the backbone of Old Hat’s vocal blend, while her solid rhythm guitar anchors the bands rhythm section.

Steve Roy is one of New England’s premier multi-instrumentalists, and has performed and toured with many of the acoustic world’s top acts.

Amanda Kowalski is one of the more sought-after bass players in the worlds of bluegrass and old time music, and her rhythmic drive and energy on stage are second to none.

Carolyn Kendrick is a California-based singer-songwriter, fiddler, guitarist, and producer. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, Kendrick crisscrossed the country with her former duo project The Page Turners. She has also shared the stage with beloved artists such as Bruce Molsky, Margo Price, Aoife O’Donovan, and Darol Anger, all while playing the festival circuit and winning numerous awards.