DESCRIPTION

Eric & Suzy Thompson, from Berkeley, California, specialize in old-time music from the American South, at the intersection of Cajun, country blues and Appalachian – warped fiddle tunes in odd tunings, cinematic ballads, hot flatpicking on guitar and mandolin, prewar blues songs with mysterious metaphors, Cajun dance music with incomprehensible yet emotional lyrics, and the occasional danzon or kalamatiano. They use fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and the 10-stringed Puerto Rican cuatro, and occasionally the Cajun accordion. Eric's flatpicking is a model of tone and tastiness; his recent CD, Kleptograss, is a multi-cultural romp with an all-star lineup including Jody Stecher and Scott Nygaard. Suzy is a powerful blues singer and an award-winning fiddler who apprenticed with older Louisiana Cajun musicians under an NEA Fellowship; last year she was chosen as Artistic Director of the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes (Port Townsend, WA). Eric and Suzy are the driving force behind their hometown homegrown Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, and are veterans of dozens of bands: Todalo Shakers, Any Old Time, Black Mountain Boys, Bluegrass Intentions, California Cajun Orchestra, and many more. In recent years, their musical collaborators have included Geoff Muldaur, Jim Kweskin, Jody Stecher, Foghorn String Band, Del Rey, Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum, Steve James, and Ginny Hawker, among others. With more than thirty years of music-making behind them, they have an enormous repertoire of songs and tunes, and will be happy to play your requests!