Mississippi Travelers
Alternately lyrical and hard driving, The Mississippi Travelers play the fiddle music and songs of Mississippi with deep knowledge of its past to make it sing in the present. Gems of this music are culled from Harry’s decade of research, which has so far produced two hefty books, and six recording projects. The old time music from Mississippi is a branch of the Appalachian tradition but with its own distinctive flair and rhythm. You will hear tunes with a touch of the blues, songs of longing and loss and just plain quirky pieces with names like, “Who’s Been Giving You Corn?,” “Sweet Milk and Peaches,” “Tequila Hop Blues.” As part of the effort to keep this fiddle dialect “walking and talking”, the Travelers also perform some of Harry’s tunes which are newly composed, but in the old style.
High resolution version of press photo above
The Mississippi Travelers are::
Harry Bolick, fiddle and vocals
Brian Slattery, banjo, fiddle and vocals
Jaques DiCroce, guitar
Charlie Shaw, bass
Video:
Who's Been Giving You Corn,Valley School Blues, and Lincoln County Blues.
Jackson Stomp,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2022
Grover OBriant's Tune,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2022
Old Morgan,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2022.
Tequila Hop Blues,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2022.
Pontoc Widow / Flirting With the MenTompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2022.
Stay All Night,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center, outdoor concert, 2020
Video with Nathan Bontrager and Brian Slattery in a previous version of the Travelers:
-Sweet Milk and Peaches / White hat
-Third Party / Mississippi Shuffle
Harry Bolick,( fiddle, guitar and vocals)
is
somewhat of a national treasure in that he is one of a handful of
fiddlers keeping
this tradition alive in our country. The genius of
this musician is not just his skill with a fiddle but
his pursuit of
his roots and musical traditions in his home state Mississippi. On the
theory that you
never know what you’re going to find when you start
searching, Harry stumbled on a treasure trove
of folk music in the
state archives which had been researched, notated, assembled and
forgotten.
The work was done in the Depression era by some 130 WPA
workers who traveled the dirt roads of Mississippi through farms and
villages to discover such local fiddlers and singers. more info
He is also a prolific tune composer, currently working on an ongong project called The Completely Lost Mississippi Fiddle Tunes making new tunes for 1930s era Mississippi titles where the original tunes are unknown. The first cd in this project is available. A second volune is in progress.
Brian Slattery (banjo, fiddle, vocals) has played with Les Chatiments, the Motherpluckers, the Mud Brothers, John Pinamonti, Drew Bunting, and Sarah Hawker. Brian has been playing traditional and non-traditional music from the American South and elsewhere for twenty years. In addition to playing with Harry Bolick, he plays with the New Haven-based Dr. Caterwaul's Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps. He also writes books. Find him at bfslattery.com, Between the two of them Harry and Brian been playing music for 73 years! And 20 of those years together.
Jacques DiCroce is a guitar player and multi-instrumentalist, residing in the Hudson Valley. Like many of his generation, he became interested in traditional music after hearing such artists as David Bromberg, Old and in the Way, Taj Mahal, and the New Lost City Ramblers to name just a few, and considers Doc Watson and Norman Blake to be among his primary influences on guitar. He has played with various Bluegrass, Country and Old Time bands for over 20 years.
Charlie Shaw (bass) Originally from North Carolina, Charlie has played drums in various Americana and bar bands since moving to New York in the 80's. When playing Old Time String Band music, he wields guitar or bass. Charlie's uncle, Lauchlin Shaw, was a well-known Piedmont NC fiddler. Charlie is also an early childhood educator.