Jake Xerxes Fussell

Jake Xerxes Fussell is a singer-songwriter, a folk artist, and a practical folklorist who digs out and adapts traditional folk songs from across the US, particularly the Appalachian region and the south. Fussell gives his source material its due by keeping his arrangements simple, often performing with the barest of instrumentation: a guitar, his voice, an upright bass and subdued drums, with an occasional lonely brass, joining the band. Crucially, he does not try to recreate an old-timey sound in his presentation, but treats the songs as if they were contemporary pieces written last week in a way that makes them more accessible for today's audience. He has been bringing some of his original compositions into his repertoire in recent years, which mesh quite well with his collected songs.