If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Renee Cornue Studios The good news is that we're getting a new album from Providence's Jake Blount in two weeks! The bad news is that it will be his last string album before he starts a new project in 2027. The first single from his upcoming album, "Shady Grove," is a masterful traditional folk track. This is vintage Appalachian music, and shows how great Blount is it this style. It will be great to hear him expand on a new sound in the near future, and Single-Footing Horse is a great way to hear him play the style of music that made us fans years ago. The fiddle work in "Shady Grove" is fantastic, and fans of roots music are going to be blown away by this one.  Jake Blount says of his latest single: "This version of Shady Grove is adapted from one played by Jon Bekoff of Greenfield, MA. I didn't get to meet him before he died, but Jon was a major influence on many of my own mentors. His tunes are queer and full of mystery, and his version ...

Photo by Yekaterina Gyadu When I first saw that Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin were making music together, "Live Humble" is more what I pictured... somewhat. The new song draws from the book Religious Folk-Songs of the Negro released in 1874. The song features traditional folk instruments like guitar and gourd banjo, but it's also heavy on synthesizers and includes some noise rock style guitar soloing. The song also incorporates a strong dance element. While it may be based in the traditional music I associate with Blount and Obomsawin, it also rushes off in rock, dance, and pop directions while still sounding like a cohesive song. We knew that a collaboration between Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin was going to be good, but we couldn't have predicted it would be this mind-blowing. Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin say of their new single: "’Live Humble’ epitomizes the remix methods used in the creation of  symbiont . Inspired by a spiritual of the same name collecte...

Photo by Yekaterina Gyadu When I first saw that Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin were working on a project together, I knew it would be good, but I certainly didn't expect it to sound like it does. Their latest single, "Old Indian Hymn," incorporates elements of Blount's "Afrofuturist folklore" and Obomsawin's free jazz meets American roots sound, and then incorporates an entirely new level of experimentation. The duo are taking traditional roots music and crafting something entirely new and exciting from it. "Old Indian Hymn" is a hauntingly beautiful experimental sound that doesn't sound like anything we've ever covered, despite fitting in with exactly what we love to bring you. Their upcoming album is shaping up to be one of the most exciting releases of 2024. Mali Obomsawin and Jake Blount discuss their new single, which is based on Indian Melodies , an 1845 hymnal by Thomas Commuck (Narragansett, Brotherton), the first published musi...

Photo by Abby Lank We would apologize for our third Jake Blount related post this week, but once you hear this new single, no apology will be needed. The afrofuturist artist has teamed with Abenaki folk and jazz artist Mali Obomsawin. As if that pairing wasn't already intriguing, they pair have brought in powwow singer/rap and digital hardcore artist Joe Rainey in for their first single. Blount and Obonsawin describe their music as "genrequeer," and that's evident with "My Way's Cloudy." The song combines elements of folk, jazz, hip hop, some pop, and maybe even some industrial into this beautifully foreboding sound. The closest thing I can describe this melting pop of styles is an organic trip hop. "My Way's Cloudy" is one of the most quietly intense songs of the year, and Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin's upcoming album has rocketed straight to the top of our anticipated album list. Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin say of their upcoming ...

Prescott Park Arts Festival is one of my all time favorite places to see a show. It's in a gorgeous public park on the waterfront in Portsmouth, NH, and it's a very reasonable suggested donation entry fee to get in. Unfortunately, I haven't been since pre-pandemic, as my schedule hasn't worked, or a show has gotten rained out when timing did work out. But, if I was going to make my return trip to the festival, I can't think of a better option than seeing two string supergroups: Mighty Poplar and New Dangerfield. Playing only their fifth show ever, New Dangerfield opened the show. The band is a black string group consisting of Kaia Kater, Jake Blount, Tray Wellington, and Nelson Williams. You would never know that this was a band that could count the number of total performances on one hand if they hadn't mentioned it. New Dangerfield had that perfect mix of playing tight and loose you get with folk/bluegrass/string bands, especially ones with a pedigree like the...

Photo by Justin French It's been a little while since we've heard from New Dangerfield (the string superband featuring Kaia Kater, Jake Blount, Tray Wellington, and Nelson Williams) are back with a brand new single. "Put No Walls Around Your Garden" was co-written by Kaia Kater and Billy Keane, and it's simply a masterclass in folk music. It's surprisingly sparse and maintains a tension throughout the song. It's a timeless folk song that still sounds modern. If you are a fan of any style of folk or Americana, it's going to be impossible not to adore New Dangerfield. Kaia Kater says of the band's new single: "I wrote 'Put No Walls Around Your Garden' with Billy Keane, a wonderful songwriter from the Berkshires, during a 2023 retreat at The House of Songs in the Ozark Mountains. We used the allegory of a farmer and their seasonal crop yield as a commentary on resource hoarding and climate change. I brought the song to the band and we arr...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday May 24 Jake Blount, Nic Gareiss, and Sammy Wetstein Trio at Epsilon Spires, Brattleboro, VT Scissorfight, Viqueen, and Condition at The Press Room, Portsmouth, NH Glacier, Circus Trees, and Lesotho at Koto Asian Fusion, Salem, MA Stephanie McKay and Cliff Notez at Uncommon Stage, Boston Common, Boston, MA Saturday May 25 Carissa Johnson, The Fatal Flaw, and The Callouts at Askew, Providence, RI Minibeast, Fugue State, and Shirese at Gallery X, New Bedford, MA Sunday May 26 ...

New Dangerfield is a supergroup that takes their name from Dangerfield Newby, one of five recorded black abolitionists that died during John Brown's raid on a federal armory in Harper's Ferry, VA in 1859. The band consists of Jake Blount, Kaia Kater, Tray Wellington, and Nelson Williams who came together to reignite the black string band tradition. Their debut single, "Dangerfield Newby," is a three minute instrumental track that is a completely traditional folk song, but has a fire underneath it that I have never heard in the genre before. This is folk with a rock and roll and even a punk attitude, but played on nice instruments that your grandma would enjoy. It doesn't get more traditional than New Dangerfield, but they still have put out one of the most thrilling folk singles of the year. Tray Wellington says of his new band: “I put together  New Dangerfield  originally to collaborate with other Black artists that I feel are constantly breaking barriers with th...

Doing Anything Fun this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday February 16 Avi Jacob, Jessye DeSilva, and Jake Blount at Askew, Providence, RI The Rock Dwellers and JVK at 3S Artspace, Portsmouth, NH Perennial, Blind Mellencamp, Burn Kit, and PV at Ralph's Diner, Worcester, MA Julie Rhodes, Sinnet, and Jon Nolan at Lizard Lounge, Cambridge, MA Saturday February 17 Bedtimemagic, Crowfeeder, Karate Steve, and The Endorphins at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Scissorfight, Blood Lightning, Evil80, and Catching Hell at Ralph's, Worcester, MA Mephiskapheles, The Prozacs, Threat Level Burgundy, and Green Street Fiends ...

Photo by Tadin Brown Jake Blount is a master of making the classic sound modern, and their latest single, "Once There Was No Sun," might be the best example of that. The structure of the song is a classic spiritual, but Blount brings the song into 2022 by making it what is almost a modern dance track, but with traditional instruments. It's one of the most unique songs that we've heard in quite some time while still being made up of familiar elements. It's also showing even more of a move away from the pure traditional sound of Blount's excellent 2020 album Spider Tales. It would have been easy (and still would have been fantastic) for Blount to continue making traditional roots music, but "Once There Was No Sun" shows an artist not afraid to try completely new sounds. You can watch the video for "Once There Was No Sun" below. The New Faith is due out September 23 on Smithsonian Folkways and can be pre-ordered here . For more on Jake Blount,...

Photo by Tadin Brown We loved Jake Blount's 2020 album Spider Tales . Blount had this perfect take on traditional folk and bluegrass. For his upcoming album, The New Faith , Blount is changing his focus over to spiritual music. The first single from that album, "Didn't It Rain," is more gospel with elements of rock, blues, and soul than just being pure bluegrass. It's still a mostly traditional song, but it's great to see an artist branch out like this. As with any of his music, "Didn't It Rain" exists to educate about music history as much as it is for entertainment. Blount is taking traditional forms of music and mixing them up into a familiar and unique sound. You can listen to "Didn't It Rain" below. The New Faith is out September 23 on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and can be pre-ordered here . For more on Jake Blount, check out the artist's website .

When I saw Jake Blount over the weekend, he played a bluegrass version of "The Man Was Burning," which he discovered in the Smithsonian Folkways archives. The song was sung by Joe Lee, a black prisoner in Virginia, in 1936. Blount promised he was releasing a rock and roll version of the single this week, and it is now out! "The Man Was Burning" isn't a pure rock and roll song, but it's the most rock and roll thing I've heard from Blount so far. There's a little to much jazz in the song to be purely rock and roll, but the song also combines elements of soul and blues which is pretty damn rock. This is an amazing reworking of a traditional spiritual (you can hear the original here ), and the fact that I've heard versions in two completely different genres both by Jake Blount this week just showcases Blount's immense talents! In a press release Jake Blount says of his new single: “It’s a spiritual that echoes with burning hellfire. All of these ...