Gordon State College Recital Series Presents Jake Blount

On Monday, April 4, American musician and recording artist Jake Blount will perform at Gordon State College in the Fine Arts Auditorium at 7:30pm.

Blount is an award-winning banjoist, fiddler, singer and ethnomusicologist based in Providence, RI. He is half of the internationally touring duo Tui, a 2020 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize and a board member of Bluegrass Pride. He is a two-time winner of the Appalachian String Band Music Festival (better known as Clifftop).

Blount specializes in the music of Black communities in the southeastern United States and in the regional style of the Finger Lakes. On the homepage of Jakeblount.com, it explains the American roots music industry has co-opted Black music into a package to be marketed and resold, erasing perspectives deemed too threatening along the way. Blount resurrects these deep musical strains on his first full-length solo album, Spider Tales, out now on Free Dirt Records & Service Co.

A versatile performer, Blount interpolates blues, bluegrass and spirituals into the old-time string band tradition he belongs to. He foregrounds the experiences of queer people and people of color in his work.

Blount has shared his music and research at the Newport Folk Festival, the Smithsonian Institution and Yale University, among other venues and institutions. He has also appeared on Radiolab, Soundcheck and NPR's Weekend Edition.

The performance is free to all GSC students, staff and faculty and $5 to all community members and visitors.