“[Paxton and Lichtman] performed two sets of music, seamlessly alternating instruments and demonstrating a deep understanding and passion for vintage tunes composed 80 to 130 years ago.” – New Pine Plains Herald

Jerron Paxton has been on our radar since his Fresh Air Interview in December of 2024. Hugely talented on banjo, guitar, harmonica, vocals, fiddle, and piano, Paxton is a brilliant interpreter of many styles of Black folk music: stride piano jazz from New Orleans to New York; deep blues on guitar and harmonica; rural music played on fiddle and banjo; ragtime; and other turn-of-the-century forms that demonstrates the full breadth of pre-WWII Black music. He transports his audiences not only to a time, but to a state of mind. Paxton has also researched, recovered, and recorded rare music dating back to the Civil War for the Smithsonian Folkways label. 

“[Paxton]’s a walking, talking jukebox, a gifted songwriter, and a genuine inheritor of the traditions that define roots music…With a twinkle in his eye and a sly sense of humour, Paxton mixes reverence with playfulness. His live shows are as full of charm and storytelling as they are of virtuosic banjo, guitar, piano and fiddle playing.” – Blues Matters

Dennis Lichtman is a world-traveling bandleader who is best known for running the famed trad-jazz jam sessions at Mona’s Bar in New York City since 2007, described in the Wall Street Journal as “ground zero for an emerging late-night scene of young traditional jazz and swing players.” He is a masterful multi-instrumentalist (clarinet, mandolin, violin, and more) who has toured and recorded with David Byrne, The Lovestruck Balladeers, Pokey LaFarge, Ghost Train Orchestra, Jim Kweskin, and his own projects, The Brain Cloud and Mona’s Hot Four.

Paxton and Lichtman’s mutual love of the history, stories, and significance behind the music they play is apparent as they romp through an energetic and engaging set of acoustic blues, ragtime, Tin Pan Alley pop songs, 1920s jazz, twin fiddle hoe-downs, and original songs and compositions. This is roots music in the true sense of the word, performed by two extraordinary musicians and storytellers.