The Black Willoughbys

The Black Willoughbys
Nowadays the “Roots” music tent is awful big. And there’s a whole mess of bands scrapping for a spot under it. Old time string bands. Old time country bands. Jug bands. Honky Tonk bands. ‘Grass’ bands of all varieties: Blue, New, Jam, etc. Then there’s the BlackWilloughbys. A band that doesn’t quite fit into any of the usual slots. Their repertoire is what the old folks call a ‘veritable melting pot’ of styles: Piedmont rags, classic Honky Tonk, New Orleans swing, Delta blues, Proto-Country, Vaudeville hokum, Hill country vamps – even Rockabilly, Rock ‘n Roll and the odd modern Pop tune. It’s unclear whether this versatility is caused by a serious attention deficit disorder or gobs of showoff-y-ness. Simply put: the Willoughbys can’t be bothered with playing just one genre.