Jake Xerxes Fussell Makes Down-to-Earth Folk Music for Troubled Times
American folk songs record a history of oppression and have often fueled the fire of protest. Folk artist Jake Xerxes Fussell’s music endeavors to sustain these working-class musical traditions while reinterpreting them for the modern age.
Jake Xerxes Fussell. (Jake Xerxes Fussell / Facebook)
Lead Belly’s dead. Bob Dylan lives in Malibu. The Gaslight Cafe is now a craft cocktail lounge. No matter — there is still folk music to be found in New York City.
In Red Hook, at an acute angle between the Battery Tunnel and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, you’ll find the Jalopy Theatre. Partly supported by public funds, it stands at a proud three stories as the premier theater and school for traditional music in New York City. I have come to the Jalopy to meet the critically acclaimed recording artist who is helping to carry the torch of traditional music for a new generation.
Jake Xerxes Fussell greets me with a cheerful smile, looking like St. Nick after a fresh shave. His hat is emblazoned with the name of the Eno River, the waterway running through Durham, North Carolina, where the native Georgian now lives. Most of the time, especially while he’s on stage, the hat’s tilted brim shrouds his eyes. But every now and then, Jake throws the cap back to reveal a bright and steady gaze, devout as a Baptist.
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