Six String Venues

The talented and dedicated members of The Experience perform a wide variety of songs including traditional string music numbers, originals from the pen of guitarist and lead singer Tommy Edwards and several re-imagined rock, country or folk songs. The band is blessed with virtuoso instrumentalists who are also fine singers that in addition to their solo offerings, combine to form several duos, trios and a bluegrass gospel quartet.

The original Nighthawks lineup solidified in mid-1974. Bringing together frontmen Mark Wenner and the young Jimmy Thackery with a veteran rhythm section, Jan Zukowski on bass and Pete Ragusa on drums, the quartet ruled the highways and honky-tonks until Jimmy’s departure in 1986 to pursue a solo career. The band opened many doors and forged many touring routes for their contemporaries, including the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray, and played with as many Blues and Rockabilly legends as they could. They opened show after show for Muddy Waters, James Cotton and Carl Perkins, and backed up and recorded with John Hammond and Pinetop Perkins.

Jonathan Byrd and The Pickup Cowboys are musical gunslingers, vaudevillian hucksters, and old-fashioned tent revivalists. With their new album Pickup Cowboy (2018), they have brought a bold new set of working-class anthems to Americana fans, and a spirit-raising show to back it up.

Danielle Miraglia comes armed with a strong steady thumb on an old Gibson, an infectious stomp-box rhythm and harmonica with tunes ranging from heart-felt to socially conscious that will move both your heart and hips.

AmericanaFest 2018 official showcase artist Emily Scott Robinson is an up and coming folk singer/songwriter who has been making big waves in the Americana scene.