Jake Blount is one of the most original and thought-provoking voices in contemporary folk music. An award-winning musician, scholar, and educator, Blount explores the deep roots of Black American folk traditions while creating music that feels entirely new. Armed with banjo, fiddle, guitar, and electronics, he brings together centuries-old songs, original compositions, and modern influences into performances that are both deeply rooted and boldly imaginative.
Blount first gained national recognition as an exceptional string band musician, but his artistic vision has continued to expand. His acclaimed albums The New Faith and symbiont reimagine traditional music through an Afrofuturist lens, connecting the past, present, and future in ways that are at once powerful, haunting, and joyful. His newest release, arriving in 2026, returns to the traditional string band music that first inspired him while continuing to explore the living legacy of Black folk culture.
His work has earned widespread acclaim from Rolling Stone, NPR, The New Yorker, The Guardian, and Bandcamp, while appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Newport Folk Festival, NPR's Tiny Desk, and the Library of Congress have established him as one of the leading artists of his generation. Along the way, he has collaborated with Kronos Quartet, Adia Victoria, and Rhiannon Giddens, served as a music consultant for Ryan Coogler's Academy Award-winning film Sinners, and contributed music to Ken Burns' The American Revolution.
Whether performing solo or with a full ensemble, as he will at Caffè Lena, Jake Blount creates concerts that are as intellectually engaging as they are emotionally moving. His performances blur the boundaries between history and innovation, inviting audiences to hear familiar traditions with fresh ears while discovering stories that have too often gone unheard.
This is folk music that honors the past, embraces the future, and reminds us that tradition is a living, evolving art.
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