Ebony Hillbillies

August 23, 2015 nycfreeconcerts_4nf0ji Blues, Central Park, Folk, Harlem Meer Performance Festival 0

As one of the last black string bands in the U.S. – currently based in the concrete hills of NYC – The Ebony Hillbillies keep an important legacy alive with a rootsy, homegrown style that many forget was a key element in the genesis of all the music cherished as uniquely American: jazz, blues, bluegrass, rockabilly, rock and roll and country. The EH are led by Henrique Prince (fiddle, vocals) and Norris Bennett (banjo, mountain dulcimer, guitar, vocals) and feature Gloria Thomas Gassaway on vocals and bones, William “Salty Bill” Salter on acoustic bass with A.R. and Newman Taylor Baker on washboard and percussion.