One of my favorite musical groups playing around NYC these days is called The Down Hill Strugglers, a modern version of an old-time country string band. I first heard them last spring during the Brooklyn Folk Festival, an annual event that I'm already looking forward to attending again next year. They also play frequently at the Jalopy Theater, a great Brooklyn venue for acoustic music.

The Down Hill Strugglers are comprised of Eli Smith (who also happens to coordinate and MC the Brooklyn Folk Festival); Walker Shepard; and Jackson Lynch. They are all multi-instrumentalists, trading off on guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and vocals and are often joined by John Cohen, longtime presence on the folk scene who in the 1960s played with the New Lost City Ramblers. Cohen is also an accomplished filmmaker and photographer. The combination of young musicians playing this music with veteran performer Cohen makes me feel good about the preservation of old-time music.

A few weeks ago Kyle, Ewan and I went out to Brooklyn to hear Jackson Lynch play an early evening set of tunes at the Jay Street Bar. The rest of the Strugglers were away that night, but Jackson more than held the room on his own.

During the Brooklyn Folk Festival an outfit called the 78 Project made live records of Lynch and Cohen playing together and then presented each of them with a vinyl LP recording of their session, performances viewable at this link. The Down Hill Strugglers have released an excellent self-titled album, available at this link. One of my favorite songs on it is called All Gone Now, a rousing number with a great vocal. They also played in Bristol, TN, for a concert that was recorded and broadcast on the NPR program, Mountain Stage. Eli Smith puts out an enjoyable podcast called Down Home Radio. I look forward to hearing the Strugglers again in coming months.