The Clay Bottom Jug Busters

The Clay Bottom Jug Busters are Bristol's neighbourhood jug band, playing booty shaking blues and hard hootin' hokum straight from the streets of 1930s Memphis. 

Founded by blues shouter, harmonica player and jug blower Joe Strouzer upon his return from a season singing blues on the streets of New Orleans, and renowned Bristol jazzer and guitar slinger Joseph Trudgeon, the Clay Bottom Jug Busters cut their teeth at the Chelsea, Bristol's infamous punk pub, and since then have been charming crowds from local dive bars and village halls to London theatres and various stages across the Glastonbury Festival.

The Jug Band blues tradition began in Louisville, Kentucky, as interval entertainment on Kentucky Derby Day, entertaining the crowds by imitating the brass jazz bands of New Orleans but with no brass, only jugs and other homemade instruments. When the jug band sound reached the bustling blues soaked streets of Memphis it was embraced by band leaders Will Shade and Gus Cannon whose bands contained some of the most influential blues musicians of their generation, including Furry Lewis, Memphis Minnie and Elvis' mentor, Charlie Burse. The ever changing line ups had a core of virtuosic harmonica playing, thumping washtub bass, kazoo, banjo, guitar, mandolin and punchy rhythm-driven vocals with strong choruses and weaving harmonies. 

With Bristol native Tim Hearn on mandolin, doctor of jazz Paul Archibald on drums and Alabamian Sadie Capps (leader of punk rock band Mudd Club) on double bass, the Clay Bottom Jug Busters serve up timeless classics of raucous blues made famous by the legendary Memphis Jug Band and Cannon's Jug Stompers-it's one hell of a show.