Ancient City Slickers
A local band that plays a mix of Americana, bluegrass, folk and novelty music.
They had us at tuba.
This unique band of musicians and songsters has made audiences smile and dance for years. Their playbook is a musical stew of Americana, Tin Pan Alley, folk, bluegrass, and a few old novelty songs.
Their instrumentation is interesting. Eric Douglas plays guitar. Cable Spence plays five-string banjo, cacaphonium, and kazoo, and shares the singing with Russ, Kayla, and Chuck. Russ Thomas plays the four-string banjo and kazoo. Kayla Douglas plays all sorts of percussion instruments and sings backup. Chuck plays the tuba, sings (not exactly at the same time), and plays the kazoo, slide whistle, melodica, harmonica, trumpet, and gutbucket.
The Ancient City Slickers started an unnamed band a number of years ago at the home of John and Claudia Richards, who hosted a weekly jam that ultimately morphed into a band. John and Claudia moved further north in the 2010s, and this core group of five kept the music going.
They perform at folk festivals, private parties, and venues — wherever people would enjoy a bit of old-time music, excellent vocals, accomplished musicians, and the added flair of kazoo, slide whistle, washboard, and tuba.
