Bios

BIO – Gumbo, Grits & Gravy (a/k/a GGG)

Blend together Americana elements of music, stir in some spicy Southern Soulfulness, fold in a dollop of Georgia hollers, add a pinch of Appalachia, whip in some acoustic Blues, and you’ve created the unique sounds that Bruce Molsky, Walter Parks, and Guy Davis cook up.

GUMBO, GRITS & GRAVY is a ‘gathering’, featuring three brilliant musicians with culturally and musically diverse yet compatible backgrounds. As the name implies, Gumbo, Grits & Gravy is grounded in the roots of a hearty, home-cooked meal, the camaraderie of family and friends gathered on the front porch swapping stories and songs, and the foundation of family and tradition. Through this understanding, it is a celebration of a musical and cultural diversity that this trio hopes to document and spread to the world in 2022 and beyond.

Guy Davis‘ last two albums have been nominated for Grammy awards for Best Traditional Blues, but he’ll be the first to tell you that he views his music as defying borders, and sees his blend of Americana, Roots, Folk and Blues music to be Worldly and inclusive. Whether performing concerts for thousands at a festival, appearing on Broadway performing the role made famous by his harmonica idol Sonny Terry, or performing his own one-man plays, he works at making his audience feel as though he’s playing just for them.

Bruce Molsky, also a two-time Grammy nominee, is one of the most revered “multi-hyphenated career” ambassadors for America’s old-time mountain music. He’s also the classic “musician’s musician” – a man who’s received high praise from diverse fans and collaborators like Linda Ronstadt, Mark Knopfler, Celtic giants Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine, jazzer Bill Frisell and dobro master Jerry Douglas, a true country gentleman by way of the Big Apple aptly dubbed “the Rembrandt of Appalachian fiddlers” by virtuoso violinist and sometimes bandmate Darol Anger.

Walter Parks, guitarist, bassist, writer, and vocalist, was invited by the Library of Congress to archive his research on his deep love of the music of Southeast Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp homesteaders – hollers, hymns, and reels. For the last ten years of Richie Havens’ life, the Woodstock Festival legend, Walter was his trusted sideman on guitar.  More recently he has performed with R&B drum legend Bernard Purdie, and with folk music icon, Judy Collins, who had this to say:  “Walter is a musical treasure, an artist of the highest caliber. To hear him is to be lifted into a mystical sphere. I adore him!”

The genesis of this project comes from a tour package under the same banner headline that briefly performed many years ago. It featured Guy Davis, Laurie Lewis, and Christina Balfa, assembled by former agent/manager Cash Edwards. A reborn line-up was put together pre-pandemic and featured Guy Davis, Anne Harris, and Marcella Simien, which was enthusiastically greeted at the Lucerne Blues Festival, the Legendary Blues Cruise, and the North Atlantic Blues Festival, and performing arts centers in the U.S.

The inspiration for the ensemble comes from groups like the Carolina Chocolate Drops, or Roomful of Blues, both having a rich history of changing musicians.  GGG mixes it up with a little more traditional flavors, seasoned with a contemporary flair. So fill your soul with flavors of this musical stew!

We hope you can enjoy a performance of this magical, mystical collaboration!!

Here are the three musicians’ solo websites.

Guy Davis:   www.guydavis.com

Walter Parks:  https://www.walterparks.com/

Bruce Molsky:  https://www.brucemolsky.com/