Country blues, jug band music, swing, hillbilly ragtime and great originals: traditional music masters Del Rey & Steve James and Eric & Suzy Thompson deliver all this and much much more in an evening brimming with masterful moments on guitar (both wood and steel), red-hot blues mandolin duets, funky fiddling, powerful vocals and humorous repartee. Irresistible? You bet!

Seattle-based Del Rey’s virtuosic resonator parlor guitar playing embraces a host of old-time genres, including country blues, stride piano, classic jazz and hillbilly boogie. A first-rate blues musician and vocalist, she delivers complex guitar grooves, witty, literate lyrics and plenty of sly humor. Del’s duet partner, Steve James, a songsmith and bottleneck guitarist from Austin, is a powerful exponent of American vernacular guitar-playing. For a number of years he and Del have been joining forces to make music testament to what they call “the hillbilly/smarty-pants/country blues aesthetic.”

Two of the Bay Area’s most versatile musicians, Eric & Suzy Thompson have a repertoire stretching from old-time Appalachian breakdowns to classic blues and Louisiana Cajun dance music. Eric’s flatpicking (on guitar, cuatro, and mandolin) is famed for its purity of tone, speed, and soulfulness; Suzy is a powerful singer and an award-winning fiddler. In addition to their duo performances and recordings, Eric and Suzy have been key members of many of the area’s best-known folk groups past and present, including the California Cajun Orchestra and Bluegrass Intentions.