“Less than two minutes into the show the band had the audience in the palms of their hands and for the next 90 minutes or so they took us on a comedic and musical rollercoaster ride that went from the hilarious to the spiritual, including an emotional show-closing rendition of Silent Night that brought the audience to its feet for a three minute standing ovation.
The audience loved them. The sponsor loved them. Even my dog loved them and he doesn’t love anybody except the beagle next door.
How would I describe their performances? I guess I would say, they’re like watching a musical earthquake. There’s a lot going on up on stage physically, musically & comically. And, they brought the house down.”
Russ Page
Executive Director of the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce
and Producer of Saturday Night in Dover-Foxcroft for the Center Theatre
“The Half Moon Jug Band is one of the most entertaining shows I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing! They mix incredible musical ability with side-splitting comedy into a one-of-a-kind stage show. This makes them a true triple threat of entertainment. They are a guaranteed hit!”
Michael Miclon
Artistic Director
The Oddfellow Theater
Buckfield, Maine
The Half Moon Jug Band is a three-man musical mob of desperadoes hijacking the plodding freight train of folk music, steaming it up the mountains of rock ‘n roll, through the vaudeville pass, and down across the valley of country music before wrecking it in the middle of a rubber chicken farm on the outskirts of town. Their weapons of choice: guitars, banjos, mandolins, hefty bass riffs and rotund sing-along choruses. But they’re no bluegrass band; they also wield mighty kazoos, trumpets, harmonicas and thumping drums.
Jug band music is homemade music. You won’t hear it on the radio, you won’t see it on MTV and you can’t get it at Wal-Mart. It’s a creamy, sonically concocted casserole of American music. You’re not sure exactly what’s in there, but boy it sure tastes good. Musical labels are useless. If it sounds good, if the audience claps, if it feels honest, then it’s jug band music.
The band thrives on interaction with their audiences. For the HMJB it’s not just about standing on stage playing songs. It’s about singing, dancing and making people happy. They do whatever it takes to put on a show for all ages, studding every performance with jokes, stories and mandatory sing-alongs. No one gets out without singing. No one.
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