David Jacobs-Strain, a slide guitarist from Eugene, Oregon, makes his second Bluesdays’ appearance Tuesday at the Village at Squaw Valley.
An eclectic player, Jacobs-Strain has shared the stage with a diverse group of artists, including Boz Skaggs, Todd Snider, Robert Earle Keen, Lucinda Williams, Taj Mahal, Janis Ian, Bob Weir, T-Bone Burnett and Del McCoury.
In an interview before his debut at Crystal Bay Casino a few years ago, Jacobs-Strain said he began playing guitar at the age of 8 and started using a slide when he was 10, and shortly thereafter began to use fingerpicks. The first song he learned was Woodie Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” followed by a Bessie Smith song. He later became a fan of Taj Mahal. His modern day songwriting influence is Gillian Welch.
He said he plays a plywood and Duct tape 12-string.
“That’s not literally true,” he clarified. “The Duct tape has fallen off.”
“Some of my favorite blues singers are guys who are and aren’t called blues singers,” he said. “I think Bob Dylan’s one of my favorite blues singers and Steve Earle, as well. I guess I like the blues the best when it’s in context with a lot of other American music.”
Bluesdays is held on Tuesdays from 6 to 8:30 p.m. all summer long in the Village at Squaw Valley, which is gearing up for it biggest musical weekend of the season. The Jazz & Funk festival is Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 13-14. On Saturday, the music starts at 2 p.m., and the bands are Marc Broussard, the Polyrhythmics, Mojo Green. On Sunday, it will be Main Squeeze, Eli “Paperboy” Reed, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound.
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Bluesdays 2016
6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays in the Village at Squaw Valley, free
Aug. 2 – David Jacobs-Strain
Aug. 9 -Lloyd Jones
Aug. 16 – Joe Louis Walker
Aug. 23 – James Armstrong
Aug. 30 – Mark Hummel Band featuring Little Charlie Baty and Anson Funderburgh
Sept. 6 – Kenny Neal
