In an alternate reality, Jake Xerxes Fussell would be the unassuming face of Americana music.
In place of omnipresent beards, false bravado, antiquated wide-brimmed hats, whiskey-soaked vocals, and reheated lyrics about an America that no longer exists, Fussell, with his no-frills flat-brim and his road-weary Fender Telecaster, offers up traditional songs in fresh arrangements that feel timeless without trying too hard.
In his third trip to Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs, the Georgia-born Fussell played a dozen songs that were at turns ethereal, mysterious, and honest.
Fussell is currently on a short tour of the Northeast, though he joked that his last stop was in that famous Northeastern city Vancouver, Canada (the troubadour took a tiny detour and played the Vancouver Folk Festival).
Accompanied by Ben Whiteley on bass, Fussell’s playing on both electric and acoustic guitars incorporated a percussive picking style in clever open tunings (see “When I’m Called”). Playing without a pick, Fussell created a series of hypnotic and ringing tones — his technique wasn’t necessarily virtuosic, but it was natural in its support of the songs.
Whiteley’s subtle bass thickened the live sound, blending nicely with Fussell’s honey-sweet baritone voice. And, Whiteley’s occasional bow work added texture on “Gone to Hilo” and “Breast of Glass”, tunes that have more complex instrumentation and atmospheric arrangements in their recorded versions.
During the set, Fussell recounted trips in his youth to the Georgia Sea Islands Festival where he first encountered the Georgia Sea Island Singers, an African-American folk ensemble from the Gullah region. At one festival performance he heard the tune “Raggy Levy”. Fussell’s interpretation of the song most reminded me of the recently departed folk singer Michael Hurley in guitar playing, vocal phrasing, and use of falsetto.
But it was in “Have You Ever Seen Peaches Growing on a Sweet Potato Vine?” that Fussell best delivered the elements of his own signature style. There’s the homage to his native Georgia (the tune is connected to folk-blues guitarist Jimmy Lee Williams, a farmer from Worth County, Georgia); there’s the circuitous, meditative, and original guitar arrangement (and his best one at that); there’s also that Michael Hurley-esque falsetto (and food references that set the song in a real agricultural, rural America).
But, Fussell’s influences aren’t all outgrowths of traditional folk. His cover of pub-rocker/producer-extraordinaire Nick Lowe’s “I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass” reimagined the power pop classic as a kind of pastoral Van Morrison Astral Weeks outtake. Fussell also played his most recent single, a reverent take on Arthur Russell’s “Close My Eyes”, which along with “Jubilee” had me noting “beautiful” in my Moleskin notebook. These are slow, swirling songs that envelop the listener.
The full house at Caffè Lena was riveted by Fussell, often totally silent even when the man was simply tuning his guitar. There were no chompers on the scene — people came to listen in one of the best folk listening rooms around. Fussell did get some solid audience participation on the Canadian sea chanty “Donkey Riding”, which turned into a full-fledged, humorous singalong.
Perhaps the crowd in Saratoga recognized that Fussell’s music is as sturdy as a Southern Live Oak — rooted in history, in folk traditions, in real people, real emotions, nature, and rural agriculture.
Here’s something to try for anyone who hasn’t yet listened to the music of Jake Xerxes Fussell: grab your headphones and go for a hike while listening to his recordings, particularly 2022’s Good and Green Again. Make sure it’s a sunny day where the light is coming through the tree canopy. It’s the perfect ethereal soundtrack. Trust me. You’ll get it.
Christian & Cole
Woody Guthrie never played the stage at Saratoga Springs’ legendary folk club Caffè Lena, but on Tuesday his grandson did as part of opening act duo Christian & Cole.
The New York City-based Christian Apuzzo and Cole Quest (son of Guthrie’s daughter Nora) are clearly brothers from other mothers who are related to the history of folk music by more than blood. Looking sharp in Aztec print shirts, Apuzzo and Quest were entertaining in their banter and agile pickers too (Apuzzo on guitar and Quest on dobro and guitar).
Their six song set leaned heavily on the close harmony stylings of groups like The Everly Brothers and The Louvin Brothers (“While You’re Cheatin on Me”). The duo also encouraged call-and-response audience participation (Hold the Woodpile Down), and performed traditional classics like The Carter Family’s “Distant Land to Roam” and “Railroad Bill”, a tune covered by Guthrie acolytes Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Bob Dylan.
Cole Quest took lead vocals on his original “I Ain’t”, a song he wrote during the pandemic in an attempt at better health. His clever lyrics about ditching sweet treats for “a can of beans and a plate of fresh greens” hit home as I heard the song performed mere minutes after I scarfed down a pair of Caffè Lena’s legendary warm chocolate chip cookies.
Christian & Cole functions as a side project for Cole Quest and The City Pickers, a full-fledged bluegrass outfit from Brooklyn. Quest and crew released Homegrown on Red Hook’s Jalopy Records just last week.
Setlist – Jake Xerxes Fussell – Caffè Lena – Saratoga Springs, NY – 7/22/25:
Jump for Joy; I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass (Nick Lowe cover); Jubilee; When I’m Called; Close My Eyes; Raggy Levy; Gone to Hilo; Donkey Riding; The River St. Johns; Breast of Glass; Have You Ever Seen Peaches Growing on a Sweet Potato Vine?
Encore: Love Farewell
Setlist – Christian & Cole – Caffè Lena – Saratoga Springs, NY – 7/22/25:
Distant Land to Roam; While You’re Cheating on Me; Hold the Woodpile Down; Your Long Journey; Railroad Bill; I Ain’t
Photos by Pat Rogers
→ Continue reading at NYS Music
