Photo courtesy of artist
Hampton, Virginia
acoustic blues
The splendid duo, Jackie & Resa, brings a distinctive blend of creativity to the world of acoustic blues. Both well-accomplished musicians, they merge their talents to create a captivating sound, paying homage to the rich blues tradition. Jackie & Resa will teach festivalgoers of all ages how to play the bones—but not real animal bones—and sing the blues at the Family Area Stage of the Richmond Folk Festival.
Originally made from animal bones (like ribs), bones are a percussion instrument used in varied traditions in the United States and around the world. To play them, a musician holds two bones in between their fingers and clicks them in a rhythmic pattern. Along with the banjo, mouth-bow, tambourine, and diddley bow, bones were among the instruments played by enslaved Africans in the United States as early as the 17th century. These were commonly played in work songs and spirituals, precursors of the blues. Even though bones fell out of favor in mainstream blues, artists like Jackie & Resa celebrate their history and importance through their music.
A multi-instrumentalist, Jackie Merritt plays harmonica, guitar, bass, ukulele, and bones. A visual artist by training, Jackie’s musical journey into the blues started in her early twenties, playing bass for multiple Chicago blues-inspired bands. Later in life, she started to learn harmonica from blues harmonica virtuoso Phil Wiggins. Around that same time, she learned to play the bones from Richard “Mr. Bones” Thomas, a storied bones player from the Washington, D.C. area. She regularly spent time at Archie’s Barbershop in Hyattsville, Maryland—a hotspot for blues in the D.C. area from the late 1950s through the 1990s—frequented by Wiggins and Thomas. Resa Gibbs brings soulful, rich, and vibrant vocals to the duo. A physical therapist by day and a musician by night, Resa has taught blues vocal performance classes at Augusta Heritage Center's Blues & Swing Week and at the Country Blues Week at Centrum, Port Townsend, Washington.
Visit the Family Area at this year’s Richmond Folk Festival and learn how to play the bones from Jackie & Resa!