From 1930s-style hot jazz to big blues and country swing, the Bumper Jacksons deliver an eclectic homage to the great sounds of American music. The six-member band, recognized as Washington D.C.’s “Best Traditional Folk Band” for several years running, reimagines classics with their own unique twist by incorporating a broad range of instrumentation, including washboard, suitcase percussion, and pedal steel.

Meet the Band

Vocalist, Clarinet, Washboard, Songwriting

Jess Eliot Myhre

A native Floridian, Jess Eliot grew up singing in church and swinging from banyan trees.  After performing in hip hop and funk bands at Wesleyan University, she moved to New Orleans and became mesmerized by the big, uproarious glory of the old sounds of the street bands and second lines. She dusted off her lonely old clarinet, built herself her iconic frog washboard, and turned a 180 towards the traditional. She now performs all over east of the Mississippi, playing her original songs and traditional American Roots music in performance halls, swing dances, contradances and square dances, house concerts, and busking in your city's streets.  She's a two-time winner of the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest in the jazz and vocal categories.

Vocalist, Guitars, Banjo, Songwriting

Chris Ousley

A Maryland boy, Chris tramped off to the hills of western Pennsylvania to study the 3 B’s: books, beer and banjos. There he woodshedded with old hill cats in barns outside of abandoned steel and coal towns playing any instrument he could take a turn on.  Hitting mountain trails, biking over rough terrain, rafting down rivers, all with a bottle of whiskey and a banjo on his back.  Chris’s deep jazz pocket and graceful Kentucky-style banjo is only outmatched by the snarlyness of his beard.  He was the one bold enough to believe that he and Jess could make music for a living and is solely responsible for all of the shenanigans that embody the Bumper Jacksons. Together, Chris and Jess Eliot formed the core of the Bumper Jacksons in 2012.  Their initial meeting fueled a riotous impromptu jam on the lawn of a radical bike house in Washington, DC.… The music never quit since.

Upright Bass, Harmony Vocals

Alex Lacquement

Alex swears that it was beautiful sirens who lead him to the upright bass at the impressionable age of seventeen. With lots of practice under his belt and two degrees in music education from Eastman(MM) and James Madison University(BA) he has found a home laying down some groovy bass lines with the Bumper Jacksons. His first music love which lead him to the upright bass was jazz music, something he studied vigorously.  Years later he found himself chasing every opportunity to play some happy thumping lines with bluegrass and old-time string bands.  Over the past five years, Alex has become an invaluable third leg of the Bumper Jacksons, tasked not only with bass-playing duties and helping with arrangements, but also keeping Chris in line.

Drums, Percussion

Dan Samuels

Dan Samuels was raised on a strict diet of polycultural rhythms. From the Jewish music he sang at home, at synagogue and in school to the rhythm and blues, folk, classical, and traditional zulu music constantly played in his parents home stereo - there was seldom a shortage of new sounds for "Bunny" (as his parents still call him) to take in. Dan's love of music from around the world was cultivated throughout his upbringing and lead him to work and collaborate with artists from around the globe - Honduras, Cape Verde, Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Yemen, Cuba, Norway, Tuva, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Haiti, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil... just to name a few.

As a drummer, Dan's playing creates a deep pocket for his bandmates' sounds to snuggle up inside, while keeping enough room for everyone to get up and SHAKE IT!  Mr Samuels also enjoys gardening, hockey, puppies, kittens, and cooking meals with his friends and family. He also loves his mum and dad.

Pedal Steel

Dave “Duckpin” Hadley

Growing up in rural Northwest Illinois, Dave was learning guitar when he heard a pedal steel guitar being played for the first time at the local music store.  He became completely obsessed with the sounds that the instrument could create, bought one, and he would sometimes lock himself in a room and practice for 8 hours a day during summer vacation and play along to a stack of albums of various genres.  Since then, he's played and recorded with hundreds of artists and musicians, adding unique sounds and textures to the music.  Dave is not only a pedal steel monster, but has donned the very-important caps of "The Captain," "The Rainman," and "Ray-of-Sunshine Hadley" (helping drive the band van Olga on tour, giving us the weather report, and being resident cynicist) for over four years now.

Trombone, Harmony Vocals

Brian Priebe

Brian Priebe had wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps as a trombone player ever since the first time he sneaked the instrument out of its case in the basement, assembled it and tried his first “blast”. (This was a stunt which nearly got him grounded). Brian has performed with an unusual variety of ensembles including symphony orchestras, rock and ska bands, chamber ensembles, traditional jazz bands and even Bavarian Oom-Pah bands. A favorite memory is performing on stage with the Moody Blues while secretly recording the concert on his cell phone.  As an avocation, Brian learned to play the Swiss Alphorn. In 2007, (and again in 2010), he placed 2nd in the International Alphorn Festival.  He's been playing with Bumper Jacksons for five years.

Trumpet, Harmony Vocals

Joseph Brotherton

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Joe has had the soul of Bluegrass, Gospel and American Roots bursting from his heart and out through his horn since the tender age of 8.  He is the newest addition to the Bumper Jacksons, an honorary alumni of Pinellas County Center for the Arts, and a veteran of the US Marine Corps as an E-5 Sergeant with a Navy Achievement and a National Service Medal.  He has performed with some of the greats like Aaron Neville, Doctor John, Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove, Ron Blake, Neal Caine, Benito Gonzales, Gregory Porter, Buster Williams, Cindy Blackman-Santana, Ddendyl Hoyt, Kermit Ruffins. Perhaps most importantly, though, Joe has the supernatural ability to summon various species of birds and insects at will.  He’s working on getting them to do his bidding, and once he does, world domination is imminent.