Jeff Ray

“Roots and blues oddities” are a very deserving description for the Minnesota-based duo Jeff Ray and Mikkel Beckmen. Considered by their peers to be pioneers in modern acoustic and roots-based music, the duo hails from one-half of Ray’s quartet, Jeff Ray & the Stakes. Jeff has quickly developed a reputation as an innovator of fingerstyle slide-guitar, blending the styles of early 1900’s Delta blues, Allman Brothers-inspired improvisation, and the medodic twists of traditional Carnatic Indian Carnatic music into his slide-guitar work. The Duluth News Tribune says Ray’s music is “fresh and original” and his bottleneck playing is “so well honed and has such an alluringly liquid quality that it puts him in a league with the best on the planet”. He has released 6 CDs to his name and has received accolades in Europe and North America. Jeff has shared the stage with the likes of Pat Donohue, Chris Smither, Charlie Parr, Paul Mayasich, Justin Earle Townes, and so many more.

Mikkel Beckmen is a highly sought after Minneapolis-based musician known for his one-of-a-kind syncopated washboard foot-stomp combo. Inspired by the early blues of Washboard Sam, Mikkel incorporates a range of odds and ends (refrigerator parts, African percussion, etc.) into his playing to create a sound that is altogether unique. He can be seen touring frequently with Charlie Parr and sitting in with nearly every roots-based musician in the Twin Cities. Recent collaborations include Siama Matuzungidi, Lonesome Dan Kase, the Brass Kings, Corpse Reviver, and Charlie Parr, among others.