The Roustaboutshave been delighting crowds in the Nation’s Capital with a sound that offers a fresh perspective on the blues. Starting with a range of back-porch traditional to front-stoop contemporary blues, adding in some hard-drivin’ rock, mixing with a little jump-jivin’ swing, and beating until well blended with soul-thrivin’ funk, they continue to push the envelope with a unique repertoire and fiddle-infused sound. Experimenting with songs that are not traditionally viewed as the blues, but with music and lyrics that tell a deeper story, The Roustabouts keep audiences on their toes and make their performances fun and exciting.
The band centers around the fiddlin’ fingers of Pete Daniels and the soulful vocals of Andrew Wiley, who first caught the blues bug while attending Syracuse University. The two started exploring the live music scene and found a thriving blues community, home to some of the greatest talent in the Northeast. Every night of the week you can hit the town and find a great local band playing incredible blues. It didn’t take long before Daniels, a classically trained violinist, started bringing his violin to shows and sitting in with the bands. His violin made the switch to a fiddle and the rest is history.
After spending countless Thursday nights at the Zoo Bar blues jam in DC, soaking in lots of music and honing their craft, Wiley and Daniels found a fan in veteran drummer Chip Clemmer. One of the most sought-after percussionists in the area, Clemmer helped assemble the missing pieces and The Roustabouts were off and running. The current line-up features guitarist Dan Shine, an old friend and stay-at-home guitar player until Daniels “tricked” him into playing for the band, and Greg Barnes, math teacher by day and bass player by night.
Find out what's happening in Lortonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
With the blues-fiddle feelin’ now fully ingrained, The Roustabouts are on their way up, writing original music and arranging lesser-known but musically exciting songs. The goal is to dig deep and produce the most soulful, entertaining kind of music possible, showing audiences, especially those in younger age brackets, that the blues is alive and kicking. The Roustabouts play regularly at the Zoo Bar and have a fan following that is affectionately known as the RoustaCrowd.
