Rum Drum Ramblers

The backward-glancing trio Rum Drum Ramblers are most commonly thought of as a blues band, and certainly, the guys in this group seek to revive a certain strand of acoustic, pre war blues music. But after listening, one could argue that the Ramblers are a soul band; just listen for a few minutes to guitarist and singer Mat Wilson’s sweet, husky voice and feel the easy rhythm of the best early R&B singers. Or perhaps it’s best to describe it as a country act: there’s so much twang-bangin and swift-pickin’ that Buck Owens would probably tip his ten-gallon hat to these fellows from the great beyond. But then, terming the Rum Drum Ramblers as country (or blues or soul) would ignore the jazzy underpinnings that Joey Glynn pumps out of his sonorous upright bass. Better yet to put genre tags aside and let the Ramblers interpretation of American folk idioms fan you like a St.Louis humid breeze. —- We always look forward to the Ramblers at the Focal Point! It’s also worth mentioning that two of them were present (yet in separate acts) during our recent Tom Hall memorial party, and they closed the night out together.