For those who have not yet heard of Frank Fairfield he is an American old time musician and he has become something of an enigma. When this young man performs you may as well be transporting yourself back in time, we’ve never heard anyone sound so authentic. The man eats old 78’s for breakfast, he dresses and looks like his from that era as well.
We came across him in early 2010 after finding a video of him performing ‘Nine Pound Hammer’, a song credited to old time fiddle player Charlie Bowman (1889 -1962) who picked it up from railroad workers. The video was filmed in a pool house where Frank was living at the time.
There is one story that the Fleet Foxes booked him as support for one of their shows. Frank turned up on a bicycle with his banjo tied across his back with a piece of string and an ironing scorch mark across his shirt. Folks queued up outside thought he was a busker so did the doorman until he finally persuaded him he was indeed the support act for the night.
His live performances are something to behold so don’t pass up this opportunity to see him live in London this Sunday (16th Sept) at The Harrison. There are a few tickets left so get in quick.
For those of you not fortunate enough to be able to see him I’ll leave you with this great video of Frank performing with another fine revivalist: Blind Boy Paxton
If you want more buy ‘Out on the Open West’ released on Tompkins Square. It’s available in our store here.
