the african american folklorist for the month of august: michael L. jones
Celebrating Michael L. Jones: Louisville’s Jug Band Heritage and Black Musical Legacy
Every month, The African American Folklorist highlights a tradition bearer who embodies the spirit of Black folk heritage. For August, we are proud to honor Michael L. Jones—a journalist, author, music historian and cultural preservationist from Louisville, Kentucky. Jones balances the roles of musicologist, ethnomusicologist, historian and folklorist; his work documents and preserves African American musical traditions while actively engaging the communities that created them. In recognizing him as our African American Folklorist of the Month, we also celebrate a career devoted to uncovering the threads that connect Louisville’s Black and working‑class histories.
The Roots of Jug Band Music and Louisville’s Place in American Soundscapes
In Jones’s landmark book Louisville Jug Music: From Earl McDonald to the National Jubilee, which earned the 2015 Samuel Thomas Book Award—he traces jug band music from its origins along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to its impact on American popular music. Jug bands blended African‑derived instruments and rhythms with homemade instruments such as jugs and cigar‑box basses. Jones points out that Louisville’s location on the Ohio River made the city an “information super‑highway” for musical ideas. Black musicians working on steamboats carried songs and performance styles between New Orleans, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Louisville, exposing the city to both string‑band and brass‑band traditions simultaneously.
Between the 1890s and 1930s, Louisville was home to around thirty active jug bands. The first jug‑band recordings were made in 1925 when blues singer Sara Martin recorded with members of the Louisville Jug Band; just two weeks later, Whistler’s Jug Band cut its own record. These sessions kicked off a wave of jug‑band recordings that inspired groups across the South and Midwest—most famously the Memphis Jug Band—and cemented Louisville’s reputation as “the home of jug bands”. For Jones, this history challenges simplistic origin stories that place the blues exclusively in the Mississippi Delta or jazz solely in New Orleans; instead, Louisville emerges as a key node where Black musical creativity thrived.
From Indie Rock Houses to Historic Archives: Jones’s Path
Jones’s fascination with jug bands grew out of a life immersed in music. In the 1990s, he lived with friends in a communal house nicknamed Rabbit Manor, where indie rock bands rehearsed and performed. While writing about local politics and culture for LEO Weekly, Jones penned a feature called “That Crazy Jug Band Sound,” which sparked his deep dive into Louisville’s forgotten jug‑band history. The research led him to track down descendants of early players like Sara Martin, many of whom were unaware of their relatives’ musical careers. Jones’s approach blended oral history, archival digging, and grassroots community engagement—an ethnographic method that he describes as critical for preserving heritage before it disappears.
His latest project, Soulful Sounds of Derbytown, continues this mission. Jones is both the editor and a contributor to this collaborative book documenting the history of Black music in Louisville across genres ranging from gospel and blues to R&B and soul. The impetus for the project was the realization that many elders who shaped Louisville’s music scene are now in their seventies and eighties【948471879779953†L1035-L1049】. “People forget about it if we don’t document it now,” Jones explains【948471879779953†L1035-L1049】, underscoring the urgency of oral history work. Through essays, timelines, and biographies, Soulful Sounds of Derbytown weaves a narrative that connects Louisville’s doo‑wop pioneers (such as The Moonglows) to Motown legend Marvin Gaye and contemporary artists.
Public Practice and the National Jug Band Jubilee
Jones’s scholarship is inseparable from his public engagement. He serves on the board of the National Jug Band Jubilee, a festival that celebrates pre‑World War II folk music and educates audiences about Louisville’s role in the genre. The Jubilee not only brings together musicians and scholars but also reconnects families of jug‑band players with their heritage; descendants of Earl McDonald and other pioneers have attended and learned about their ancestors’ achievements through Jones’s research. Beyond the Jubilee, Jones has co‑curated museum exhibitions like “Celebrating the Sounds of Kentucky” and hosted webinars on topics ranging from Haitian banjo traditions to the influence of Black musician Arnold Schultz on bluegrass music.
Such public‑facing work reflects Jones’s belief that folklore thrives when communities can see themselves in the stories. Louisville, he notes, is an arts‑loving city; by harnessing that enthusiasm, through festivals, exhibits, and articles, he has helped cultivate a broader appreciation for Black vernacular music and its cultural context. As a journalist for Louisville Business First and co‑founder of Black Scene Millennium, Jones continues to bring together writing, research, and community organizing.
Why This Work Matters
Honoring Michael L. Jones as our African American Folklorist of the Month is not only a recognition of his individual achievements but also a celebration of the communal stories he champions. His research demonstrates that Louisville’s musical history is not a footnote but a foundational thread in America’s tapestry. By uncovering the African origins of jug‑band instruments, showing how Louisville became a crossroads of Black musical creativity, and documenting the voices of elders before they fade from memory, Jones ensures these narratives are preserved for future generations.
Readers who enjoy this piece can explore Jones’s book Louisville Jug Music: From Earl McDonald to the National Jubilee, attend the National Jug Band Jubilee, or support initiatives like Soulful Sounds of Derbytown that spotlight local cultural heritage. In a world where so many stories go untold, Michael L. Jones reminds us that folklore is alive—and worth celebrating—whenever we listen closely to the music of our communities.
