Jug Band Festival
The Great Northeast Jug Band Festival
IMPORTANT UPDATE: In light of the forecasted storm, we are moving the event to the Arlington Community Center at 27 Maple St!
New England’s ONLY Jug Band Festival will highlight traditions from the 1920’s and 30’s, and the modern evolution of this good-time music. This event is free and open to the public. Bring your dancing shoes and enjoy performances by three of the region's best Jug Bands!
This year's event features an all female-lead line-up including Dirty Mother String Band, Zoë Lewis and the Educated Fleas, and Annie and the Jug Tappers!
Thank you to our event hosts - Arlington Brewing Company + Arlington Historical Society
2026 Festival Schedule
Friday, September 25 | 7:30-9:30pm
Open Jug Band Jam
Join The Jug Nuts for the return of our Open Jug Band Jam at Donut Villa!
@ 319 Broadway in Arlington
Saturday, September 26 | 1-6pm
Festival Performances + Makers Table
1pm | Jug Band Jam w/ The Jug Nuts (open to all)
2pm | Dirty Mother String Band (1 Hour Set)
3:15pm | Zoë Lewis and the Educated Fleas (1 Hour Set)
4:30pm | Annie and the Jug Tappers (1 Hour Set)
ALL DAY | Returning in 2026! -- Makers Table highlighting home-made and cigar box instrument builders! Featured artists include:
Michael Buonaiuto, The Jug Nut
Steve Maggs, Woodworker + Custom Washboard Maker
Image Credit: Liz Rabson Schnore (top image), Zoe Lewis (middle image),
and Annie Linders (bottom image)
About Our Performers:
The Dirty Mother String Band is a powerhouse quartet of dynamic women musicians and artists, united by a love of bawdy blues, early jazz, and string band music. With tight rhythms, fiery solos, and an irreverent spirit, they celebrate the music of the marginalized, especially the bold, subversive songs written by women of the 20s and 30s. Their setlist is a lively mix of vintage gems, cheeky originals, and modern tunes, delivered with grit, humor, and a rebellious heart.
Band members include Liz Rabson Schnore (Uke, Harmonica), Sarah Gancher (Fiddle), Sarah Klein (Upright Bass), and Alex Deane (Guitar).
Zoë Lewis and the Educated Fleas
Affectionately known as “a band in a body” Zoë Lewis plays vagabond jazz, gypsy swing and world-beat grooves on anything from the piano to the spoons! World traveler, storyteller, singer-songwriter, plate spinner her boundless energy is hard to ignore! Originally from the UK, Zoë now makes her home in Provincetown, Cape Cod where she performs every summer. She’s traveled to over 70 countries picking up musical grooves and stories along the way, released ten albums of original material, toured with Judy Collins, the Indigo Girls, Richie Havens, Nanci Griffiths and has even opened for Pat Benetar on the ukulele! At the Festival she will be joined by her band "Zoë Lewis & the Educated Fleas" a tip of the hat to the great Cole Porter with Ken Field on sax, Ron Siegel on upright bass and Kareem Sanjaghi on drums. Get ready for an upbeat and joyous set!
Annie and the Jug Tappers are a fun Jug Band spin on the acclaimed group Annie and the Fur Trappers! They are a Boston-based traditional jazz and blues band. The band was founded in 2016 in St. Louis, Missouri, and features clarinet, trumpet, trombone, bass, banjo, guitar, and washboard. Annie and the Fur Trappers is dedicated to performing and preserving the traditional jazz, delta blues, ragtime, and swing music of the 1920s and 30s.
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Jug Band Festival Know Before You Go
Please consult our Know Before You Go section for full details about our Great Northeast Jug Band Festival, including event location, directions, and more. To access a full transcript of this section, please download our Know Before You Go Guide.
Accessibility
Arlington Community Center has automated doors and elevator access to all levels. The 27 Maple Street entrance is wheelchair accessible and has a round driveway for easy drop offs. There are two ADA accessible parking spaces along Maple Street and several located behind the building in the parking lot. When you enter the building from 27 Maple St you will be on the ground floor. To reach the 1st floor where the Main Hall is located, you can turn left and proceed down the hallway for the elevator to the 1st floor. Our 20 Academy St entrance features a staircase with 12 steps leading into the 1st floor.
Admission
No admission is required for this event, but refreshments require payment.
Directions and Transportation
From Cambridge/Somerville: Take Mass. Ave. toward Arlington and past the Robbins Library (on your left). Academy Street is the first left as you pass the Robbins Library.
From Lexington: Take Mass. Ave. through Arlington Center. Take a right just before reaching Arlington Town Hall onto Academy St and our building will be on the left.
From Rt. 2: Take Exit 134 toward Rt 60/Arlington/Belmont. Follow Pleasant St/Rt.60 toward Arlington until it intersects with Mass. Ave. Take a left on Mass Ave, past the Robbins Library and take the first left onto Academy St.
Event Location
Arlington Community Center
27 Maple St
Arlington, MA 02476
Masking
Masking is not required for the Jug Band Festival spaces. Free masks are available at Arlington Center for the Arts’ information table.
Parking
There is a parking lot in the rear of the Arlington Community Center building, which includes several accessible parking spaces. ACA shares this parking lot with multiple town offices and organizations. Parking spots can sometimes fill up quickly. If driving, we recommend giving yourself extra time to secure a spot in our lot or find alternative parking on the street.
There is free, 4-hr, on-street parking on Academy St and Maple Street, and metered parking along the Mass Ave corridor. The Town of Arlington has an interactive map for those looking for municipal parking in the area.
Restrooms
There are several all-gender, wheelchair-accessible restrooms located on the first floor of the Arlington Community Center.
Seating
There are chairs available for seating in the Main Hall and in the hallway spaces.
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Jug Band Festival T-Shirts
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What's Jug Band Music?
It’s bluesy, jazzy, and fun! With roots from Appalachia, New Orleans, and Africa, jug band music started in the south (notably Louisville Kentucky and Memphis Tennessee) in the 1920’s and 30’s. Highly popular "back in the day", jug bands such as Gus Cannon’s Jug Stompers and the Memphis Jug Band incorporated a variety of conventional and home-made instruments (such as spoons, washtub bass, and washboard), and, of course, featured jug-blowing as a rhythmic backbone. Jug band music could have quietly slid into obscurity if not for a revival in the 1960’s by notable musicians such as John Sebastian, Jerry Garcia, Jim Kweskin, and Maria Muldaur. Today, the genre is alive and well, as you’ll get to hear and see when you come to the festival.
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