STILL FREAKING/FOLKING/FREAKFOLKING
Jude Brothers is an Arkansas forged and New Mexico molded folksy leaning singer songwriter with a penchant for whimsy and tender heartedness. Brothers’ distinct writing style is marked by congenial contrasts: passionate & playful, calculated & relaxed, approachable & quirky.
Their lyrics communicate a simultaneous existential dread and intoxicating thrill of living and loving, a practice in raw and shameless vulnerability shared through song. All of this is transmitted through nimble vocal frolicking- a shapeshifter voice crawling, leaping, pirouetting through a mystical landscape of their own creation.
.....Let’s say you are in a forest, and you don’t know how you got there. A strong voice lilts from an autumnal quiet to a riveting loud stream to sing you the spell of their story. Is it a mockingbird? The spirit of an ash tree? A mischievous, but benevolent forest sprite?
Nay! Tis but your new friend, Jud. Or Jude. Or Judith. With harp, guitar, and sometimes tenor banjo in tow, this freaky little Ozark bard has come bearing gifts: Songs that blend traditional sensibilities with contemporary concerns, steeped in Brothers’ attendant regional influences of their Arkansas home – and enriched through their abiding and engaged love of various world folk traditions.
"There's something deeply captivating about Jude Brothers, something that brings all other surrounding noise or rush to an utter calm. Be it through their comforting lyrical storytelling, angelic melodic trills or whimsical performances, the Arkansas artist has a unique charm that's set to take off in 2023.
If you can catch them live then don't miss the opportunity, trust us. Prep for tears and goosebumps, though - Jude Brothers speaks straight to the soul. "
-Ciara Bains, Holler Country
"Solo Arkansas singer-songwriter Jude Brothers delivered a mesmerizing set behind their harp. Their voice aches with a high Ozarks mystery, beautiful and haunting, while their songs wind like kudzu through long ballads and existential inquiry."
-Doug Freeman, The Austin Chronicle
“Alternating between banjo, harp, and guitar, Brothers’ emotive performance recalled the likes of Gillian Welch, Joanna Newsom and Karen Dalton.”
-Jonny Leather, Mecca Lecca
“-a powerful songwriting force conveying emotive lyricism, freak-folk stylings and sick-ass harp.”
-Alex De Vore, Santa Fe Reporter