The Dustbowl Revival

The Dustbowl Revival is a Venice, California–based collective that merges old-school bluegrass, gospel, prewar blues, and the hot swing of New Orleans, Louisiana. Known for their roaring live sets, the band brings together many styles of traditional American music. Named the best live band in L.A. by the LA Weekly, each Dustbowl Revival performance promises to be a white-knuckle ride through the history of American folk music that rarely stays on the stage. After placing several songs on networks like ABC and Fox, having tunes featured in independent films like Made in China (a winner at South by Southwest), winning Americana song of the year from the Independent Music Awards, playing festivals such as Outside Lands and Live Oak, and opening for bands like Rebirth Brass Band and Trombone Shorty, the band began barnstorming more extensively across the U.S.

The group's founder, Zach Lupetin, placed a humble Craigslist ad to get the circus started in 2007. The group has grown steadily from a small string band playing up and down the West Coast into a travelling mini-orchestra featuring instrumentation that often includes fiddle, mandolin, trombone, clarinet, trumpet, ukelele, drums, tuba, organ, a bass made from a canoe oar, harmonica, and plenty of washboard and kazoo for good luck. They have settled into an eight-piece touring machine, rattling ceilings and sometimes bringing their sound into the street.

ADMISSION $18 in advance / $22 general admission