Daisy Jug Band to Close Out Southampton Days Fair

There's only one thing that saxophonist Greg Fickner can guarantee about a Daisy Jug Band show: if you’re there, and you’re a part of it, you’re going to have a good time.

“We just like to play the music that people enjoy, the music they want to hear,” said Fickner.  “We try to get the audience involved in the show and make it kind of interactive.  It’s always a lot of fun.”    

 He said the band has changed with the times, always adapting their style in accordance with their audience’s tastes.

Currently, the Daisy Jug Band consists of Fickner on sax and washboard, Vic Paul on keyboards,  Paul Aussicker on guitar, mandolin, and lap steel and Steve Fever on lead guitar.  All of the members of the band are native to the Bucks County area.  

“We started a while ago in Bucks County playing all the time,” said Fickner.  “The band was sort of a bluegrass jug band back then.  We were just playing for fun, to have a good time.  Then we started changing our music to where we were playing more country, oldies, rock - stuff like that.  Our philosophy has always been to play fun music the people will enjoy.”

The band has been around for just about as long as the Southampton Days fair itself, but the lineup has changed over the past four decades.  

While the set lists have evolved,  one thing has remained a constant for The Daisy Jug Band: their respect for their audience’s wishes and their aim of always pleasing the crowd has never wavered. 

That mindset has taken them to some pretty impressive venues.  

Fickner and company have played the Spectrum during Flyers’ games,  down in Camden Yards for the Baltimore Orioles, and for a celebration on the Ben Franklin Bridge when it was first lit up.

Gigging from the Poconos to the Jersey shore, and pretty much everywhere in between, Fickner estimates the band plays around 100 shows per year.  

“We do everything,” he said.  “We play for everyone from kids to seniors.  One day we might do a wedding and play wedding music.  We like to say we’re good time music for any occasion.”

The Daisy Jug Band has made numerous appearances at Southampton Days during their forty year career.  Fickner said there’s nothing they enjoy more than getting a chance to play at home.  

“Originally, we’re all from Bucks County,” he said.  “We’ve done Southampton Days many times.  We’ve done the parade, we’ve played back in that gazebo, in the park while the carnival is going on - we always like playing at home.  Even though we go down the shore and up the mountains, our favorite thing is to play locally.”  

“We just hope everybody comes out,” he added.  “If they come out they’re going to have a great time and get involved.  We’ll get people up there playing pots and pans, kazoos.  We just like to get out there and have fun - that’s been the slogan of the band for a long time.”

You can catch the Daisy Jug Band performing on the Lion’s Grove stage at the Southampton Days Fair on Saturday, July 9th.  from 7 - 8:30 PM.