Session Americana

Session Americana is a band/collective of talented musicians who craft a musical experience unlike any other. Their onstage kit includes a ragtag collection of instruments that have lived a life: a vintage suitcase recast as a kick drum, an old Estey field organ, a pre-war parlor guitar, a mandocello and all of its smaller siblings, a harmonica case fire damaged in a bar far and graffitied by Depeche Mode roadies, and an assortment of other instruments that get passed around in this freewheeling modern hootenanny. The group brings a kind of ease and genuineness to this timeless music, sometimes presenting the latest batch of original songs, sometimes reaching back into depths of the American “song bag.”

Session Americana started life as actual sessions, onstage in Boston. At a certain point, the stage in Boston turned into writing original music and a trip to Kimon Kirk’s home studio to discover their full potential. As Jefferson Hamer says, bands don’t need formal studios to create great music anymore ” a fact that has opened the door to a freer, less-formal recording style. For this Session Americana Session, Billy Beard (drums), Ry Cavanaugh (multiple instruments, vocals), Kirk (bass, vocals), Dinty Child (field organ, mandocello, mandolin, accordion, guitar) and Hamer (guitar, vocals) stopped by BeeHive Studios in Saranac Lake, New York, for some sweet collaborations and exclusive video recordings.