Jake Blount with Sprig of That

Jake Blount plays The Cedar Cultural Center on Thursday, November 19, performing with the Minneapolis quartet Sprig of That. Blount is a performer and scholar of Black folk music based in Providence, Rhode Island. He first made a name for himself as a string-band musician, and since then he's taken his work to Carnegie Hall, the Newport Folk Festival, and NPR's Tiny Desk. His albums, released on Free Dirt Records and Smithsonian Folkways, have appeared on best-of lists from NPR, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone.

Blount's work extends beyond the stage. He served as music consultant for the film Sinners and worked on the soundtrack of Ken Burns's The American Revolution. He holds an A.M. in Musicology and Ethnomusicology from Brown University, where he's currently working toward a Ph.D. and a second master's in Anthropology.

Sprig of That is a Minneapolis quartet playing tabla, fiddle, cello, and guitar. They formed in 2018, drawing on acoustic pioneers like Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain, and Chris Thile. They released bloom in 2023, and their next album, Foragers, is due early 2027. That record features guest appearances by Sierra Hull, Olov Johansson, Simon Chrisman, Rohith Jayaraman, and Wes Corbett.

Doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 7:30 PM at The Cedar, 416 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454.