Live From The Waterworks 2025
Get ready for the next presentation of Live From The Waterworks: A Gamble Rogers Concert Series! Along with our co-host and sponsor, The St. Johns Cultural Council, we are delighted to present such an array of talent from across the country and from right here at home.
Jerron Paxton with Ruth Wyand
February 22, 2025
Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton has earned a reputation for transporting audiences back to the 1920's and making them wish they could stay there for good. Blind Boy Paxton may be one of the greatest multi-instrumentalists that you have not heard of. Yet. And time is getting short, fast. This young musician sings and plays banjo, guitar, piano, fiddle, harmonica, Cajun accordion, and the bones (percussion). Paxton has an eerie ability to transform traditional jazz, blues, folk, and country into the here and now, and make it real. In addition, he mesmerizes audiences with his humor and storytelling. Paxton's sound is influenced by the likes of Fats Waller and "Blind" Lemon Jefferson. According to Will Friedwald in the Wall Street Journal, Paxton is "virtually the only music-maker of his generation—playing guitar, banjo, piano and violin, among other implements—to fully assimilate the blues idiom of the 1920s and '30s."
​Ruth Wyand has achieved a level of diversity that has exceeded the expectations of audiences around the world. Her guitar virtuosity is demonstrated by dynamic fingerpicking, bottleneck slide and a warm alto voice. She plays a mix of Americana, jazz, blues, folk, country augmented by Piedmont and bluegrass clawhammer fingerpicking. Playing well-crafted instrumental arrangements of classics ranging from Doc Watson, Etta Baker, Jimi Hendrix, Leo Kottke to Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington and Nina Simone, each song, no matter how different has a firm Ruth Wyand stamp of style on it. Her songwriting is universal, timeless, relatable, emotionally resonant, sometimes witty, sometimes serious but always human and genuine. Wyand has toured extensively throughout the United States, Britain, New Zealand, Kuwait and France and has won numerous awards for guitar and songwriting including the Gamble Rogers Fingerstyle Guitar Competition, the South Florida Folk Festival Songwriting Competition and the Hank Williams Songwriting Award.
The Jeff Picker Band with Todd & Molly Jones
March 22, 2025
The Jeff Picker Band
Known for his versatility across multiple styles, Jeff Picker is an in-demand double bassist, bass guitarist, composer, and bandleader in Nashville, TN.
Hailed as the “designated bassist to the stars,” (The Willamette Week) Jeff is a touring member of platinum-selling, genre-bending, progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek (Chris Thile, Sara Watkins, Sean Watkins), with whom he has performed extensively in the United States and Europe. Prior to that, he spent 5 years as a member of 15-time GRAMMY Award winner and Grand Ole Opry member Ricky Skaggs’ band Kentucky Thunder, and one year as a member of IBMA Award-winning all-star bluegrass ensemble East Nash Grass. He appears frequently as a member of the staff band at the Grand Ole Opry, accompanying country legends such as Vince Gill, John Anderson, and many more.
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Jeff has also appeared on over 50 records in styles ranging from bluegrass to country to jazz to Americana, including Sarah Jarosz’s acclaimed 2024 release “Polaroid Lovers.” He has also performed or recorded on a freelance basis with dozens of other artists including Mark O’Connor, Sam Bush, John Jorgensen, Tim O’Brien, and David Grisman.
Todd and Molly Jones
Beloved is a word that doesn't quite get it done when considering how the St. Augustine community feels about Todd and Molly Jones. They are keepers of a flame that you will recognize within yourself even if you have never heard their music before. In commune with the human spirit, their music resonates in ways that will touch your heart, lift you up and make you cry. In their own words: 20 years harmonizing... love, loss, acceptance... melodic journal... family portrait... breathing deep... building bridges... lighting matches... tending the hearth fire.., burning it all down... . Come and experience the magic yourself on March 22nd.
Gamble Ramble Raffle 2025
Tickets available now!
Enter to WIN and Support the Festival
Every ticket increases your chance to win a vacation package to Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia!
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The ticket packages include 1 ticket for $5.00 or 5 tickets for $20.00. That's 1 FREE ticket for each 5 ticket package purchased! Simply select a package from the dropdown on this paypal form, add your desired quantity and check out!
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Why do we celebrate Gamble’s legacy? Find out from our President, Jim Carrick.
