The Hot Seats

Event information

For 22 years, The Hot Seats have gained and burnished the reputation as the carriers of an important and overlooked tradition of American and international folk music- social commentator, satirist, and entertainer. Homer and Jethro, The Skillet Likkers, The Hoosier Hot Shots, Harry Reser, Woodie Guthrie, Gus Cannon, Phil Ochs, Tommy Jarrell, Arthur Smith, Uncle Dave Macon, Frank Zappa– these are pools in which The Hot Seats swim.

Formed in 2002 by a group of like-minded friends for a weekly bar gig, the band’s live shows quickly became well known for on stage antics, one-act plays, and Dada-esque humor, underpinned by a foundation in hard-driving bluegrass, old time, ragtime, jug blues, and early country music. We refer to our sound under the catchall of “Stringband music” as we find it tedious to get into whether it’s old time, bluegrass, ragtime, country, or general freakout music.

Between 2005-2018, The Hot Seats toured extensively in the US and UK, performing in nearly the full spectrum of venue size and situation: living room to dive bar; square dance to theatre). Some of their festival highlights include: Tønder Festival, The Richmond Folk Festival, Red Wing Roots, Celtic Connections, The Shetland Folk Festival, The Orkney Folk Festival, South By Southwest, Floyd Fest, Bristol Rhythm and Roots Festival, The Watermelon Park Festival, The Northeast Kingdom Music Festival, Didmarton Bluegrass Festival, Maverick Festival, HebCeltFest, Speyfest, Leicester Summer Sundae and multiple occasions Edinburgh Festival Fringe (including winning a Herald Angel Award in 2006).

Since 2020, the band’s original core of Ben Belcher (banjo, bass, fiddle), Josh Bearman (mandolin, banjo, guitar) and Jake Sellers (percussion bass) have been joined by Rudy Bee (fiddle, tuba, accordion, piano), JM Nobile (mandolin, guitar), and Charles Arthur (banjo, fiddle, resophonic guitar).

“The Hot Seats specialize in unearthing and inventing traditional music and twisting it into new concoctions. Full of virtuosity and reverent irreverence, they are a sight to behold.” - Relix Magazine

"Absolutely superb - stunning musicians. If you get a chance to see them, take it. Very highly recommended." - Bruce MacGregor, BBC Radio Scotland

“You can search far and wide and you will not find anyone playing old-time music with this level of sincerity and drive. Other young stringbands either play it too safe, or so haphazard and punkish that it comes off as hokey and contrived. The Hot Seats know how to honor the tradition while bringing it into the modern era with rare intensity.” - Six Water Grog

“If you don't have a good time when the Hot Seats play, check your pulse. You might be dead."- Chris Bopst (Richmond Times Dispatch)

“The focus and polish is an interesting counterpoint to the band’s satiric approach to music-making, that absurd aesthetic that now includes short films and tune-filled plays. Anything but the normal stuff.” - Style Weekly

www.thehotseatsrva.com