The musical duo of FOSTER JONES (Frank Jones – guitar, harmonica, vocals; Jeff Foster – guitar, vocals) first came together in 2010 after an impromptu jam at Swami’s house out on Less Traveled Road in Brown County, Indiana.
Acquaintances for well over 30 years, the two men had never joined forces musically before, yet just two weeks after their casual jam session the duo debuted as FOSTER JONES at the Chateau Thomas Winery in Nashville on January 9, 2010, after the venue had a last-minute cancellation in their entertainment calendar.
Combining their musical talents with a decidedly off-center sense of humor, the combo was an instant hit with the locals, and for the next several years FOSTER JONES entertained folks at nearly every venue in town, and a few wineries in surrounding areas. Frank and Jeff soon established their place in the rich musical culture of the famous artist colony of Brown County, sometimes augmenting their sound with additional heavy hitters in the local music scene, including the always fabulous Carolyn Dutton on violin and Del Sheets on bass, fielding up to eleven players as opportunities arose for musical self-indulgence.
FOSTER JONES live at the Brown County Playhouse
Their music is classic Americana in one sense, with great original songs and unique covers of classic hits, all built around the sounds of steel-string and nylon-string guitars, harmonica and Frank’s distinctive and versatile voice… and with Jeff’s high-end fingerstyle guitar skills, is also imbued with an off-the-cuff improvisational style more akin to jazz.
This unpredictable aspect of their music is also a manifestation of their long-held aversion to over-rehearsing material… to the point where many of their tunes aren’t rehearsed at all!
If Jones knows a tune, they have no fear of trying it on for size together onstage. As Foster puts it, “Jones digs the holes, and I come along and fill ’em back in.”
The men took a hiatus in 2015 to get on with other solo projects. It was the launch of Lost Cabin Lodge that brought them back together in mid-2017, this time focusing on producing videos for their new YouTube channel.
