EAST MEREDITH - Jake Xerxes Fussell, a quiet but commanding presence in contemporary American folk music, will perform at the West Kortright Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m., bringing with him a body of work rooted in the deep traditions of Southern song.
Fussell, an American singer and guitarist, has built his reputation not on revival but on attentive listening — patiently gathering and reinterpreting traditional folk and blues songs drawn from field recordings, oral histories and personal archives. Over five studio albums, beginning with his self-titled debut in 2015, he has emerged as one of the most thoughtful interpreters of the American folk canon.
His most recent album, When I’m Called, produced by James Elkington, features contributions from Ben Whiteley of The Weather Station and Joe Westerlund of Bon Iver and Califone. Pitchfork praised the record’s authority and imagination, writing that “no other American singer is repurposing our old folk scripts with so much ingenuity.” The New Yorker has described Mr. Fussell as “a folksinger in the truest sense,” while NPR’s Ann Powers has called him “maybe the leading interpreter of American folk music right now.”
More recently, Fussell and Elkington collaborated on the score for Rebuilding, a feature film directed by Max Walker-Silverman and starring Josh O’Connor. The soundtrack was released on Fat Possum Records in November 2025.
Opening the evening will be Dougie Poole, a Brooklyn-born singer-songwriter now based in Los Angeles, whose country-inflected songs have earned a following of their own.
Doors open at 6 p.m. Food and drinks will be available at the concession stand. The concert will be held indoors with general admission seating. Tickets are $30, with a 10 percent discount for members and half-price admission for children 12 and under. Tickets may be purchased at westkc.org.
