"On their website Hunter & Seamons generously provide videos of most of the source material. Thus, you can compare the originals to [Hunter, Seamons & Wiggins]. They aren't the same, and the differences, surprising and delightful, place them firmly inside a living and evolving tradition. I'm no psychic, but I predict that A Black & Tan Ball is destined to be among the most acclaimed (and prize-winning) folk and blues albums of 2017."
- Jerome Clark, RAMBLES.NET
“Hunter and Seamons present the kinds of songs that invite participation, and they give lots of indications of the various forms participation might take. A hand slapping a knee on “Some of these Days,” a gloriously goofy kazoo on “Jungle Nights in Harlem” a pair of bones on “Mississippi Heavy Water Blues,” the solo callouts on “Jazz Fiddler” – whether you actually do grab something and play along, the point is made that this is not music for the stage, it’s music for the living room, specifically your living room, not just theirs. The very sympathetic production across the album underscores that idea. For those of us who aren’t able to be in the room with them, this disc is so inviting, so intimate, that you’ll feel like you were.”
– Glen Herbert, Sing Out!
“These are musicians who would rather you clap your hands, or see you dance, than play in such a way that holds up the invisible wall between performer and audience. Hunter and Seamons have cast a huge net around traditional songs from a variety of genres . . . What I thought would be a folk album sounds more like a blues album played with folk instruments.”
– American Standard Time
“Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons recently made American roots music come alive for students of the University of Washington’s “Music and Community” seminar. They musically expressed in nuanced ways the meandering traditional melodies, be it in ballads, blues, or folk songs of 19th century Americans whose music they have listened to and learned well. Their research on the songs was evident in the tales they told to deliver cultural meanings and functions of the music in the lives of historic rural and urban people of the Appalachians, the Ozarks, and the American south. As we exchanged with them on issues and ideals of musical communities, it became clear to all present that they hold in high esteem the historic American musical communities even as they are actively engaged in bringing the music home to living communities of listeners today. Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons are remarkable musicians who are making their mark in the honoring of American roots music for our listening pleasure.”
– Patricia S. Campbell, Donald E. Petersen Professor of Music, Univ. of Washington
