Freight Train Blues: Gail Ceasar and Lakota John

Gail Ceaser

The roots of Gail Ceasar’s’ music run deep into the Virginia soil. After Music Maker met and began working with the great blues guitarist Boo Hanks in Virginia, we began doing more fieldwork in that state and soon met a blues player from Pittsylvania County named Pete Witcher. We returned several times to record Pete, and every time we visited, Pete made a point of taking us to see his niece Gail Ceasar. He was so proud of her guitar playing. She plays with incredible precision.

John “Lakota John” Locklear

Lakota John is, in and of himself, a living representation of the musical cultures of southeastern North Carolina. He is a member of the Lumbee Tribe who combines the blues with the indigenous music of his ancestors. Born in 1997, John Lakota Locklear, grew up listening to his dad’s music collection.  At 7 years old, he picked up the harmonica and, at 7, his first guitar. Intrigued by the sound of the slide guitar, by 10 he had bought himself a glass slide, placed it on his pinky finger and has been sliding ever since. Today, Mama Tonya, Papa John and Sister Layla join him to form a proud Lumbee Nation family of talented musicians. Since the creation of blues music, Native Americans have paid an often overlooked but deep contribution to this musical tradition. Lakota John & Kin continue to Meld their ancestors’ ancient harmonies With traditional blues.

Freight Train Blues 2025

The Town of Carrboro, N.C., proudly presents the Music Maker Foundation’s Freight Train Blues series of live concerts every Friday evening between May 16 and June 13, 2025 at the Carrboro Town Commons, 301 W. Main Street. The series is a collaboration among  Music Maker Foundation, the Town of Carrboro and The Forests at Duke.

Bring your picnic, lawn chairs and blankets for a FREE evening of live music on the lawn. Public parking is available and free in downtown Carrboro.

Music Maker Foundation’s Freight Train Blues series honors Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten’s legacy in the world of roots music by emphasizing the cultural diversity, complexity, and vitality of her music and the music of many other artists local to her community and all over the country.