Freight Train Blues: Gail Ceasar, Javier Montano, Lakota John Locklear

Gail Ceasar floats somewhere between bluegrass and the blues. Her music has roots that run deep in Virginia soil. Taught the blues by her uncle, Pete Witcher, Gail’s Piedmont style is “reminiscent of Etta Baker and Elizabeth Cotten” (Bluegrass Situation). Losing her home to a fire in 2022 didn’t stop her from releasing her debut album, Guitar Woman Blues. The album, produced by Music Maker, has been called “sweet and captivating” and “gritty and raw as the high lonesome wind” (Americana Highways). She performed with Music Maker at the National Gallery of Art in February 2023.

Javier Montano is a young singer/songwriter born and raised in North Carolina. With Mexican roots (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, and Chiapas Mexico), Javier strives to represent Regional Mexican music. He has been Involved in the music world since he was 14 years old. He continues to showcase his talent to leave a mark in the heart of his public. As a first generation musician in the family, he is hungry for success.

Lakota John Locklear 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 2024

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 3 and June 21, 2024 at the Carrboro Town Commons, 301 W. Main Street. The series is a collaboration among  Music Maker Foundation, the Town of Carrboro, WUNC 91.5 FM, and The Forests at Duke. Funding for this year’s series was also provided by the North Carolina Arts Council’s Spark the Arts initiative.

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.