If you’ve heard of the jam band The Bridge featured on The Wire, you may already know Cris Jacobs. His latest album, One of These Days, was released on April 26, 2024. Following the release, Jacobs embarked on a tour with Tommy Emmanuel but had to cancel some shows due to a family bereavement. He performed at the Grand Ole Opry alongside Lindsay Lou and continued playing major festivals such as High Sierra, Telluride, and 4848. The passing of Phil Lesh, whom he and his father admired, deeply affected him. Jacobs capped off the season with the Oh Billy Where Art Thou Halloween show in his hometown of Baltimore, MD, reflecting a year filled with profound highs and lows. Some years ask questions, and some years provide the answers.

Cris was kind enough to call in and chat about 2024 with Grateful Web on Wednesday, November 6th, the day after the US Elections.

GW: It’s high noon in Baltimore, My name is June with the Grateful Web and today we are joined by a very special guest, Cris Jacobs. Cris, thank you for joining us today. 

This interview was originally scheduled many moons ago, we’ve played quite the game of raincheck! There is so much going on in your world these days Cris, how are you doing?

CJ: I’m doing okay. To put it as optimistically as possible, it’s not the best day.

GW: I was surprised how chipper my voice came out. Thanks for recognizing the weight of a day like today.

CJ: It’s a tough one but what can you do?

GW: I’m grateful to be speaking with someone in the great state of Maryland today. I don’t know. I don’t know what we can do.

CJ: I feel grateful to be living in Maryland, that’s for sure. I thought I was mentally prepared for it but apparently, I wasn’t. It’s a tough one but what can we do? We just gotta move on. 

GW: I’m so happy to be chatting with you today. We’ll just talk about other stuff. We gotta move on, carry on, keep on goin’. So with that in mind, we were supposed to do this interview back in April when your album One of These Days was set to be released. 

Let’s work backward from that, how was Oh Billy Where Art Thou? 

CJ: That was an incredible experience, just an incredible experience on so many levels. 

GW: Babyface Jacobs!

CJ: That’s right! They did such an amazing job putting that show together. The production value and the narrative, all the actors and dancers, and the way they pieced it all together. It was so amazing to be a part of. I cannot say enough good things about Billy Strings, his band, and his entire team. They are as professional and top-notch as you can get. The fact that I got to play two sold-out shows at the Baltimore Arena, now called the CFG Bank Arena. 

I have been going to that place since I was going to see the Baltimore Bullets games with my Dad or Disney on Ice as a kid. What a thrill to play on that stage in my hometown. It was amazing, all-around amazing. It was so great to be around all the musicians he had out there. They are all great people. 

GW: I saw a clip of you playing Steve Miller’s "Take the Money and Run" with cash falling from the rafters!

CJ: Yep! I got to play “When the Levee Breaks” with them. It was just awesome! Then the next night we did Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and the Bobby Bare tune “Streets of Baltimore,” which was so cool.

GW: One of These Days, the new album will be the story of your 2024. My personal favorite is “Queen of the Avenue” with the McCrary Sisters and Sam Bush.

CJ: Very cool. Thank you!

GW: Alongside that is Billy Strings’ new album, Highway Prayers, which ends with the track "Richard Petty." It’s great how the chorus is “One of those days” so it naturally begs for your album to be next on the playlist. Listening to these two hand in hand is just beautiful.

CJ: That’s cool! I love his album, it’s great. I’m super happy with how mine came out. It was such a great experience making that record. It was right on time for me in my life and career. Just to be able to do that, I’m so grateful and super proud of it. 

GW: The track “Poor Davey” has Billy Strings on it. Tell us how that came to be.

CJ: We’ve known each other for a bunch of years now, coming up in the festival circuit and mutual friends, all that. I think we met in Baltimore forever ago. He has invited me to sit in on a set or two with him. We’ve collaborated on sets together for festivals. He has been a friend, so when I was making the record, as the songs started coming together, we had a moment. It was real organic, I didn’t set out to have Billy on my album but when we felt that song could be really cool with someone else on it, it had Billy’s name written all over it. Jerry Douglas reached out to him and he agreed. It is always great to have Jerry in your corner.

GW: So how did Jerry come to sit in on the track “Daughter Daughter”? Can you tell us about the cigar box guitar that you used for that song?

CJ: I’ve got a few of them now, all made by the same guy. His name is Braxton Nagle. He is out of Oregon. I have a three-stringer and a four-stringer. The one I used for “Daughter Daughter” was the four-stringer. It’s just a cigar box with four strings on it but it’s got some special mojo to it. Obviously, it’s not the best subject in the world to have to write about. I was sitting around in despair after the millionth mass shooting of the year, or whatever it was. All I could think about was that I have two young daughters. How do they gotta live in this world? Go to school? All that. It just poured out of me, recorded with just me and that cigar box guitar. When I played it for Jerry, he was really into it. He had some ideas to add some cool psychedelic lap steel stuff and that track is just the two of us. 

GW: This whole year, you have been very open and vulnerable about the wild ride you’ve been on. I was going to ask about Phil Lesh but I think your Instagram post says it all. 

CJ: That was special. I had a special connection to Phil. 

GW: And you lost your Dad this year?

CJ: I did. He passed away at the beginning of May. It has been a year. That happened maybe a week after I released One of These Days. it’s been quite the year of highs and lows which does not seem to be letting up any time soon. I’m just praying for some boring times at some point. It feels like intense euphoric highs and extreme lows but I am learning how to cope with all that as we are. I’m trying to stay healthy and positive in this world. 

GW: Was there a moment where you were able to pivot from your journey of self-doubt or depression? Do you have any words of wisdom from all these experiences of the last year?

CJ: It’s not a one-moment pivot. It’s a build-up of small steps. 

Before I did One of These Days, I was really in the throes of it personally, mentally, emotionally, and then physically. That’s all tied together, as you may know, the whole mind-body-spirit connection. I needed to make a change. I got into meditation, started taking antidepressants, and had some therapy. Little by little, I started to make my way out of it and write songs. As I started writing songs and getting together with Jerry, it gave me the wherewithal to feel better and confident. After making the record, when it was all said and done, I felt a huge weight off my shoulders. It was a huge validation that I could still do this. It felt really good. Every day is a new challenge but…

GW: There are no overnight solutions?

CJ: Not for me. All these things help a lot and continue to help. I got up a did a little extra meditating today. I took a nice walk in the woods because I am refusing to let myself go back to that place, even in the face of everything that is going on right now. It’s upsetting but life goes on. We have to do our best.

GW: Yes! In your Rolling Stone interview, I loved how you spoke of the communal style of music, bluegrass. Can you talk about the importance of your community?

CJ: That is something that really helps lift me up! Being surrounded by so many great people! I have a great community at home. I got a great family. Baltimore has always been so supportive of me. I always feel so much love in this town. Sometimes I fall into that trap of thinking or feeling as if I have to do everything alone. Maybe I don’t ask for help or admit that I’m not fully okay. 

I’m just coming to that realization and being vulnerable with people was a huge lift for me. Making this record with all these wonderful amazing people, the Infamous Stringdusters, Jerry Douglas, Billy, Lindsay Lou, and Sam Bush, just everybody was so great and supportive and encouraging. It was inspiring. The band that I tour with are some of my best friends in the world, my brothers. They lift me up. We were just texting about leaving tomorrow for a run. We are looking forward to a little group therapy. It’s a struggle out there sometimes. If I had the inclination to do it all quietly and stoically throughout my life… Well, letting go of that has been a big help for me. 

GW: What’s next? You are taking a run and coming to Chicago, I know that! November 20th

CJ: Yes! Going on the road starting tomorrow through Thanksgiving. We’ve been out a bunch before this. This will be the end of the run for now. It’s been great. It's fun to get these songs out on stage and have them evolve with us. Hanging out with my brothers, and playing music is like time travel of sorts. You forget about the troubles of the world. It’s tough being away from my family but it feels like good honest work. It fuels me.

GW: The beauty of live music - it sure does time travel. It transcends all space and time for everyone in the room. 

CJ: Absolutely. You meet so many good people out there. In the face of all this crap that is going on right now, any time you can get out there and meet good people. When you can share in that joy of music with people, it’s encouraging and affirming that there is good in the world and the human race. The human connection that we all have lost or at least, a lot of us have lost. The technology and social media have deteriorated that human connection. That’s the best part!

GW: We are really looking forward to your show in Chicago

CJ: Space in Evanston! Yes, that is a great room. I like that place a lot. We will be nice and warmed up by that point too. 

GW: Lucky Pickers will open in the evening. Those newlyweds always play great tunes. I’m expecting a candlelight vigil of voices on Wednesday, November 20th at Space.

CJ: Excellent! I look forward to meeting you I love Chicago, can’t wait! I hope I don’t come across too woe is me. It’s been lovely talking to you. My mom’s name is June.

GW: We love you just as you are. Thank you so much for sharing some time with us today. 

Get tickets to see Cris ON TOUR

• Nov 7, 2024   Cohoes Music Hall   Cohoes, NY
• Nov 8, 2024   The Cutting Room   New York, NY
• Nov 9, 2024   Nectar's   Burlington, VT  USE CODE "PIMLICO" FOR TICKETS
• Nov 10, 2024   Stage One   Fairfield, CT
• Nov 11, 2024   The Sinclair   Cambridge, MA
• Nov 14, 2024   Buffalo Iron Works   Buffalo, NY
• Nov 15, 2024   Grog Shop   Cleveland Heights, OH
• Nov 16, 2024   Park Theatre   Holland, MI
• Nov 17, 2024   The Ark   Ann Arbor, MI
• Nov 19, 2024   HI-FI Indy   Indianapolis, IN
• Nov 20, 2024   SPACE   Evanston, IL
• Nov 21, 2024   Club Cafe   Pittsburgh, PA
• Nov 22, 2024   The Atlantis   Washington, DC  USE CODE "PIMLICO" FOR TICKETS
• Nov 23, 2024   The Lounge at World Cafe Live   Philadelphia, PA