Ramblin’ Jack Elliott

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, as if it wasn’t clear from his name alone, operates in the illustrious tradition of folk music. His work, lifestyle and persona have influenced everyone from Bob Dylan to Jerry Jeff Walker, from Johnny Cash to The Grateful Dead, from Bruce Springsteen to Beck. Dude dropped the first of his 18 studio albums in 1955, when Bob Dylan, his most important friend, successor and champion, was just 14 years old. As such, it wouldn’t be inappropriate to see him as a bridge between Woody Guthrie and Dylan. All of Elliott’s impeccable work is hallmarked by open-hearted wanderlust, Americana romanticism and the man’s organic, pleasantly nasal, everyman crooning. Still ramblin’ at the ripe old age of 84, Elliott is a Grammy-winning, National Medal of the Arts recipient who has faithfully and exuberantly carried the American folk tradition into the new millennium. His most recent release, 2009’s A Stranger Here, finds our hero with dusty boots still obstinately planted on the soil of timeworn folk and blues. To say that Sunday’s set at Sam’s will be something of a throwback would be an understatement.