Folk Tradition Take Plainview Library by Storm

Bluegrass may not be topping the charts, but that's not to say the music doesn't have avid fans of the down-home country music here on Long Island.

People of all ages gathered Saturday night in the auditorium of the to listen to the music of local Bluegrass musicians,  

The band is comprised of the four members of the Jackofsky family, whose free performance Saturday demonstrated their love for the artform as well as each other.

Father Mike performs lead vocals, plays guitar, clawhammer banjo and the harmonica. Mother Georgianne masterfully plays little known instruments such as mountain dulcimer and the banjo-ukulele. Erica Jacofsky plays fiddle and, the youngest member of the clan, Annalee, plays mandolin and the jawharp. The three women contribute background vocals and expertly perform flatfoot dancing, a little known form of dance which combines African buck dancing (derived from African slaves) and Irish line dancing.

As Rick introduced his daughters, who quietly seemed to wander on the stage, Rick told the audience the dreadful tale behind Bluegrass hit, “Two Sisters” which the family was about to perform. It tells of an older sister who murders her younger sister, whose dead body is turned into a fiddle by a local fiddler, which results in the older sister being found out and hanged. As the family played the tune, audience members nodded their heads and clapped along.

The group played a cross-section of tunes, both self composed and by famous bands. Each time Rick explained the song's history.

“Banjo players, for some reason, like to sing about murder and moonshine,” Rick quipped at one point.

Each song, with their down-home and classic folk  themes, transported Saturday night's audience as music filled the library. The event is one of many free performances hosted by the library.