Jake Blount is an American musician and writer based in Providence, Rhode Island. He specializes in the traditional music of African Americans, and his work has been described as "Afrofuturist folklore." Blount, while initially recognized for his skill as an old-time banjo player and fiddler, is a versatile multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who has described his music as "genrequeer." He often performs most of the parts on his recordings, and fluently employs modern instruments and production techniques in his performances of centuries-old repertoire. His work critiques popular notions of genre and linear time, and usually centers themes of social and environmental justice. Blount's first full-length solo album, Spider Tales, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart. It received a nomination for Album of the Year at the 2021 International Folk Music Awards, was named Best of the Americas in the Songlines Music Awards in the same year. Shortly after the album's release, Blount was awarded the Steve Martin Banjo Prize. His single "The Man Was Burning" appeared on Spotify's list of the Best Blues Songs of 2022. Blount's most recent album, The New Faith, was released by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings as part of their African-American Legacy Series. It was ranked among the best folk and roots releases of 2022 by news outlets including The Guardian, NPR and Rolling Stone. Early life Blount was born and raised in Washington, DC. His family is interracial; his mother's family originates in Sweden and Jersey, and his father is Black. Blount and his older sister, Julia, attended Georgetown Day School. His parents, Jeanne Meserve and Jeffrey Blount, were television news professionals. He began learning to play electric guitar at age 12, and played in rock bands with his peers. Influenced by a chance encounter with Megan Jean and the KFB, Blount delved into acoustic music in the latter half of high school. Blount enrolled at Hamilton College in 2013, where he focused his studies on early African-American folk music. He received his first banjo lessons from Lydia Hamessley, who would become his advisor, and delved into old-time music. Career Blount first received widespread recognition within the old-time community in 2016, when his band The Moose Whisperers won the traditional band contest at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, West Virginia. In mid-2017, Blount graduated from Hamilton College with a B.A. in ethnomusicology, released his debut EP, Reparations, with fiddler Tatiana Hargreaves, and