Last week, I had the chance to meet Randy Cato, a real life Limberjack performer. Randy was conducting a children's workshop featuring these percussive dancers at the Susquehanna Folk Festival in Lewisberry, PA.
He had some fantastic handmade Limberjacks on hand, including four legged animal jacks and this old moonshiner.
Randy gave a demonstration on how to play these deep Appalachian instruments. What amazed me most was how well they were at keeping the beat! Watch the video:
Want to get into this even more? You can build your own Limberjack with our free plans from 1935:
Also, see the wild limberjack toys of Wade Costenbader in our feature here.
Replies
Loved this Shane. I still have performance issues with my Limber Jacks but love making them. You’ll see my band of Jacks perform on Nation some day soon. My band is “The Wooden Hearts”.
What a fun "instument". reminds me of the Irish dances.
Wow, I haven’t seen a limberjack since I was young, country fair chic.