Jake Xerxes Fussell & Naima Bock in Liverpool

Jake Xerxes Fussell is an American singer and guitarist, born in 1981 and raised in Columbus, Georgia. He is known for interpreting traditional folk songs through spare vocals and carefully shaped guitar arrangements. His recordings include the self-titled Jake Xerxes Fussell, Good and Green Again and When I’m Called, as well as versions of songs such as “Raggy Levy” and “Have You Ever Seen Peaches Growing on a Sweet Potato Vine?” Jake Xerxes Fussell has performed at Newport Folk Festival and Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival, bringing this traditional repertoire to major roots-music gatherings. He has also toured North America and Europe through theatres and listening rooms, often appearing alone with guitar, while his festival history includes Big Ears and Pickathon.

Naima Bock is a British singer-songwriter raised between São Paulo and London who makes contemporary folk shaped by psychedelic and chamber-pop arrangements. Formerly the bassist in Goat Girl, she established her solo work with the 2022 album Giant Palm, including “Every Morning” and its title track, and followed it with Below a Massive Dark Land. After Giant Palm arrived, Naima Bock toured Britain, continental Europe and North America, playing clubs and festivals with a band that could accommodate the record’s layered arrangements. In 2023, she brought an ensemble to NPR’s Tiny Desk in Washington, D.C.