Cross-Eyed Possum
in concert
Saturday, May 11, 2024, 7:00 PM
$25 general, $27 door, $30 priority seating in first 3 rows
Buy tickets online at ShowTix4U.com
Festival Touring Band visits OTCA
Cross-Eyed Possum is a nationally touring band known for playing large festivals and events including Pickin’ in The Pines, where they placed first in 2022, and the 40th Annual Huck Finn Jubilee. As members of Sugar and the Mint, they won the Telluride Bluegrass Band Contest in 2017.
Jason Howard (upright bass & lead vocals), Jonah Howard (guitar & backing vocals), and Keenan Hammack (mandolin & backing vocals) banded together to become the Cross-Eyed Possum. The group performs mostly original music written by the Howard brothers that was inspired by a mix of the wide genres of music they grew up with (Americana, Rock n Roll, Bluegrass, Folk), their Jazz and Classical university experiences, and their stories of life on the road. They play with the single microphone technique used in bluegrass, feature vocal harmonies like Crosby Stills and Nash, and display the technical proficiency of a band like The Punch Brothers.
Besides their appearances at Pickin’ in the Pines Fest, Cross-Eyed Possum has performed at the Pure Imagination Festival in Prescott, Arizona and the Ogden Music Festival in Ogden, Utah. They were pleased to share the bills with Fantastic Negrito, Katie Pruitt, Rising Appalachia, Sierra Hull, and Dawes. The group has performed at The Elks Theater as well as toured the Pacific Northwest, Tennessee, New Orleans, Texas, and Colorado in their van and they have a YouTube channel that shares these adventures, VanLifeBandLife.
Cross-Eyed Possum is currently celebrating their second studio album Out On My Own which released in July 2023.
Cross-Eyed Possum Band Members
Jason Howard is a double bassist who has been playing music since middle school and was a member of the band Sugar and the Mint, with whom he won numerous competitions including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Contest and toured the music festival scene extensively. Jason attended NAU where he played principal bass for the NAU Symphony, the Flagstaff Symphony, Verde Valley Symphony, and played with the top jazz combo in his school. He also won the NAU concerto competition his junior year.
Jonah Howard (Guitar, Vocals) graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University in May 2022 with a degree in Jazz Performance and a certificate in Music Entrepreneurship. During college, he toured with Cross-Eyed Possum several times across the country, as well as play with several bands in the Phoenix area. At school he performed in some of the top ensembles under the direction of Michael Kocour and Lewis Nash. Jonah was a member of the Arizona All State Jazz Band four consecutive years in a row (2015-2018). He was also honored as the Jazz Student of the Year at the Prescott Jazz Summit festival in 2015. Jonah has played in every band opportunity he could, playing instruments like the cello, french horn, guitar, mellophone, and mandolin.
Keenan Hammack (Mandolin, Vocals) After winning one of the biggest acoustic band contests in the country (Telluride Bluegrass Band Contest in 2017), he joined forces with the Cross-Eyed Possum boys and won another prestigious bluegrass festival, the 2022 Pickin' in the Pines band contest. At 22, Keenan has already toured the country several times over with various proiects and has released a number of professionally produced studio albums. His quasi-chaotic creative energy makes him a natural-born performer and entertainer.
Testimonials and Interviews
“This trio touches heart and soul with their outstanding harmonies and professional music cohesion. The standing ovation attested to the audience’s love for this amazing band.”
- Andrea Ramey (Daily Courier, Local Bands Keep ‘em dancing at Elks Theater)“Raves for the Cross-Eyed Possum album release show at The Federal. With their instrumental and vocal talents, this is the Prescott band that has a chance of going national. Nice job, guys!”
- Daily Courier
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