bones & clawhammer banjo
Rhonda Rucker practiced medicine before becoming a full-time musician, author, and storyteller. She performs with her husband, James "Sparky" Rucker, adding vocals, piano, banjo, blues harmonica, and rhythmic bones to their music. When she first began learning harmonica, Rhonda studied the techniques of Sonny Terry, the renowned blues harp player. She then branched out to other styles. Rhonda has recorded nine albums with her husband, including Treasures and Tears, which was nominated for a W.C. Handy Award. Their music is also on the Grammy-nominated CD, Singing Through the Hard Times. Their album, The Blue & Gray in Black & White, won critical acclaim from historians and Civil War buffs alike. Rhonda has been an author since 1998, publishing articles in newspapers, magazines, and books. Her debut historical novel, Swing Low, Sweet Harriet, was published by Motes Books in 2013. The story is based on Harriet Tubman’s work as a spy and scout during the Civil War when she helped lead African American soldiers on the Combahee River raid in South Carolina. Rhonda has taught classes at Augusta, Common Ground, Summer Acoustic Music Week, Hindman Family Folk Week, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, and Clarion Folk College.
