Jim Gaudet and The Railroad Boys & The Lustre Kings

Jim Gaudet and The Railroad Boys make one feel as if they’re traveling in time, maybe back to Louisiana in 1963. Mel Guarino of The Bluebillies said, “There is no other band that I know that can sound so modern and yet so classic and nostalgic. It’s at once, “Old Timey” and “Timeless”, echoing the sound and feel of maybe Hank Williams or the Stanley Brothers, with a “hill-billy” edge.” The Lustre Kings boast a devoted international fanbase and continue to perform over 150 dates a year, including regular stops at nightspots, festivals and casinos like Tip Top Deluxe, Skinny Dennis and The Continental Club; Viva Las Vegas, Heritage Folk Festival and the Rockin 50s Fest; and the Potawamoti Hotel. Gamsjager, a Gretsch guitars endorsee who has taught for the National Guitar Workshop, has been a guest at prestigious venues ranging from Kennedy Center (Washington DC) to the Montreal Jazz Fest. Beginning with 1995’s Mark Gamsjager Rocks & The Lustre Kings Roll, the band staked a claim to a modern take on the reverb-driven sounds of early rock, leaning also on touchstones of country, blues and R&B. Other artists, like the famed “Queen of Rock,” Wanda Jackson, hear the authenticity in The Lustre Kings. Perhaps that’s why she hired Gamsjager and the group as her backing unit for many tours. “I have worked with many bands around the world through the years,” Jackson says, “and none are better than Mark Gamsjager and The Lustre Kings. Their fine showmanship and musical ability make them the greatest in my book. They rock!!”