The Down Hill Strugglers: Still Ridin' That Wave

As an old-time string band, The Down Hill Strugglers have been heavily influenced by old field recordings of the 1920s and 1930s, music with which most people can connect. The struggles of that era – and the strife of today – inspire this trio to keep that old-time sound going.

“We’re very familiar with the canon of old-time string music,” explained The Down Hill Strugglers multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Eli Smith. “We’ve listened to a lot of old 78s, and we’ve listened to a lot of old field recordings.”

Their first record in seven years—“Old Juniper”—is the most recent example of how the trio puts its stamp on the music of “rural America.” This includes not only sounds from Appalachia but also from the deep South and the western regions of the U.S.

“Everyone has their struggles. We do, too,” Smith confessed. “Everyone identifies with hardship. There’re several break-up songs, several heartache songs…”

There are also tracks that stray into more complex stuff, such as the last one, “Let the Rich Go Bust.” Smith described it as a “social commentary song.”

Sound-wise, the record is mostly old-time, but Smith added, “A couple of other songs on the record are more like blues.”

“Our goal with this album was to make an interesting record that had some deep roots to it,” he said.

Despite the music reflecting rural America, these are big-city musicians. While bandmate Walker Shepard lives in Wisconsin, Smith and the third member of the trio—Jackson Lynch—both live and work in Brooklyn, NY.

“Jackson and I work at the Jalopy Theater here in New York,” Smith said. In addition to his work at that theater and its music school – where he teaches banjo – Jalopy is the record label that released “Old Juniper.” He also coordinates the Brooklyn Folk Festival, which just had its 16th year of bringing an array of folk acts to the big city.

Initially formed in 2008 as the Dust Busters, the group changed its lineup and name in 2021 when they became The Down Hill Strugglers. Since then, they’ve toured across the U.S. and abroad, and band highlights include their music being included on the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis.

Smith said the late John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers, who was a mentor and inspiration to the trio, had a big influence on the band.

Smith has long loved making music. He started learning at age eight, but the passion really took hold of him when he was a teenager.

“I heard Mississippi John Hurt…Woody Guthrie …” Not long after, he discovered the New Lost City Ramblers. When he eventually met John Cohen, he realized “we were really on the same page.”

With a rich past and vibrant future for The Down Hill Strugglers, where does Smith see the band headed?

“I just hope we’ll keep playing and touring,” he said. It sounds as if “Old Juniper” gave the Strugglers a shot in the arm, and it appears Smith wants to keep riding that wave. “It brought us a lot of energy making this record.”

“Our goal is to stay creative as a band,” he added, “and keep on working on our sound.”