The CLAYFOOT STRUTTERS are a Vermont-based contra dance and party band whose specialty is fusing the modes and melodies of traditional American immigrant music, progressive harmonies from pop and modal jazz and hot dance-floor rhythms from the Afropop, Swing, Latin, Cajun and Zydeco worlds. As composers, arrangers and songwriters they are also actively contributing new repertoire to this emerging style.
Founded in 1990 they have created a sensation at camps, community dances and festivals for their free-spirited jam-band approach to the jig-and-reel work of contra dance playing as well as their unparalleled ability with and affinity for the wide variety of couple dance grooves in demand by adventurous dancers coast to coast.
Original members LEE BLACKWELL (drums, guitar and vocals), JEREMIAH McLANE (accordion and piano) and PETE SUTHERLAND (fiddle, piano, and vocals) are joined in the current incarnation of the STRUTTERS by guitar, piano and sax-man PETER DAVIS, banjo and flute player MARK ROBERTS and bassist HARRY ACETO.

HARRY ACETO, a highly-sought after Ithaca, NY-based accompanist is currently the STRUTTERS' first-call bassist. Having logged a quarter-century of gigs from square dance to swing dance, he records and tours with folk and jazz luminaries including JAY UNGAR and MOLLY MASON's SWINGOLOGY and DAVE BROMBERG. In addition he lends his considerable instrumental talents on guitar and mandolin to vintage "Hot Club swing" and traditional Italian style music in collaboration with his brother Eric and other family members.

LEE BLACKWELL is the band's native Southerner. A Birmingham (Alabama) Boy Choir alumnus, his interest in Appalachian fiddle and Cajun guitar coupled with a re-awakening of the Soul and R&B drumming and singing of his teens put him on a natural trajectory for the STRUTTERS. He has also done rhythm stints with such traditional bands as the TRACY SCHWARZ CAJUN TRIO. He now hales from Cabot, VT, where he is a builder and woodworker and still plays old-time fiddle almost every day.

Of the scores of musicians billed as "versatile", PETER DAVIS might be most deserving of the accolade. Proficient on an astonishing variety of instruments, he boasts an intuitive approach to all manner of traditional folk, blues, vintage pop and jazz forms. Peter is bandleader for LINDY HOP HEAVEN and in demand at swing dance events nationwide. A tireless community musician in his hometown of Saratoga Springs, NY, he has also toured with NATALIE MERCHANT and DAVE BROMBERG, and is a regular in Dixieland, old-time and swing bands, including (with Aceto) SWINGOLOGY.

From his home in Sharon,VT, JEREMIAH McLANE has traveled throughout the US and Europe as a performer and teacher, and has appeared at such venues as Piccolo Spoleto and London's Royal Festival Hall. Recently granted a master's degree in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory, he is widely regarded as one of the most talented accordionists in the country, and has recorded with numerous stage partners, among them BIG TABLE, fiddler RUTHIE DORNFELD and the acclaimed trio NIGHTINGALE.

MARK ROBERTS has long pursued Irish flute and old-time banjo with equal passion. An alumnus of Triona Ni Domnaill's award-winning group TOUCHSTONE, he has in recent years toured worldwide with the RED CLAY RAMBLERS, the house band for Bill Irwin's nouveau clown show "Fool Moon". Mark and friends composed and performed much of the music for the Jon Sayles film, "The Secret of Roan Innish". Currently living in the Pacific Northwest, he commutes eastward for groove-based dance band projects including the STRUTTERS and THE SEVENS.

Native Vermonter PETE SUTHERLAND's compositions have become standards of the modern folk repertoire through his performances with such groups as METAMORA, RHYTHM IN SHOES, IRA BERNSTEIN and Mac Benford's WOODSHED ALL-STARS, as well as on countless recordings and public radio broadcasts. In addition to his active music-making, he has logged extensive production time with over sixty studio recordings as well as numerous concerts and festivals to his credit. Pete and family reside in a converted general store in Monkton, VT.