jug band
- a small group of performers who play chiefly blues or folk music on makeshift or very simple instruments, as washboards, harmonicas, kazoos, and empty jugs, the latter being played by blowing across the openings.
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Compare spasm band.
Origin of jug band
An Americanism dating back to 1930–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
jug band
- a small group playing folk or jazz music, using empty jugs that are played by blowing across their openings to produce bass notes
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for jug band
n.
musical ensemble in which the bass line is carried or augmented by a player blowing on the open lip of a jug (n.), 1886, American English.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper