BRANDON — David and Nathan Gusakov, father and son, play original songs and old tunes about the beauty and peace of home, of delight and sadness and the wild human emotions inherent in living and dying. Featuring clawhammer banjo, wicked fiddling, and family harmonies, the Gusakovs are creating some of today’s most unique and compelling folk music.
The Gusakovs have been gaining recognition as they expand their performance reach throughout New England.
At Brandon Music, the duo will perform songs from their latest album, “Regenerations,” and several new tunes recently added to their repertoire, including a dynamic opening number, “Chosen Kale Mazeltov,” a rousing wedding song that will start the night off right.
With violin, viola, banjo and vocals, Last Train to Zinkov plays with a lively, toe-tapping touch, sing with mournful sensitivity, and exhibit a creative chemistry that can only be born of a lifetime of relationship. Their original songs and compositions reflect their love of Appalachian old-time music, gypsy jazz, swing, classical and their own Eastern European roots.
David arrived in Vermont in 1973, joining the Vermont Symphony that year and bluegrass/swing band Pine Island the next. In the intervening 42 years he has been a full-time musician, playing with such groups as the Midnite Plowboys, Redwing, Swing Shift, Will Patton Ensemble, Swing Noire, and Michele Choiniere. At home in a wide variety of genres, he brings improvisatory flare and depth of feeling to everything he plays.
Nathan lives with his family in Lincoln, near the headwaters of the New Haven River, where he makes his living as a carpenter and musician. Nate is self-taught on the banjo, and his first album of all-original music, “Running Clear” (2011), received praise for its “stellar claw hammer style banjo and rich lyricism” by Jamie Masefield, of the Jazz Mandolin Project.
Saturday’s concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Concert tickets are $20. A pre-concert dinner is available for an extra $25.  Reservations are required for dinner and recommended for the show. Venue is BYOB. Call (802) 247-4295, email [email protected] or visit brandon-music.net for more info.