Little Foot, Yes Ma'am, Angry Zeta - 10/14/25 - fresno, ca- strummer's

This was one of those nights at Strummer's, which doesn't happen that often, when the venue is close to empty but the performers deserve a packed house. It was an all-acoustic show, with each act providing a different flavor of folk music.

First up was a man, a banjo, and a whole lot of honesty and vulnerability. Little Foot took the stage first with a voice that sounded like a cross between Ryan Bingham and Marcus Mumford, but he played banjo instead of guitar. He's got some really poignant songs born from his struggle with heroin addiction, including an especially heartbreaking one about how an old girlfriend of his ended up addicted to heroin because of him and another song about his experience of periodically learning that other friends had died of an overdose. In between songs he'd talk to the audience about the people he hurt and the terrible things he had done. On the bright side, he's been sober for almost four years. He's trying to use his story and his music to save other people who are struggling with addiction or depression.

The second act of the night, called Yes Ma'am, was also a solo act, but it wasn't just a guy on stage singing and playing guitar. He did sing, and he did play guitar, but he also played a drum and he also played a tambourine, all simultaneously. He sat on a box that contained the drum (on its side like a bass drum in a drum set) and used his right leg to step on a pedal to hit the drum while his left leg stepped on a pedal to play the tambourine. The sheer coordination to pull this off, and the incredible amount of practice it must have taken, is very impressive. He had a dope resonator guitar and a pretty good voice, and sang a lot about New Orleans so I assume that's where he's from. The music fit the New Orleans vibe, it was a bluesy folky Americana roots mix.

The last act of the night was a bluegrass folk punk band from Argentina called Angry Zeta. There were five of them on stage. A lead singer and guitarist, a banjo player, a stand up bass, a fiddle, and a percussionist who mostly played a bass drum and a washboard. They played really fast and sang either in Spanish or with heavy accents, so it was hard to comprehend what they were saying, but you didn't need to understand the lyrics to have a great time. They played 1,000 miles per minute and had incredible energy, like an all acoustic Spanish speaking version of Gogol Bordello. Despite the low attendance, they were nothing but smiles and infectious enthusiasm.