Mark Rubin: Jew of Oklahoma

Doors: 6pm

Advance tickets can only be purchased online-we do not sell advance tickets at the venue. Refunds are not available within 48 hours of the event. Tickets do not guarantee seating during shows at the Royal Room. 

Seating is first come, first served. Please arrive early to guarantee a seat!

The Royal Room is All Ages until 10pm.

"One of the great American Jewish musicians of our time."- Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

Oklahoma-born, Texas-reared, and now living in New Orleans, multi-instrumentalist Mark Rubin is an unabashed Southern Jew, known equally for his muscular musicianship and larger-than-life persona. Over an accomplished 40+ year career, he has accompanied or produced a virtual who's-who of American traditional music, while straddling numerous musical genres, including Country, Western Swing, Bluegrass, Cajun, Tex-Mex, Polka, Klezmer, Roma, and more.

In 1990 along with banjo virtuoso Danny Barnes he formed the ground breaking Americana pioneers Bad Livers, ushering in a generation of alternative bluegrass and acoustic bands, many who name check the group as their greatest influence. In 2015, Rubin stepped out as a solo artist releasing "Southern Discomfort," following up with "Songs for the Hangman's Daughter" in 2017. His latest release "Triumph of Assimilation'' garnered rave reviews and debuted at #13 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart.

When querried, he describes his music as "Southern Americana from a Jewish POV. To me being a Jew means being socially conscious as well. And I like to think of myself working in the same vein as my fellow Okies Woody Guthrie and Will Rodgers." When it comes to his songwriting influences he name checks country hit maker Harlan Howard and the Polish-Yiddish poet Mordechai Gebertig; "I'll reckon I'm the only place where both those world reside in equal measure," he notes.

Today, he lives and works as a professional musician playing tenor banjo with the Panorama Jazz Band in New Orleans and makes a study of the musical traditions and cultures of South Louisiana. He continues to be a first call tuba and bassist in the Yiddish Klezmer community, performing nationally and internationally. He recently took a position at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience where he jokes he's an exhibit.