ACCLAIMED BLUES DUO Mulebone @ Chalfonte Theatre

The Platform at Chalfonte Theatre presents Mulebone on Thursday, July 9, 2026, for an evening of traditional blues, country blues, slide guitar, and inventive roots music. The concert features two 45-minute sets with a 15-minute intermission. Doors open at 6:00 PM and music begins at 7:00 PM.

Mulebone is the musical partnership of multi-instrumentalist John Ragusa and roots music specialist Hugh Pool, two veteran performers whose shared passion for traditional blues has earned them national and international acclaim. Their recordings have all reached the Americana Music Association Top 100 chart, and their album Keep on Movin' holds the distinction of being the only independent release to remain in the AMA Top 40 for six consecutive weeks — a milestone achieved in 2015. The duo has received Blues Artist of the Year honors from radio stations across the country.

Pool brings powerful vocals, slide guitar, harmonica, and rhythmic boot board percussion to every performance. He has toured throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, and was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame in 2016. As owner of Brooklyn’s Excello Recording studio, he has worked with Taj Mahal, Debbie Harry, Marshall Crenshaw, and Molly Ringwald.

Ragusa’s instrument list reads like an ethnomusicologist’s inventory: flutes, fife, cornet, pennywhistle, Jew’s harp, conch shell, and other unexpected voices that give Mulebone performances a sonic range few blues acts can match. He has appeared alongside acclaimed singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman and has performed in conjunction with Deepak Chopra’s speaking engagements.

Together, Mulebone draws on the music of Howlin’ Wolf, Reverend Gary Davis, Robert Johnson, and the broader Delta tradition while creating something distinctly their own — moving between haunting blues, foot-stomping boogies, trance-like grooves, and inventive reinterpretations of roots material.

“Pure, muggy Mississippi afternoon passion, with inventive instrumental know-how and boundless blues expression.”

— Elmore Magazine

Living Blues praised Mulebone’s music as a strong effort in modern blues interpretation that combines acoustic Delta influences with folk, world music, and contemporary roots traditions. Blues Revue called the duo “a potent force with a very bright future in contemporary blues.”

All proceeds from the July 9 concert benefit the Chalfonte Theatre’s HVAC Capital Campaign, an initiative to install a new climate system ensuring year-round comfort for audiences and performers.

Guests will enjoy cinema concessions along with wine, brandy, and vodka selections from Chateau Chantal. The concert is sponsored in part by Higgins Hearing & Audiology of Traverse City.

The performance is presented as part of The Platform, a live performance series curated by the nonprofit Chalfonte Foundation, which brings nationally and internationally recognized artists to Elk Rapids in an intimate setting.

Tickets will be $20 in advance or $25 on the day of the show.