Biography

JP Beausoleil, the “Bohemian Songster”, plays a wide variety of traditionally based music that includes, but is not limited to: Delta, Piedmont, and country blues, mountain music, a cappella work songs and ballads, early jazz and swing, as well as a handful of original music. Accompanying himself on banjo, acoustic, and steel guitars, Beausoleil’s music stems from years of “easy living and hard traveling” as he puts it. JP’s music defies ones typical expectations of a solo acoustic act. Beausoleil takes this music and redefines it by swallowing it whole and infusing his soul into it, which ensures his audience is emotionally captivated and leaves fully satisfied.

A self-taught musician, Beausoleil grew up in a household that praised traditional acoustic music, and, his style bears the influence of years spent listening to the old time music. His influences also include Doc Watson, Louis Jordan, Leadbelly, Mississippi John Hurt, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, and the New Lost City Ramblers to name a few. JP has performed publicly since 1996 either solo or with a variety of like-minded musicians, including the jug band The Wild Whiskey Boys. After relocating to Arizona in 1999, Beausoleil held multiple regular shows in Flagstaff, AZ and the northern Arizona region, including weekly shows at Mogollon Brewery, Bigfoot BBQ, and Uptown Billiards as well as performing annually at a variety of folk festivals around the Southwest. JP has opened and shared the stage with some of the Southwest’s finest musicians. Beausoleil recently finished his "Duck Out Of Water" tour which took him from his AZ home, through the southwest, into the Deep South, up the East Coast, through New England, and back through the mid-west. JP now resides in his native Rhode Island.

JP Beausoleil has a mission in his music. In his own words: “I am looking to bring people the same joy and emotions I get from playing music; I want them to feel deep down in their souls what I sing and why I sing it. I want them to forget their troubles for a while and leave the show knowing everything is going to be all right. Music has this ability, and I intend to show them this.”