Born Into A Blizzard Jefferson Berry & the UAC

• 1 Leaving Santa Maria 04:31
• 2 Guitar on the River 03:44
• 3 Thirty Miles to the Beach 05:09
• 4 How Could You Think That 04:41
• 5 This Dawn of Mine 03:33
• 6 Philly Eats its Own 03:22
• 7 Sleeping in Public 04:17
• 8 Sand in My Shoes 04:08
• 9 Puddles (Here No More) 03:42
• 10 Born on Payday 04:29
• Total Runtime 41:36

Info for Born Into A Blizzard

Philadelphia’s most prolific songwriter, Jefferson Berry & the UAC display the diversity that is American folk music today on Born into a Blizzard, their fourth broadcast ready album in five years. The songs on Born into a Blizzard touch on themes of city living and these strange modern times. The indulgences of our screen time ("How Could You Think That"), the need to start over ("Leaving Santa Maria"), the homeless condition of the once successful ("Sleeping in Public"), and the lost orientation of street people ("Sand in My Shoes") offer Jefferson’s observations of how things are these days. The album does balance out, however , with fun tunes about summer days on the river ("Guitar on the River"), the way we treat our heroes ("Philly Eats it Own") and Jefferson’s father’s version of he day he was born ("Born on Payday"). Musically, the album is genre defiant with songs ranging from the samba jazz of "Thirty Miles to the Beach" to the pure folk of "This Dawn of Mine.”

The Urban Acoustic Coalition (UAC) has changed with each release, but one constant has been Bud Burroughs on mandolin and keys. Born into a Blizzard is the first, and probably best, UAC bass/drum groove with Uncle Mike and Adam Stranburg. Stroudsburg PA’s Theresa Ratliff has joined the band, both live and in the studio, providing harmonies that make the songs stick to you.

Jefferson continues to win awards for his music videos. "First Purple Light," the first-ever AI folk music video from band’s last album, Prairie Fire, won Folk Music Video of the Year at the Jersey Shore Film Festival in 2024. Videos for songs from Born into a Blizzard, “Guitar on the River” and “Sleeping in Public,” will be released in February and March.

Jefferson Berry, acoustic guitar, vocals
Bud Burroughs, mandolin, keyboards
Uncle Mike, bass
Dave Brown, banjo
Adam Stranburg, drums
Additional musicians:
Theresa Ratliff, vocals
Ryann Lynch, violin on “Leaving Santa Maria”
Matthew Gordon, dobro on “Sleeping in Public”
Jay Davison, tenor and baritone saxophone on “Sand in My Shoes” and “Thirty Miles to the Beach”
Rubén Valtierra, keyboards on “Thirty Miles to the Beach”
Cliff Hugo, bass on “Thirty Miles to the Beach”
Kendrick Freeman, drums on “Thirty Miles to the Beach"
Scott Bricklin, guitar on “Philly Eats its Own"

Jefferson Berry
combines storytelling in the Urban Folk tradition with the intricacies of JamBand and Roots instrumentation. These songs are performed by a cadre of unique players: The Urban Acoustic Coalition, a band anchored by the virtuosity of Bud Burroughs and Dave Brown. While acoustic by nature, never missing is the locked-in bass/drums drive of Uncle Mike and Adam Stranburg. Complementing all this with a variety of guitar styles, Berry’s projects bring a danceable style and contemporary point of view to a unique wing of Philadelphia’s local music scene.

This album contains no booklet.