“pushing the sonic boundaries of old-time music ... gorgeous” Amelia Mason, NPR Music All Songs Considered
“an exceptional album” NPR Music
“...warm, fuzzy, fabulous” ★★★★ MOJO
“Decosimo wraps the plain-spoken melodies of pre-industrial America in layers of drone, giving them a spiritual resonance and mystery.” Aquarium Drunkard, Jennifer Kelly
“There's no irony, no gloss – just an intuitive feel for time, tone and tune.” ★★★★ Songlines (Top of the World)
“Come for the pastoral vibes and timeless hooks, and stick around for the Americana masterclass.” Bandcamp Daily (Essential Releases, Best of Country)
“an energetic, enchanting, and often joyful set that feels both timeless and otherworldly” KLOF
Fiddler, banjoist, and singer Joseph Decosimo has introduced audiences around the world to the beauty and vitality of traditional music from the Appalachian South. Decosimo draws on years of mentorship and community collaboration from his upbringing in Tennessee to his life in Durham, NC to create music that NPR All Songs Considered describes as “classic and current at the same time” and “pushing the sonic boundaries of old-time music ... gorgeous.” Fiery Gizzard, his 2025 Dear Life Records solo debut, reveals him as a powerful champion of traditional music – a sponge who soaks up as much as he squeezes out, a responsive artist who makes his genre accessible, and a magnet who can bring musicians of all sorts into his orbit with his same passion.
He’s contributed to recordings by fellow Durham, NC projects Hiss Golden Messenger, Wye Oak, and Jake Xerxes Fussell, who compares Decosimo to “an astute jazz artist, with his perspective substantiated by a fundamental sense of melodic direction and delicate purpose.” Irish fiddle luminary Martin Hayes describes Decosimo’s trio recording Beehive Cathedral (Dear Life Records, 2024) as “grounded, subtle and refined.” He’s long been a key player in the US Old-time scene, winning a National Old-time banjo championship, a blue ribbon in the prestigious Clifftop fiddle contest, and leading the prize-winning Old-time band the Bucking Mules.
Selected Performances:
Kilkenny Arts Festival, Kilkenny Ireland
Haapavesi Folk Festival, Haapavesi, Finland
Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival, NSW, Australia
National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellows Concert, Sidney Harman Hall, Washington D.C.
Garth Newel Music Center, Hot Springs, VA
Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Port Townsend, WA
Wheatland Festival, Remus, Michigan, September 2019
Nimble Fingers Bluegrass and Old Time Festival, Sorrento, BC, Canada
University of Chicago Folk Festival, Chicago, IL
International Bluegrass Music Association Festival
Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival, Marquette, MI, July 2017.
Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Festival, El Rancho Manana, MN
Friends of American Old Time Music and Dance, Gainsborough, England
Berkeley Old Time Music Festival, Berkeley, CA,
California Bluegrass Association Father’s Day Festival, Grass Valley, CA
Austin String Band Festival, Austin, TX