Scuffletown

DINE AND SKIP THE LINE :: Those who dine at The Southern before the show will be allowed early entry into the venue for best choice of seating! One early entry pass valid for one seat will be given per meal purchased. Limited to the first 30 patrons. The restaurant opens for dinner at 6 PM, show starts at 8 pm.

Scuffletown is an acoustic, high energy trio consisting of John Whitlow on harmonica, accordion, and vocals, Marc Carraway on guitar and vocals, and Vaughan Mairs on standup bass and vocals.  The band has performed their unique blend of roots, jazz, world, bluegrass and original music for sixteen years at wineries, marinas, concert shows, and boat docks throughout the mid-Atlantic region.  Scuffletown's recordings include Live at the Speakeasy, Roads, Another Sundown, and, most recently, Wine, Women and Wind.  

The roots of Scuffletown go back to sometime around 1996 or ‘97, to a chance meeting in a music shop in Orange, Virginia between singer-songwriter Marc Carraway and harmonica player John Whitlow.  John had seen Marc performing around the area and the two struck up a conversation.  John, who ran one of the best house concert venues on the east coast, invited Marc to do a basement show.  Marc accepted and the show was a hit, with Marc inviting John onstage for an extended impromptu jam.  Subsequent duo gigs ensued, and two years later the two-man band adopted the nameScuffletown at a "name the band" concert in 1998.  Vaughan Mairs, who had made several guest appearances with the band over the years, joined Scuffletown in summer of 2009. 

John Whitlow, who honed his harmonica chops under the tutelage of Phil Wiggins of Cephas and Wiggins, also plays flute, melodica, and accordion.  He has performed and shared bills with a range of regional and national musicians, including John Stewart, Jesse Colin Young, David M. Bailey,and Pierce Pettis.  John Hill, founder and former host of WNRN's Acoustic Sunrise, states "his harmonica abilities are truly world class".  John brings energy, musicianship, and humor to Scuffletown, and has contributed some of the most popular originals, including "Rock'n-Roll Man," "The Wine Song," and "Dorky Little White Man Blues" to the band's repertoire.

Marc Carraway performed and toured professionally throughout the 1980's and 90's, as a solo singer-songwriter and as a member of Tidewater-based bands Now & Then, Skipper's Folly, and the Bay Trading Company, sharing bills with theTony Rice Unit, the Kingston Trio, Martin Simpson, and Tom Paxton.  The Mary Washington Bullet called him "...one of this region's stellar performers."  With several albums to his credit on the Tidewater-based Waterbound Records, Marc has received extensive airplay for several songs, including "Barrel of a Gun," and more recently, with "All These Roads."  He plays mandolin and banjo, as well as guitar, and does much of the lead singing and songwriting for Scuffletown.

Vaughan Mairs picked up the standup bass in his early 20's, and has performed with a number of eclectic acoustic and hard-driving bands, including Guano Boys, Belligerent Brothers, Faster Than Walking, Regular Joe, and Mando Mafia, often blending old-time music with modern songs and influences.  While with these bands, Vaughan shared bills with numerous artists at US and European music festivals including Merlefest, Floyd Fest, and Grass Roots; and, with Mando Mafia, won three times and placed six times in the Neo-traditional Band Contest at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, WV.  He brings a wide variety of songs, rock-solid rhythm and bass leads, and strong lead and harmony vocals to the Scuffletown sound.