Tom Waselchuk & Jami Lampkins are the front singers and song-writers for The Dang-Its, their Madison-based quintet performing “Honky Tonk, Western Swing & Americana.” Their duet show is an unplugged performance of material drawn from the band’s repertoire, leaning on their original songs and including some favorite covers collected over many years in the biz.

Jami Lampkins hails from Las Vegas NV, where she learned the ropes of the music business playing with her family bluegrass band. The Lampkins Family Band toured regionally and shared the stage with major country and bluegrass acts. Jami is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist (guitar, banjo, mandolin, and bass) as well as a seasoned singer with a clear, powerful voice. While testing the career waters in Nashville Jami was a finalist in USA Network’s “Nashville Star” competition, a process that taught her that particular career path came with too high a price. (Editor’s note: This is not a case of sour grapes. Spend 5 minutes with Jami and you’ll know she harbors not a shred of the cut-throat drive needed to fight one’s way through the Nashville shark tank.) While in Nashville she lent her talents to several bands and found a mentor in the great country artist Gail Davies. With Ms. Davies’ help, Jami was able to realize a life long ambition to perform on the Grand Ole Opry Stage.

Tom Waselchuk has been a professional musician in Madison for three decades playing an amazingly diverse number of music styles: Bluegrass (Stone Oak Bluegrass Band), Mainstream jazz (Full Count Jazz Band), Irish and World (Katzenjammers, Rubato Brothers), and Rock & Roll (Marcy & the Highlights) Tom recently completed a ten year association playing Gypsy swing music with the national and international touring quartet, Harmonious Wail. As a side man and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, pedal steel guitar, bass) Tom has worked with many of Madison’s top players and bands: Cris Plata, Jackie Allen, Doug Brown, Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines to name a few.

Tom founded The Dang-Its in 1998. They are perennial honorees in Madison’s Isthmus Reader’s Choice Polls and Madison Magazine’s “Favorites.” The group has three independent CD releases: Don’t Mean Maybe (2000), Our Way (2006), and Daddy’s Cadillac (2010), and is working on its 4^th recording.