Cruz Contreras & The Black Lillies LIVE ON JUPITER ! (!!)

We did it! If you have been following along on social media, you already know that we (including yinz) pulled together this event in less than 24 hours. Thank you for the support. This will actually be the first time that Cruz and the rest of The Black Lillies will be performing here on our Hay Wagon Stage. It is going to be a memorable afternoon!

This is a BYOE (everything) music party - snack, beverages, chairs, blankets, etc. We are keeping it simple and not doing a group potluck. Treat this like you would a visit to Hartwood Acres on Sunday Night. Speaking of Hartwood, we will finish up well in advance of the Smash Mouth concert so you can do both events. In the event of bad weather, we have the option to move everything over to the Klehm's Big Red Barn. Parking begins at 3, music will start at 3:45-ish. Kids 12 and under attend free with their supervising adults. We will send out an email closer to the date of the event with additional logistical information.

Please plan on carpooling or ride sharing; this is going to be quite the crowd, and parking space will be at a premium. As always, 100% of your contributions go to the performers. But please bring extra $$ for tips and merch. We support live music and the people who make it, and hope you do also.

About Cruz:

Raised between the rugged lines of Tennessee and the long shadows of Michigan, Cruz Contreras has spent nearly thirty years forging his path through the Americana musical landscape. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, bandleader, producer, and storyteller whose voice cuts through noise like a well-honed blade. He got his start at 15, playing guitar behind his younger brother Billy Contreras at fiddle competitions—long before Billy became a world-renowned fiddler, known for his work with George Jones, Sierra Ferrell, and Ricky Skaggs.

But it was a moment in 1993 that sealed Cruz’s fate: finding himself in a room with the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe. That room, that sound, that presence—it lit a fire that’s never gone out. First with Robinella and the CCstringband, then as the fire at the heart of The Black Lillies, Cruz helped carve a sound that feels as old as the hills and as wild as the road. His songs have topped the Billboard and Americana charts, picked up Independent Music Awards, and earned him a nomination from the Americana Music Association as an emerging artist — though his music suggests he was never chasing trends to begin with. He’s stood on stages from Conan O’Brien’s late-night set to the Grand Ole Opry — the latter over 40 times — and drawn praise from Rolling Stone, NPR, American Songwriter, and Vanity Fair.

Contreras has toured with Robert Earl Keen and the Turnpike Troubadours, collaborated with John Oates, and shared stages with Old Crow Medicine Show, The Travelin’ McCourys, Tyler Childers, Mavis Staples, Elizabeth Cook, and more. A festival veteran, Cruz and The Black Lillies have performed at Bonnaroo, Merle Fest, Jazz Fest, Red Ants Pants, Stagecoach, High Sierra, DelFest, Pickathon, Mile Zero, Cayamo, to name a few. But he doesn’t play for headlines, but for the quiet connection — the still moment in a crowded room when a lyric hits home like a memory you forgot you had.

Now touring behind his debut solo album Cosmico, Cruz is joined once more by a band of road-tested companions under the name Cruz Contreras and The Black Lillies. Together, they bring with them a catalog of songs that stretch across time — from the familiar past to the hopeful unknown.

The road is calling.

Host or Publisher Music Night On Jupiter