“And think of living as it was, into the future we must cross, and I’d like to go with you”
Genesis (Jorma Kaukonen)

There are moments when you’re transported back in time, triggered by a particularly gorgeous view, an aroma from a favorite childhood memory, or a musical phrase heard from a long-ago song. In a recent sold-out show, 486 lucky Lincoln Theatre audience members took a journey through the past as the original Hot Tuna, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, performed in Mt. Vernon’s stately 1926 theatre.

The duo, both now in their 80s, may be more grizzled, more lines drawn on their faces, but they play with the disciplined abandon of virtuosos, the joy evident in their body language and a pleasure the audience clearly shared on Sept. 19. Jorma and Jack have been friends (and off and on bandmates) since 1958. “Around 1958 Jack and I played our first gig in Charlotte Harbour’s basement in Washington, DC. I was the singer and played rhythm guitar and Jack played lead…I cannot tell you exactly what songs we played, but for sure there were Buddy Holly songs, Conway Twitty songs, Jimmy Clanton songs; who knew at that time what our musical dreams would become. Beyond our wildest dreams, I can tell you that. Sixty-five (count ‘em …65!) years of making music with my best friend.”

Kaukonen and Casady are founding members (along with Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Spencer Dryden, and Paul Kantner) of Jefferson Airplane, one of the many the psychedelic rock bands to achieve commercial success in the mid- and late-1960s. After the release of the Airplane’s 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow, powered by the hit songs “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” Jorma and Jack were well on their way to musical stardom.

But pop music success wasn’t the ultimate goal for them. In 1969, they formed Hot Tuna as a “side project.” Kaukonen had initially been reluctant to join the Airplane as he found pop music at the time, “lyrically insipid,” preferring the legitimacy of playing the blues. Casady’s thirst for playing live led to moonlighting gigs with dozens of other musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Country Joe and the Fish, David Crosby, Warren Zevon, and guitar legend the late Danny Gatton (a Washington, DC native along with both Jorma and Jack). Hot Tuna gave Kaukonen and Casady both the creative and artistic control of the music they wanted to make.

Hot Tuna became known in the 1970s as both an acoustic outfit, and eventually a power trio, whose concerts were known for long and intricate jamming excursions, often performed at ear-splitting volume. Although the electric Tuna was retired last year retired last year, the acoustic duo continues to tour, and though performances and venues are more understated, the musicianship is subtle, refined, and if not turned up to “11,” still mind-blowing.

Casady came along during a time where the bass was transformed from merely a rhythm instrument keeping time with drums. But like other bassists of the era — Paul McCartney, Phil Lesh, Chris Squire, Jaco Pastorius, and Stanley Clarke — experimented with redefining the instrument, providing countermelodies, taking solos, and experimenting with unique walking lines. Paired with Kaukonen’s traditional blues finger picking and percussive playing style, Hot Tuna’s music occupied a niche in American blues rock that remains unique to this day.

Watch Hot Tuna play (and break down) “Water Song” via YouTube:

At precisely 8pm, Jorma and Jack took the stage, unadorned but for two straight back chairs, a single microphone, and the tools of their trade: an Epiphone Jack Casady Signature Bass and a custom Flammang Acoustic Guitar, built by luthier David Flammang. For nearly three hours, the duo played two sets of rock and blues from across their 66-year career together.

During the show, the word “vintage” played over and over in my head. Perhaps it was the performers but more than likely it was the surroundings. The Lincoln Theatre was designed by Seattle architect William Aitken and built in a modified Renaissance Revival style with a Spanish motif. Opening on April 21, 1926, to rave reviews, it was nearly demolished in 1980 due to disuse and structural deterioration. In 1987, the Lincoln Theatre Center Foundation was organized as a nonprofit, tax exempt corporation and an army of volunteers worked for several years to restore it. Today, the Lincoln is a thriving community theatre showing movies, hosting stage productions, and bringing outstanding musical acts to its acoustically perfect space.

Although a setlist provided a guide, deviations and surprises occurred throughout the evening. For instance, “Hesitation Blues” was flipped with “Dime for Beer” as the opener. The first set closed with the intricate and up-tempo instrumental “Mann’s Fate.” But throughout the concert, I was drawn less to the songs and more toward the musicianship and interactions of the two artists onstage. The two friends would chuckle at interesting or unexpected song variations, Jorma forgetting a lyric, or playing a bum note that only they heard-the audience none the wiser. At one point after a brief whispered discussion, Jorma joked, “We just had a band meeting!”

The second set included a tremendous, and spontaneous, reading of the Blind Willie Johnson blues classic, “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning,” the song presumably inserted after another band meeting. The performance encapsulated nearly everything for which Hot Tuna (acoustic or electric) is renowned: faithfulness to the blues, marvelous improvisational skills, and an uncanny telepathic connection between the musicians.

Watch Hot Tuna perform “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” at Fur Peace Ranch in 2020 on YouTube.

Jorma and Jack came back for a one-song encore: the gorgeous “Genesis,” from Jorma’s first solo, Casady produced 1974 album, Quah. A song about friendship, endings, and beginnings, it seemed an appropriate conclusion to a concert dedicated to the love between Hot Tuna and its devotees, as well as to the bond between the band’s two principles. Or as Jorma reflects, “To say that everything has changed would be an understatement. Throwing your instrument in the back of your ride and piling in with your bandmates is legend for every traveling musician. Since then, collectively we’ve probably played around 15,000 gigs. We’re not done counting yet. That said, it’s time to stop thinking of living as it was… indeed, into the future we must cross.”

Stream Jorma Kaukonen’s debut solo album, Quah, on Spotify.

Hot Tuna will be touring across the USA with dates up and down the East Coast later this fall (although the Birchmere show in December is sold out) with a show in Annapolis in Annapolis in February 2025.

Check out the entire schedule (and music) on Hot Tuna’s website.

Here are some more photos of Hot Tuna performing at Mt. Vernon’s Lincoln Theatre on Sept. 19, 2024. All photos courtesy of and copyright Mark Caicedo.