keep the blues alive

Q&A with Roots & Blues duo Cedar County Cobras - their unmistakable acoustic chemistry remains the foundation

“Playing traditional blues music and string band music on festival stages enables us to expand our audience. We're hoping to bring the love of blues music to more audiences. We are always encouraging young people to get involved in the music scene. It's such a great community to be part of as a musician.”

Cedar County Cobras: Sinners & Saints

There is something refreshingly authentic about the Cedar County Cobras. Long before Americana became a marketing label, the Iowa duo was building its sound the old-fashioned way—through countless nights in taverns, wineries, theaters, and roadside joints, armed with little more than guitars, an upright bass, and a boot-stomping foot drum. While their music draws heavily from Delta blues, early country, and folk traditions, it never feels like a mere imitation. Instead, the Cobras write songs that sound as though they have been living in the American songbook for generations.

Following the success of their debut album, Homesick Blues—which earned worldwide airplay and ranked among the year's top acoustic blues releases—the duo returns with Sinners & Saints (2026). This ambitious new collection is deeply inspired by American history, forgotten stories, blue-collar life, and timeless roots traditions. Frontman Tom Spielbauer leads the way with rich baritone vocals, expressive slide guitar, and a songwriting perspective shaped by years of working construction before pursuing music full-time following the onset of legal blindness. Bassist April Dirks complements that foundation with a driving upright bass, mandolin influences, and a rhythmic pulse that gives the duo its unmistakable "boot-stompin'" groove.

(Cedar County Cobras are Tom Spielbauer & April Dirks / Sandy Dyas Photography)

Together, they create a sound that feels equally at home on a front porch, in a juke joint, or on a festival stage. On Sinners & Saints, that signature acoustic chemistry remains front and center. However, this time around, a select group of guest musicians adds subtle layers of organ, piano, and percussion, broadening the album’s sonic landscape without sacrificing its raw authenticity. One of the record's true standouts is the exceptional saxophone performance by Heath Alan, whose soulful and deeply expressive playing becomes a defining voice throughout the tracks. Alan adds warmth to the ballads, fire to the blues, and a distinct flavor that perfectly complements the duo's gritty, homegrown style.

Interview by Michael Limnios Archive: Cedar County Cobras, 2023 Interview

Special Thanks: Betsie Brown (Blind Raccoon)

You have built your signature 'boot-stompin'' sound through countless live performances in taverns, wineries, and festivals. How do the two of you, with such a stripped-down lineup (guitars, upright bass, foot drum), manage to fill the stage and sound like a full, traditional band?

Tom: It is often very surprising to folks that we are only a duo after how much sound that we make during a show. We get a very full sound by each playing multiple instruments and we both sing. For example, I play foot drum while I play guitar. We really cover all of bases of a larger act such as a trio or full band with how much ground we cover.

Your music is deeply rooted in rural America. How have the landscape, the people, and daily life in Iowa shaped your sound and the stories you choose to tell in your songs?

April: I would say that we play a rural type of blues that reflects the rural landscape of Eastern Iowa. We live in Iowa City, Iowa, which is a small to medium-sized college town in the rural Midwest. It is a town full of artists and musicians and highly educated people because of the university. While we may not feel that this town is exactly rural, I can tell you that our customs in Iowa are rural and there are farm fields at the edge of town. This is certainly not an urban area, an given our environment, we do not play an Urban Blues.. I would say there is the rural blues (that has more to do with the acoustic traditions) and an urban blues (that has more of a large city feel like Chicago Blues). While we are under 4 hours away from Chicago, we are definitely rural blues. The band Cedar County Cobras was in fact formed out on a gravel road in rural Iowa. Our musical sound definitely reflects that.

“I do think that our music is timeless. and we are telling real stories about living, dying, and the work in between. I would say that we don't really research our songs. April and I do pass our song ideas back and forth, add parts from history, stories we know and we will dig deep into learning more about certain ideas.” (Cedar County Cobras / Sandy Dyas Photography)

On the evolution of your sound in the new album: Homesick Blues was loved worldwide for its purely acoustic character. On Sinners & Saints, you add organ, piano, and percussion. How did you balance these new sonic layers to expand your sound without losing your raw Delta blues authenticity?

Tom: This is a great question and it's something that we have been getting asked lately, since we added a handful of musicians to this album. We made sure to keep the sparse acoustic sound of stripped-down blues music throughout the album (I hope that makes sense) by making sure that April and I were the core players on each song and only added a flourish of other instruments as we went through. For example, we added backup singers to two of the gospel tunes because it fit with the era of the song. And we added our friend Heath Allen's saxophone playing on a handful of songs because it is haunting, He is an amazing player, and it really makes the song come to life. We were so honored to be able to ask. musicians to step in and play on this album to boost up our sound. However, it was always very important to not change the essence of the Cobras.

Today, the term 'Americana' is often used as a marketing label. For you, having built your sound the old-fashioned way in taverns and roadhouses, what does Americana truly mean?

April: In some ways I think that Americana is the new term for music rooted in the American tradition with story-telling at the heart. There can be blues Americana, certainly Bluegrass, Country etc. Our music and signature sound is very unique so we span many genres. The words Roots and Americana seem to capture our musical sound the best. We had one long-time fan admit she did not really think of us as blues music, even though we had just won the Iowa Blues Challenge for the second time. All she knew was that she LOVED the music and it made her want to boogie. I say that's roots music dipped in blues, coming out of an American landscape.

Your songs on Sinners & Saints feel as though they've been living in the American songbook for generations, speaking of forgotten stories, blue-collar life, and blues traditions. How do you approach the research and songwriting process to breathe life into these stories of the past?

Tom: First off, what a compliment to be considered as having music good enough for an American songbook. That is just incredible in itself. I do think that our music is timeless. and we are telling real stories about living, dying, and the work in between. I would say that we don't really research our songs. April and I do pass our song ideas back and forth, add parts from history, stories we know and we will dig deep into learning more about certain ideas. We add new lyrics as we go along. The new songs on this album really breathe life into stories from the past. I think we did a good job with this. I'm very proud of this.

“It is often very surprising to folks that we are only a duo after how much sound that we make during a show. We get a very full sound by each playing multiple instruments and we both sing. For example, I play foot drum while I play guitar. We really cover all of bases of a larger act such as a trio or full band with how much ground we cover.” (Cedar County Cobras / Sandy Dyas Photography)

Your new album Sinners & Saints walks the line between 'Saturday-night sinners and Sunday-morningsaints,' closing with a beautiful arrangement of the gospel classic 'Precious Lord'. What does this contrast between the darkness of the blues and the light of spiritual music mean to you, and why did you choose to finish the record on that note?

April: The song "Precious Lord" is very important to us because of our experience at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. We were in Memphis in 2025 to play at the International Blues Challenge in 2025. The museum is amazing and terrible all at once, looking at a very gruesome part of American history. At the end of the tour we discovered the saxophone and plaque that marked Dr King's room where he was assassinated. As the story goes, Dr King regularly requested that the song Precious Lord be played at his rallies. He was shot on that day, Instead of the song being played at his rally, it was played at his funeral. We first played the song live when opening for Marcia Ball at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, which was such an incredible honor. Tom sings with a rich, fat tone and for the album we also had backup singers come in to accent his voice and add some sparkle to the song. It is indeed a song about resilience and turned out to be a perfect ending the album. Dark and hopeful all at the same time.

On the authenticity of your live shows: You've played everywhere, from small rural juke joints and wineries to major festival stages. How do you manage to maintain that intimate, homegrown 'front porch' vibe, regardless of the size of the crowd in front of you?

Tom: We tend to focus inward and on eachother while we are playing a performance so we are able to connect with the audience regardless of the size. Over time we have learned to "read the room" and be flexible regarding the pace of the music and the type of show we put on. It really depends on the mood of the audience as to how we will perform a particular show. It is true, however, that we put on an intimate performance regardless of the size of the stage and try to achieve for that "Front Porch Vibe" wherever we play.

What are you doing to keep your music relevant today, to develop it and present it to the new generation?

April: This is a difficult question to answer because, by essence, our music has a very vintage feel and an old time feel that would be priceless and found in history. We have found that we are appealing to the new generation of listeners by playing more festivals, sharing the stage with string bands or even bluegrass bands. Playing traditional blues music and string band music on festival stages enables us to expand our audience. We're hoping to bring the love of blues music to more audiences. We are always encouraging young people to get involved in the music scene. It's such a great community to be part of as a musician.

Cedar County Cobras - Home