A reissue revived Robert Lester Folsom’s music; Jacksonville musicians bring it to the masses

Life as a touring musician is an endurance test: An ultramarathon of early-morning van calls and long drives, punctuated by fits of hurry-up-and-wait between load-in and soundcheck, all of which is borne for an hour or so under the stage lights (and, if you’re lucky, in front of an audience of ticket buyers). Boredom is a feature, not a bug. You either fish – build a tolerance for monotony, sure, but also gas station-cribbed sustenance and a severe lack of personal space. Or you cut bait.  Since the spring of 2025, the musician Robert Lester Folsom and his Jacksonville-based band have pounded the pavement, performing in all corners of North America. In between gigs in iconic venues from New Orleans to Nashville to San Francisco, the multigenerational ensemble has developed strategies for coping with the tedium of tour. “We like to find good coffee and, if there’s time after a soundcheck, we’ll find a thrift store,” offers Brooke Garwood (27, glockenspiel, background vocals), as