From recording their first domestic release in the cozy confines of a living room, to performing in front of thousands of people all over the world, to entertaining the President, John Cephas and Phil Wiggins play, as the Washington Post declared, "Remarkable guitar and harmonica duets. Their infectious rhythms and supple melodies combine tasteful fingerpicking with impassioned harmonica solos." According to Down Beat, "Cephas' rich baritone singing and intricate, refined ragtime fingerpicking are a perfect fit with Wiggins' rural-blues harmonica stylings." Cephas & Wiggins' easy-going, deeply soulful brand of country blues bridges generations of music lovers as effortlessly as the deceptively simple sounding music they create.

Cephas & Wiggins, whose style and appeal is often compared to that of an earlier Tidewater duo, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, keep the Piedmont tradition alive by infusing it with their own originality, vitality, and, most importantly, fun. The duo celebrate the gentle, melodic blues style of the Southeastern U.S. with every performance. "Cephas and Wiggins," according to Living Blues, "remain today's premier Piedmont blues guitar and harmonica duo." The Washington City Paper said, "The music is simultaneously intense and relaxed, and the songs have a way of getting inside your head for days on end."

Because both Cephas and Wiggins were born in Washington, D.C., they bring an urban sophistication to the traditionally rural blues they perform. With their new album (and second for Alligator), Homemade (ALCD 4863), Cephas & Wiggins' spirited and seamless mix of both original and classic material promises a bright future for Piedmont blues. Of the album's fifteen songs, Cephas wrote or co-wrote eight and Wiggins wrote one. They cover two songs by 1930s Piedmont artist Blind Boy Fuller but also take songs by non-Piedmont artists Memphis Minnie, Big Maceo, and Skip James and turn them into new Tidewater classics. From the easy-going Mamie to the clever Spider Woman to the toe-tapping and humorous Jelly Roll to the old-time harmony of Walkin' Mama, Homemade is the antidote for anyone who still thinks blues music is a soundtrack for sadness.

Cephas & Wiggins quickly became popular with traditional blues fans in the U.S. and in Europe, where they recorded two albums, Living Country Blues and Sweet Bitter Blues, for the German L&R label. Often under the auspices of the U.S. State Department, the two spent much of the 1980s abroad, playing Europe, Africa, Central and South America, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia. In 1988, they were among the first Americans to perform at the Russian Folk Festival in Moscow. The Sydney, Australia Morning Herald called Cephas & Wiggins "irresistible...their performance is wonderfully effortless and unforced."

By the end of the 1980s, the international blues community began to recognize Cephas & Wiggins as the leading exponents of traditional Tidewater blues. The two recorded their first domestic album, Dog Days of August, in 1987 in John's living room, and it quickly won a W.C. Handy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year. In 1989, John received a National Heritage Fellowship Award. Often called the Living Treasure Award, this is the highest honor the United States government offers a traditional artist.

Aside from their busy performance schedule, both Cephas and Wiggins have also done their share of acting. In 1991 John portrayed a blind bluesman in the Kennedy Center production of Blind Man Blues. Phil was in the cast of Matewon, a prize-winning Hollywood film. Together they appeared in the stage production of Chewing The Blues and in the documentary films Blues Country and Houseparty. They've also been featured in four nationally touring arts programs sponsored by the National Council For The Traditional Arts: Masters of the Steel String Guitar, Juke Joints and Jubilee, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Echoes of Africa.

In 1996, after two successful albums for Flying Fish, Cephas & Wiggins made their Alligator debut with Cool Down. The vibrant collection of original and traditional country blues hid its complexity in the duo's simple, effortless delivery. "Easy to love," said the Associated Press. Jazz Times called the album "a pure, unadulterated country blues gem." "Thoroughly delightful," added the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. The success of Cool Down helped establish Cephas & Wiggins as key figures in the resurgence of interest in country blues, as seen in the success of young acoustic artists like Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Guy Davis, Chris Thomas King and others.

"No pretense here," hailed the Chicago Tribune describing a typical Cephas & Wiggins performance, "just down-home, traditional country blues delivered with feeling." After hundreds of concerts at major festivals, concert halls and colleges (not to mention the many workshops the two conduct), Cephas & Wiggins continue to bring energetic good times to each performance, winning new fans everywhere they go. Now, with Homemade and extensive international touring, Cephas & Wiggins' mission to keep the Piedmont blues alive continues from the White House to festival stages to living rooms all over the world.