By Nicolette Helling, FOX 21 News

DULUTH - Wash boards, cardboard boxes and saws are not typically considered instruments, unless you're in a jug band.

The 13th annual "Battle of the Jug Bands" brought six unique groups of musicians to the Amazing Grace Café in Duluth on Sunday.

Whether you play a harmonica, or you're a professional spoon-player, you don't need a classic instrument to be in a jug band.

And that's just how Elliot Silberman likes it.

"Well, it's pretty primal," said Silberman. "This is what we've fallen in love with. It's so basic and so ground-level that you don't have to have any special talents to play a wash tub, tap your feet, play the spoons..."

And if you can't keep the beat, Silberman says, watch someone's tapping foot and follow that.

"It's really participation music," said Silberman.

"It's poor man's jazz," said David Morton.

Morton has been playing jug band music since 1964, but today's battle proved Morton hasn't seen it all.

"This guy's paying a... Looks like a wash tub base but it's made with a cardboard box so... That's a new one on me," said Morton.

"I'm here for the battle of the jug bands, the Duluth version!" said Ralph Wittcoff.
Wittcoff drove from Minneapolis this morning to make some music.

And he does that with a very unique instrument.

"It's made of a card board box," said Wittcoff. "I tune it with a 7/16th inch wrench and the strings are weed whacker."

Jug band musicians say their music is the best because anyone can play.

Just grab a couple spoons from the kitchen and you've got yourself a percussion section.

"It's the most democratic band music available," said Wittcoff.

Silberman says the Duluth jug band battle has grown every year since he started it, 13 years ago.

"Low and behold, look what happened from that small seed that was planted," said Silberman.

And seeing people enjoying the jug bands, is music to Silberman's ears.
"I'm just relishing it," said Silberman. "It's a wonderful thing."

 To find out more about the Battle of the Jug Bands, visit www.elliotbrothers.com