Doug Spears

Doug Spears & the Florida Cracker Collective brings together five longtime friends whose deep Florida roots and decades of musical collaboration give Doug’s original material a distinctive voice. Expressive acoustic arrangements and rich harmonies frame songs and stories that travel beyond their home state, exploring the people, places, and moments that shape us. With warm humor and the easy give-and-take of friends doing what they love, the Collective welcomes audiences into a performance that is personal, spirited, and full of life.

Meet the Collective

Doug Spears & the Florida Cracker Collective is a combination of five longtime friends and accomplished musicians: Doug Spears, Ron and Bari Litschauer, and Lon and Lis Williamson. Mainstays of Florida’s folk and acoustic music community, they bring decades of experience to an ensemble built around Spears’ original material. Rich harmonies, thoughtful arrangements, and expressive musicianship give each performer room to contribute while keeping the songs, stories, and audience at the heart of the experience.

Songwriter and storyteller Doug Spears has spent more than three decades performing at festivals, listening rooms, and house concerts throughout Florida and across the United States. A fifth-generation Florida native, he writes about the people, places, and moments that shape us. His roots run deep, but his songs travel across regions and generations, exploring shared experiences of home, love, loss, perseverance, and hope. His expressive vocals and the stories behind his songs bring warmth, perspective, and humor to the Collective’s performances.

Ron Litschauer is an accomplished guitarist and mandolin player whose experience spans bluegrass, folk, country, and classic rock. His versatility, quick ear, and instinct for finding just the right touch have made him a valued musical partner for numerous artists. In the Collective, his inventive playing supports both the character of each arrangement and the heart of each song.

Bari Litschauer adds a distinctive voice with her banjo and tenor guitar. Her tasteful approach combines rhythmic drive with subtle intricacy, bringing texture and character to the arrangements. She and Ron have shared a musical adventure for more than forty years, performing as a duo, with their Roadside Revue festival band, and alongside many of Florida’s best acoustic artists.

Lis Williamson is a singer, songwriter, and versatile instrumentalist whose guitar and banjo provide a steady rhythmic foundation. A past winner of the Will McLean Award, she brings a generous musical imagination to the Collective’s arrangements, while her exquisite, finely blended harmonies are essential elements of the group’s sound. Her own songwriting is also featured on her album Deep.

Lon Williamson is a gifted singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose expert touch on bass anchors the ensemble. His musical range encompasses folk, bluegrass, swing, and jazz, and his craftsmanship extends to building fine mandolins and ukuleles. He and Lis share more than forty years of life and music together, performing as a duo and in a variety of acoustic ensembles. At their Gatorbone Studios outside Keystone Heights, Lon contributes his recording expertise and works alongside Lis as a producer.

The Collective’s musical partnership comes together on Blacktop Road, a collection of fifteen songs produced and recorded at Gatorbone Studios in Keystone Heights, Florida. On record and onstage, the group offers carefully crafted music grounded in shared experience and deep friendship. Above all, it is five dear friends having one heck of a good time doing what they love—inviting the audience to pull up a chair and share in it.