Bringing Musicians Together

Back in September 2002, I did a story on "How to Find Musicians in Your Area". This time I would like to talk about bringing them together. 

In the region of North Carolina where I live, there are jam sessions all around.  The problem is that the closest one is 25 miles away.  There are musicians that are not willing (or don't have the time) to drive the distance; therefore, missing out.  If there is no place close to meet, then we are likely not to know about each other.  If the musicians are 25 miles to each side in four directions, then they are 50 miles from each other however you see it. If they could only meet here.

That was the idea that I had a while back. I started looking for a place like a mall or business that might like the traffic and the calling card that a jam session would offer. The problem was that there were no places large enough to accommodate a crowd that was available at ideal times.  One day, while at the park with my wife and children, I was racking my brain to think of a place for a jam session.  Suddenly, I looked up and there it was.  A huge covered picnic area with light beams shining down from heaven and angels singing "Laaaaaa"!  Well maybe I am exaggerating a little, but it was a great place.  

The next day I called the County Parks and Recreation Dept. and asked how much it would cost me to rent it for a day.  I didn't know how I was going to pay for it, but it was worth a try.  They had one of their directors contact me to see what kind of idea I had. After a few conversations, the huge picnic shelter was allocated for Hickory's "Bluegrass in the Park" at no cost to me.  The only thing that I was responsible for was gathering all of the information that I could, handing out fliers, and inviting all of the musicians that I could on that date.   

We discussed possible growth if this initial session turns out to be successful.  There is no limit to what it could turn into.  They told me that if the interest was there, we would hold the event every month, have professional groups from time to time, an annual fiddler's convention, and maybe even build an amphitheater in the future.  (Be careful what you ask for, you might just get it.)

My point is, take a challenge and see what happens.  If you want Bluegrass to grow, give it a little help.  If any of you live in the western part of North Carolina, please make plans to visit the Henry Fork River Recreation Park on April 25, 2004 at 1:00.  If no one shows up, I will be standing there all by myself.

Click here for details for "Bluegrass in the Park"

Warren Yates

Banjo How to play "Clinch Mountain Back Step" In my visiting jam sessions in the area, I ran across a 13 year old boy named Aaron Clark that taught me this next segment.  The following tab was done in a program called Guitar Pro.  Download your 30 day trial version at http://www.guitar-pro.com and then open this example.  You can also download free samples or other songs at http://www.mysongbook.com/  This opens up new ways to learn.  I am also going to start using video clips as an aid to learning on this site.  Click here to view the Windows Media file.  Click here to open the Guitar-Pro file.