April 17, 2008 issue
It’s Time To Get Picking at the Jones House
Weekly Jam Sessions Shift into High Gear
Story by David Brewer
You don’t have to wait around for the big fiddlers’ conventions to find a group of motivated pickers to play with. Grab your banjo, guitar, bass or fiddle and head to downtown Boone where old-time music aficionados gather every Thursday at the Jones House from 7:30 to 11:00 p.m. to swap classic mountain tunes.
Known to many as the Jones House Jams, the weekly music session is open to pickers of all ages and skill levels. Watauga Arts Council Folklorist Mark Freed has been cultivating the jams over the last couple of years, working to ensure that old-time music traditions are passed along, just as they have been for decades.
While the Junior Appalachian Musicians program continues to encourage an increasing number of young musicians to join in the weekly jams, Freed said that a new crop of ASU students is livening up the weekly action.
Another exciting development at the Jones House Jams is that a regular singing group has begun to take over the upstairs each week. Although organizing a singing group may not sound hard, it can be tough to get old-timers to pipe up and belt a tune.
And while Old Man Winter provides a good excuse to huddle closer together in the Jones House living room, the coming of spring and summer means that the jams are finally moving back out to the front porch, where the music can spill out onto King Street.
For more info on the Jones House Jams, call Freed at 828-264-1789 or click to www.watauga-arts.org.
Want To Go?
Date: Every Thursday
Time: 7:30 to 11:00 p.m.
Location: Jones House Community Center
Cost: FREE!
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