Most pickers “in the know” who live in the Midwest are very familiar with the N.I.B.G.A. group down in Kendallville, Indiana. For those that aren’t familiar with that acronym, it stands for the Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association. This is a long running association with a very active and huge membership. Their flagship is the twice-a-year bluegrass festival that they hold, called the Tri-State Festival, one during Memorial Day weekend and one during Labor Day weekend. I’ve been to this festival several times as a performer with my first group Apple Blossom Bluegrass, and I’ve also been there several times as a spectator. The advice I would give you is the same advice that ANYONE who’s been there would give you: you gotta go. This is one fun festival. It’s held at the county fairgrounds in Kendallville, which is huge, and the festival draws some top-name entertainers each year. Be warned though: people start getting there two weeks in advance to get the good camping spots! I’m telling you, this is a big deal and it’s very exciting. The festival, as I just mentioned, is occurring Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-7, 2009) but you can start arriving much earlier, prior to the 3rd, if you have the time.
One feature of the festival that I was always impressed with, and which I have copied at the WMBMA festivals each year here in Kent county, is the beginner’s slow jam held by Gary & Maggie Bilby. This is a chance for people who are just getting started to sit in on a non-threatening, slow-paced jam session aimed at teaching them the finer points of functioning in a jam. It’s not just for beginners though; even long time pickers who haven’t really come up to speed on jamming or aren’t used to trying to play with other people, but want to learn how to, can benefit from this little jam session. The jam session takes place Saturday, Sept. 5, from 12:30 to 2pm.
At the jam session, Gary & Maggie pass out some literature with jam session etiquette printed out on it, then they teach from this page. I stole…err, I mean, BORROWED…this literature for use at my own jam sessions, and I can attest to the fact that it’s great information to know.
Various topics are covered during this 2 hour jam session. Everything from an introduction to each instrument, the instrument’s role in the jam session/band, basic chords, the use of capos, proper etiquette, and several other things too. Of course, since it is a jam session, well…they jam! Gary & Maggie are fine pickers themselves (Maggie on banjo, Gary on Guitar) but they also manage to draw a handfull of experienced pickers to help them lead the jam session. The “leaders” all stand in a band formation in front of the rest of the group, and each in turn passes on some instructional point or wisdom to the group, as well as field questions from the group. Then the leaders kick off a basic bluegrass song, inviting the rest of the group to play along, take a lead if they know one, or even sing if that’s their forte. After the song, the leaders point out various things about what just happened, then launch into another song. They encourage you to learn some very basic songs to bring to the jam session, songs such as:
- John Hardy
- Lonesome Road Blues
- Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Of course, there are literally hundreds of commons songs that you could bring to the group, but the most important thing is that you suggest basic, standard songs that aren’t “jam busters”…that’s a song that is so complicated that the rest of the group can’t follow you. (Songs like El Cumbanchero or Rawhide or Blackberry Blossom; these would be jam busters, more so in a beginner’s group like this.)
There are so many great things I could say about this festival, but for this post I wanted to focus on the beginner’s jam session. I highly encourage you to attend the jam session, and if you do, say hi to Gary & Maggie for me. I’m thinking of hitting the festival, but I can’t arrive until later Saturday, after the jam session is over. For more details about the festival, click over to www.bluegrassusa.net, and for specific questions for Gary & Maggie, email Maggie at mgbluegrass@yahoo.com.
Hey pickin’ Paul – Thanks so much for including the Beginners Jam on your website. It is a lot of fun seeing NEW pickers emerge and grow in their talents. We have all been there and we all KNOW 1st hand what it is like walking into jam sessions as a “bluegrass bloomer”. Gary & I will be looking forward to seeing many new faces at the festival, let us know if you are attending because of seeing this blog. Paul is a great picker and if you need a wake up on your jamming in the wee hours, he is the MAN to do it (ask him to show you his “jump” lick in Gold Rush – wow…he can do it without dropping his banjo). See all of you at Kendallville – a super festival to attend PLUS support all other venues near you (Western Michigan, Auburn Hills, Marshall, Charlotte…..)
Thanks for the informative blog about our beginners jam workshop, Paul. We enjoy doing it and love to see good attendance and the progress of the pickers as they prepare to foray into the jammin’ world of bluegrass. Wish there was this type of thing around when I first started going to festivals many years ago. See ya’all at Kendallville. G.B.