The Marianna Black library has hosted a Community Music Jam in Bryson City for over a decade and the next one will be on Thursday, July 20th, at 6:00 PM on the library front patio, if weather permits, or in the library auditorium. Anyone with a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dulcimer - anything unplugged - is invited to join. This is an opportunity for both beginners and veteran musicians to join a traditional “jam circle” and play along with others – learning old time traditional tunes or sharing them with others. Though anyone may come to watch and listen to the jam, these are not performances or open mic nights – the group plays with and for each other, not an audience. The jam is facilitated by Larry Barnett, of Sawmill Creek Porch Band. It begins with Larry calling out a tune and its key signature, and then the group plays it together. Everyone in the circle gets a chance to choose a tune for the group to play together. The community jams offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned with other musicians, or learn old time traditional songs.
The Community Music Jams are offered to the public each 1st and 3rd Thursday during the spring, summer, and fall months. Marianna Black Library, a member of the Fontana Regional Library, is located in Downtown Bryson City at the corner of Academy and Rector. For more information or driving directions call the library at (828) 488-3030.