It's a long name to be sure - but don't let that scare you off. The folks are friendly, the music is good. But leave the amps, accordions and drums home - it's Bluegrass.
It was just a little 200 mile drive down to Vermillion, so why not. There was also a fiddle that Ron G. had brought back from Montana that I needed to pick up. It would make for a wonderful Sunday afternoon drive.
There were two different jams going when I arrived at the Washington Street Arts Center so I wandered around and checked it out. The jam upstairs had plenty of pickers and singers so I opted to join the slow jam downstairs - I need all the help I can get since bluegrass is not my native language by any means. Ron was down there playing bass with some of his friends and playing with him is always a good time.
Fiddled for a bit and everyone helped some younger players work through the chords to some songs. As usual, folks drifted in and out and an entertaining afternoon was had by all. As the beginners were leaving, we kicked up our heels for a few tunes. Ron and his group handed me a mandolin and invited me to join them for a little practice session, which was quite nice.
Then we headed upstairs to see what was happening there. Took a few breaks, listened to a few stories, found a passable version of "The Gold Rush" hiding in my fingers, collected my other fiddle and happily headed for home.
Thanks Ron for inviting me and thanks to Jon Hittle (JB) and Alan for hosting a great jam. Second Sunday of the month 1-6 at the Washington Street Arts Center in Vermillion, SD.
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