Musicians play one of their favorite old-time tunes, “Duck River”, on the stage of Lazy Hiker Brewing, Oct. 29, 2020. Photo by Alma Russ.
Rhythmic, rocking fiddle tunes that make a body want to tap their foot, if not break into dance; local musicians played these old-time tunes from 6:30 to 9 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 29, at the weekly old-time jam at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Sylva, NC.
Six local musicians sat in a circle on the stage, taking turns as they called out songs for the group to play in unison. The jam is open to the public, and any musician interested in the old-time genre is welcome.
“When you get in that groove with a bunch of people, and you might not have played with them before, it all comes together,” says Dean Robinson, who has been a staple banjo player at the jam for the past two years. “It’s a high.”
The jam became a regular weekly event at City Lights Cafe in 2017. It did so organically. With no coordinator or ring leader, local musicians who had learned of the gathering primarily through word of mouth would show up every week. Some weeks might have featured a mere duo, while others might have had at least ten players.
However, with the onset of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, City Lights Cafe closed its doors to the public, cancelling the jam. When restrictions loosened in June, 2020, local musicians such as Dean and Judy Robinson, Erin Worley and Julie Van Leuven decided to reorganize a jam at Lazy Hiker, which had reopened its doors when City Lights had not, as the brewery has a bigger space in which to better maintain social distancing. Musicians have continued to attend with masked faces, ready to play tunes again.
There are normally a few people in the brewery who listen and request certain songs to be played, and the onlookers on Oct. 29 rose to a peak of five. What’s more, the dinner crowd generally enjoys the background music, which has allowed the jam to be maintained as a weekly event. However, the musicians play merely for the sake of community, fun, and the preservation of musical roots.
“I always like to learn about the history of the tunes,” said Judy Robinson, a regular fiddler. Old-time music gets its roots primarily from Great Britain, Ireland, and Africa. Songs were passed down from ear to ear through generations, typically played on instruments such as fiddle, banjo, guitar, and mandolin. These songs made their home in Appalachia as the settlers did centuries ago.
Overall, the musicians are thankful to be reunited with their community. “It’s a bond when you get together and play music,” said Dean Robinson. “I don’t know what we did before we learned to play.”
