Hendersonville – Two-time Grammy-winning bluegrass and country artist Jim Lauderdale headlines a concert to benefit local Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) on Wednesday, Dec. 28.
The show starts at 7 p.m. with JAM youth musicians opening and playing traditional mountain tunes. The music venue is Oklawaha Brewing Co. at 147 First Ave. E. in Downtown Hendersonville.
Lauderdale, 65, is praised for his vocals and witty lyrics. He twice won Grammy awards for the best bluegrass album. First was in 2003 for Lost in the Lonesome Pines, a collaboration with Dr. Ralph Stanley and also The Clinch Mountain Boys. Lauderdale won again in 2008 for The Bluegrass Diaries. He was nominated four other times, also for best Americana album in 2014 for Buddy (Miller) and Jim.
He has recorded 35 full albums, starting in 1986. His new CD Game Changer came out four months ago. Its single “Friends Again” has catchy hooks and pedal steel guitar. Lauderdale noted that “this song is a celebration of that wonderful time of reconciliation between people who were once close, and can rekindle that bond between them.”
The distinguished songwriter penned 15 songs that country star George Strait recorded. Strait calls Lauderdale a “consummate entertainer…a terrific songwriter, and a great singer.” Pop star Elvis Costello describes Lauderdale as a “man of great style, an exceptional songwriter and tremendous singer.”
Lauderdale has local connections. He has played in the Flat Rock Music Festival. The N.C. School of the Arts grad worked school summers at the Flat Rock Playhouse. He took banjo lessons at age 13 at Jim and Arlene Kesterson’s Mountain Folkways Center. Lauderdale’s parents were a music teacher and a Presbyterian minister.
JAM, FBVMA
JAM is sponsored by the non-profit French Broad Valley Mountain Association (FBVMA). FBVMA promotes and helps preserve old-time and bluegrass music and local mountain culture.
The aim is to spread to younger people the joy of playing mountain music in groups and also listening to and dancing to it, organizers noted. Benefits include raising self-esteem and socializing skills, belonging and contributing to a group, camaraderie, and a greater sense of community.
The group puts on concerts, free jams, and provides small group instruction. Its classes teach various levels of playing fiddle, banjo or guitar. There are about 20 regular students ages 8-16. Weekly classes have been in the Henderson County Athletics and Activity Center. Weekly mountain music jams have been Wednesday nights in Okawaha Brewing.
FBVMA formed in 2016, and is an independent operation. Yet it is affiliated with a national JAM network in more than 55 mountain counties. Funding comes from tuition fees and community donations.
People may also help by purchasing a 39-song JAM songbook for $12, via the JAM website. Songs include “Shady Grove,” “Tom Dooley,” “This Land is Your Land,” “She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain,” “Wabash Cannonball,” “John Henry,” “Lonesome Road Blues,” “Sitting on Top of the World,” and “Amazing Grace.” The songbook shows chords for fiddle, banjo, mandolin, bass and rhythm guitar.
The concert’s tickets cost $30 each for a reserved seat, $20 for general admission, or $50 for VIP. Buy advance tickets via Oklawahabrewing.com or by calling 595-9956. Check www.jamkids.org for more info about JAM, sponsoring group FBVMA and how to donate.