KarunaNews Story

A “jam” is a gathering of multiple musicians together to play music in a relatively unstructured way. In Appalachian music, that’s usually through acoustic instruments: the fiddle or violin, banjo, guitar, mandolin and one upright bass. Ultimately, the gathering is not about how it sounds, says Ron Pen, who helps organize a weekly jam in Lexington. “This is about the jam itself,” says Pen, a University of Kentucky music professor focused on the Appalachian region. “It’s active participation in music, and not passive consumption.” Across the world, music is recognized as a powerful vehicle for social and cultural change and old-time jams are a prime example in this region. For newcomers to Lexington, jams have proven an effective way to immerse oneself in a new community and build relationships – with people, businesses, and the state’s Appalachian culture. Jams are an intentional way of forming community and people go out of their way to nurture each other during these sessions. “For me, that’s what the heart of this music was: those experiences I’ve had with people over the years, in their homes, sharing music around moonshine, working in gardens with them and hearing all the stories and where that tune came from,” said Pen.