The PacJAM Ramblers at the 2024 Earl Scruggs Music Festival – photo © G. Nicholas Hancock
For the third year in a row, kids and parents involved with the Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) and the Young Appalachian Musicians (YAM) programs enjoyed the musical offerings and personal participation in the 2024 Earl Scruggs Music Festival (ESMF). The festival is held during Labor Day weekend at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, NC, and featured more than 30 bluegrass and Americana music artists and groups.
The festival, which is a partnership with the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC and public radio station WNCW-FM in Spindale, NC, “endeavors to bring the best of bluegrass, Americana, and roots music together with fans who have a true appreciation for the music,” according to Sam Blumenthal, board member of ESMF.
Part of that goal is to involve the younger generation of bluegrass, old-time, and roots musicians with each running of the event.
Junior Appalachian Musicians, Inc., as the parent organization for all JAM and YAM programs, partnered with the Tryon Fine Arts Center and the Earl Scruggs Music Festival to offer free admission for JAM kids and one parent from the 50 plus JAM programs across the Appalachian region of South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia, and Virginia. The JAM, Inc. program and the Tryon Fine Arts Center also provided meals for all JAM and YAM participants and attendees.
JAM, Inc. also provided ten workshops for the youngsters, including those hosted by festival headliners like Chris Jones, Wyatt Ellis, Luke Morris from ShadowGrass, Danielle Yother from The Wilder Flower, and Billy Cardine from Tanasi.
The number of JAM/YAM students exceeded last year’s attendance (65), with a total of 83 students (25 youngsters aged 13 and up, and 58 youngsters aged 12 and under), according to Brett Morris, executive director of JAM, Inc.
Four JAM/YAM bands represented their organizations and regions on the Foggy Mountain Stage at the festival on both Friday and Saturday.
The Storytimers, a bluegrass sister band from the foothills of North Carolina, features Anna, Ella, and Lyla Tokar. They come from a long line of bluegrass and mountain musicians, and brought both old and new songs to their performance on Friday with guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and sister sibling harmonies.
The PacJAM Ramblers from the Tryon, NC area, consisted of six of the top young musicians in the PacJAM branch of JAM. Sarah Doan played primary fiddle, Phoebe Aldrich played second fiddle, Emmalynn Rathbone was on guitar, Jacob Thiry played mandolin, Adelaide Thiry played banjo, and Eli Aldrich played bass.
The Biscuit Eaters are a family band out of Lowgap, NC. The five youngsters in the group ranging in age from six to fifteen are members of the Elkin, NC JAM program. Brothers Samuel, Josiah, and Silas are multi-instrumentalists who switch off on banjo, fiddle, and mandolin. Sister Maggie plays guitar and sings while younger sister Molly plays fiddle and does flatfoot dancing.
Creekwater Collective is a dynamic group of young award-winning bluegrass musicians from upstate South Carolina. JonPaul Sepulveda is 15 and plays guitar and sings lead and harmony vocals. Ayden Chappell is 15 and holds down the banjo position. Lilly Anne Sverlinga, 14, is also a guitarist and vocalist. Judson Stone is 13 and plays mandolin and sings both lead and tenor. Judson, Ayden, and Lilly Anne got their start in the YAM program in Pickens County, SC.
“The third year of our JAM Kids partnership with the Earl Scruggs Music Festival has been beyond successful in connecting young musicians and their families with bluegrass, old-time, and roots music,” said Brett Morris, executive director of JAM, Inc.
“This opportunity further reinforces what it means to be a part of a special music community,” she added.
