Wednesday night jam at Steinhardt Brewing in Frederick, MD
It’s always been true that some sort of unifying entity is what is needed to create a bluegrass scene in any city. It might be a music store that offers lessons, or a bar or club that will feature bluegrass and allow jamming. Or even a local bluegrass association that hosts regular meeting and jams.
Once enough people know a place and time, they will start showing up for the music, and friendships, and bands, start top form. Before you know it, there are enough regulars to book concerts with touring artists, and you have a fledgling bluegrass community in the making.
This very thing is happening now in Frederick, MD, located roughly an hour from both Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD, largely through the efforts of Jason Hannan and a few of his friends. Jason has launched and is maintaining three different bluegrass jams weekly in and around Frederick, and they are well populated and growing.
Hannan earns his living performing with his wife’s country band, Michelle Hannan & One Blue Night. But his first love is bluegrass, which he learned to love growing up in Mississippi, and has practiced with a number of groups in the wider capitol region. Recognizng that there wasn’t anywhere to jam around Frederick, he decided to do something about it.
“Just after the COVID, I started up a jam at a brewery called Rockwell Brewery, which has since moved. We’ve been building this for the past few years, and now have three jams a week.”
On Mondays there is a jam at Liquidity Aleworks in My Airy, just east of Frederick, and on Wednesdays at Steinhardt Brewing.
“Steinhardt Brewing is our biggest jam, which is the one originally at the Rockwell. It’s always packed. When the weather is nice it spills out into the parking lot.”
Just recently Jason has started a new bluegrass jam on Thursdays at Benztown, a bar in Frederick so named as it is located on S. Bentz Street. That one is also growing as his friends Bianca Bentz (related to the family for whom the street is named) on bass, and Mack Geiger on guitar. If even one or two show up they have a band.
Hannan says everyone is welcome at any of these jams, whether they want to join in or just listen.
“We always welcome newcomers, and will check to see if they want to lead a song on stage, or just sit at their table and pick along. There is always a sound system with microphones set up, so it’s more of a stage jam. We are friendly and welcoming to beginners, but this isn’t a slow jam.
Our audiences are always very encouraging. At Steinhardt we have developed an educated bluegrass audience, and they really appreciate seeing new players develop.”
Already Jason has seen pickers go from jammers to playing in local bands, like Shadetree Collective, who met and formed through one of these Frederick jams. Another is Andrew Tontala, who started at the jams and is now playing guitar with Tom Gray’s band, Blue Spruce.
For those thinking, “Hey… I could probably do something like that in my town,” Jason offers a piece of advice.
“Breweries offer a great opportunity for bluegrass jams. They may not even offer entertainment, but are always glad for a recurring event that brings people in. It becomes a pub scene, a musical as well as a social thing, where people hang out.”
The best way to stay in touch with Jason and these jams in the Frederick, MD Bluegrass group on Facebook. He’ll post reminders about the various gatherings, or any change in schedule. It’s easy to join the group, and once in, anyone can post questions.
Hannan released an album himself last year, Heading South, which is available on bandcamp.
Well done Jason Hannan, and all the regular jammers in Frederick, MD. In no time there will be a mature bluegrass scene there through your efforts.
