‘Jam rooms’ at Myrtle Beach bluegrass festival unite old friends, old tunes

Some people spent their Thanksgiving Day feasting on turkey legs, mashed potatoes and collard greens.

Others chose to take their holiday meal with a side of bluegrass.

The 45th Annual South Carolina State Bluegrass Festival picked its way to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Thursday and continues through the weekend. The festival includes performances from the Lonesome River Band, The Malpass Brothers and The Little Roy and Lizzy Show, along with several vendors and food concessions. The event is a Thanksgiving tradition for the Myrtle Beach area.

Behind the vendors, pressed up against a back wall and surrounded by black curtains, are two “jam rooms.” The sequestered areas serve as a meeting ground for musicians to pick a melody and go with the flow with other bluegrass lovers.

“It’s something we enjoy doing,” said Adam Burrows, from Asheboro, N.C. “Just kind of getting together to pick.”

Picking – country slang for playing a guitar, bass or banjo – can be found all over the convention center during the bluegrass weekend. Some people prefer to pick alone at a corner table, while others jump into a jam room with a handful of other instruments. Part of this weekend’s draw is the ability for anyone with an instrument to play with bluegrass lovers from around the nation.

“We’re picking with people we don’t usually play with,” said Jerry Steinberg, a musician from Salem, Va., who’s been coming to the bluegrass festival since the 1980s.

Steinberg said he knows many of the people he jams out with every year, but since they’re all from different areas under the Mason-Dixon line he usually can’t “pick” with them unless they’re all gathered at a festival. The S.C. festival gives Steinberg – and other stand-up bass musicians – an opportunity to have a little fun.

Even those who aren’t interested in watching the shows are welcome to jump in and jam out.

“A lot of others want to watch the stage entertainers, but I don’t care,” he said. “I’m just here to jam.”

About 200 people gathered in front of the convention’s stage to watch the Al Batten and the Bluegrass Reunion band perform Thursday afternoon, forgoing turkey for popcorn and freshly-squeezed lemonade. Nathan Aldridge from North Carolina filled in for an ailing banjo player during the performance.

Aldridge, who is also in the band Sideline, said the jam rooms give festival-goers the chance to meet new people with similar interests.

“It’s just about making friends and meeting people,” he said.

For some, the bluegrass festival is a lifelong tradition. Katie Griffin, 20, said she’s been coming to the Myrtle Beach event ever since she was “itty bitty.” Now a bluegrass music major at East Tennessee State University, Griffin’s heart and soul is in the music.

“I just love bluegrass,” she said. “I’ve been listening to it since I was a baby.”

This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 4:35 PM with the headline "‘Jam rooms’ at Myrtle Beach bluegrass festival unite old friends, old tunes."