Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Here’s the story:
Going into 2008’s shows, which were held December 12 and 13, the Christmas Jam had raised more than $665,000 for Asheville’s Habitat For Humanity. The money has gone into building 12 houses in Enka Hills, a wooded community surrounded by mountains on a street the organization appropriately named Warren Haynes Drive. (In 2005 Habitat also built a house in the New Orleans Musicians Village.)
The Thursday before the show, Haynes presented the key to a new home to single mother Suzie Cromer and her 8-year-old daughter.
“Meeting the families and seeing the work that Habitat’s doing with our help — you know its hard to see that and not get emotional,” Haynes said.
“Warren is a hero in our mind,” said Habitat’s Arianne Kjellquist. “In western North Carolina, the housing costs are really out of whack with what the local wages are, so there’s a big discrepency there. There are more people that maybe would have been approved previously when the lending standards weren’t so strict.”
This year’s Christmas Jam lived up to the long-lasting and crowd-pleasing traditions of previous shows. The first night’s show ran more than nine hours, ending with an Allman Brothers set after 4 a.m. The second night’s show ended at 3:30 a.m. Performers included Ben Harper and Relentless 7, Travis Tritt, Michael Franti, Osborne, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Steve Earle and Haynes’ band Gov’t Mule.
Perhaps the most anticipated addition this year among both fans and artists was former Led Zeppelin member John Paul Jones, who played acoustic mandolin, bass and keyboards throughout the weekend with just about everyone. Jones said he was happy to pitch in.
“In the economic climate like this, people really just want to get out and enjoy themselves and forget about the day to day stuff that they have to deal with. So it works on many levels,” Jones said. “The fact that is for a good cause is just a huge bonus.”
