AMJam, a review

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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We’re finally getting around to give you our report on the Asheville Music Jamboree. This event last weekend out at Deerfields in Mills River essentially replaced the defunct Smilefest, which was held out in Lake Toxaway last year.

Smilefest had about a 10-year run and was a big hippie fest with tons of great music that, more recently, had left a bad taste in some people’s minds because of the ever-present, and some would say over-bearing, police presence.

AMJam was loaded with great musical entertainment, but we had a couple of issues with the fest. First, the ticket price was outrageous. Everybody – and we mean everybody – was complaining about the cost of tickets, which hit about $100 (or $125 if you wanted to car camp). There was no cheaper, day-pass option. While the beautiful setting isn’t huge, the price definitely kept some people away.

Our other big issue was that the musical entertainment started at noon on Friday. That kinda sucks for people like us who forked over a Benjamin but couldn’t get out of work Friday. Even if we’d left work at 5 p.m. and made it to the fest Friday night, we would have missed out on a huge chunk of the entertainment. The music did run until about 4 in the morning, but still.

Those are out major bitches. The music was great. We got to see the Avetts. Mountain greenery abounded, surrounding two little lakes. The vibe was chill and the hippies were great. We sincerely hope AMJam comes back around next year. Just give us a few more options on ticket prices.