Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Great story at Blurt.com about the history and importance of Warren Haynes and his Christmas Jam here in Asheville.
On the history of the jam and where it’s going:
In a conversation I had with Haynes last year he mentioned that they had even talked about possibly doing a related event in New York to mark the 20th anniversary, but ultimately the feeling was that it’s important to retain a local, Asheville-focused flavor. The 2007 Jam did offer up a wealth of ancillary Jam-related activities, among them an art show and some informal afternoon mini-Jams held at local watering holes. Also, it’s been the custom in recent years for there to be what’s called the “pre-jam Jam” held the night before the Jam proper. Local venue the Orange Peel (voted earlier this year by Rolling Stone as one of America’s top five clubs) has a 900+ capacity and has proved a reliable host for the pre-jam, which is an invite-only event; regional radio station WNCW-FM broadcasts the pre-jam live, and it’s also an opportunity for additional funds to be raised for Habitat via raffles of autographed guitars and solicitations of donations from listeners.
Also, according to the organizers, “Building on the tremendous success of last year’s inaugural Christmas Jam By Day, we will not only return with daytime concerts featuring many of the performers mentioned above as well as some of the best and hottest new bands in the country, an art show, and movie screenings, we will have the first Christmas Jam Comedy Show which will feature none other than Lewis Black.”
On Haynes standing in Asheville:
Over the years Haynes has received enough local accolades to qualify him as Asheville’s singular most famous citizen – even better known that author Thomas Wolfe. I moved to Asheville myself in 2002 and have attended five Jams to date and watched him receive the key to the city from the Mayor, have the day of the Jam proclaimed “Official Warren Haynes Day” and many more kudos. It’s unusual for a world-famous musician to retain such close ties with his hometown, but it’s clear that he’s never forgotten this beautiful mountain city even though he had to move away in the ‘80s in order to get his career firmly in gear.
On why the event is musically significant:
Why is the Jam musically significant? Aside from it being for a damn good cause, and the fact that return-attendees help give it almost a gather-round-the-communal-fire vibe where old friends are able to reunite year after year, the selection of artists is always an eclectic one, and the potential for mind-bending onstage collaborations is always high. From Haynes sitting in with most of the acts (last year saw him and Peter Frampton, no less, in an incendiary guitar duel) and an ad-hoc supergroup one year featuring Marty Stuart and members of Widespread Panic and Gov’t Mule, to a similar set that same year with Jorma Kaukonen serving as a bandleader and serving some of the most cortex-tickling psychedelia since his Jefferson Airplane days, there’s never a dull moment and always a slew of surprises. Going to one of the Jams is like attending a mini-Bonnaroo, minus the bugs, rainshowers and heatstroke that comes with sitting out in a field in Tennessee in the middle of the summer.
