By Hannah Eastman
Bluegrass Jam occupies a unique space on the College’s campus. It is not a recognized student organization and is handed down from student leader to student leader, meaning no one in the club is exactly sure how long it has been around. Nonetheless, the group’s traditions are easy to pick up for newcomers, and it only has a few rules — each session opens with “Old Home Place” and closes with a mash-up of Trampled by Turtles’ “Wait So Long” and Gillian Welch’s “Look at Miss Ohio.”
Between those songs, though, anything is fair game. Anyone is welcome to watch and all musicians are free to join the Jam each Sunday. The Arch provides great acoustics, and song packets are passed out while musicians chat, tune and warm up. In the packets are tunes newcomers may expect to hear, but new additions are welcome. Following along with lyrics through a handy Google search makes it easy for everyone to keep up.
Regular attendees learn to watch Patrick Estell ’24 for a cue on a hard cut-off at the end of “Wait So Long/Miss Ohio,” a tradition he inherited and says he sees as both a “responsibility and an honor.” The weather has favored them this semester, meaning the group has been able to come together five or six times so far. With this kind of practice, the cut-off works perfectly. The night comes to an end sharply, and everyone can take a moment to listen as the last notes ring throughout the arch.
The group’s range of songs is constantly evolving. “Country Roads” has been played each week and guarantees some good opportunities to sing along while new favorite “Soup for my Family” has been coming together enthusiastically the past couple of sessions. The range of songs Bluegrass Jam plays is well captured when asking musicians their favorite piece to play. No two musicians I asked had the same favorite; Mia Mann ’24 was quick to sing the praises of “Country Roads,” while Estell prefers Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” for the chance to play his harmonica. Morgan Hunter ’25, Bluegrass Jam’s Music Director, chose “Old Home Place.” Jackson Larrenaga ’25 called “Miss Ohio” “a bop” and fellow bassist Emma McKone ’26 answered The Avett Brothers’ “January Wedding.”
When Mann pointed out that an important part of what Bluegrass offers for musicians is a rare, consistent opportunity for non-majors to practice their skills together on their own time, other musicians were quick to agree. Bluegrass Jam provides a comfortable and low-key setting for student musicians to practice, jam together and end the weekend on a high note. Hunter called Bluegrass Jam a staple on campus and even a casual observer can tell just how much making music together means to the group.
The sense of camaraderie that builds over the hour through harmonizing and singing together makes it an intimate environment that is lively and engaging to passersby on night walks. Bluegrass Jam provides a weekly Sunday night oasis on campus for the exhausted college student in need of the support that’s found while making music each week. It is a weekly learning experience for all involved, which is what has kept this long-standing tradition going.
Bluegrass Jam takes place in the Kauke Arch on Sunday nights from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting. Email mhunter25@wooster.edu to get on the group’s mailing list for more information.