One of my favorite opportunities to jam with friends is at Amy Forsyth’s session in Boyertown, down in the land of my youth, Berks County. The players are friends, competent and provide an opportunity for me to work on my backup skills on mandolin and guitar, as well as try my hand at some lead work. I never get to sit back and do this stuff when I’m playing solo. It soothes my soul.
Tonight I brought out Dehlia from long ago, to great effect, Sailin’ Shoes, and a couple others, but the highlight for me was a young folk band, four piece with banjo, mandolin, guitar and bass. They started out with Sitting on Top of the World, a tune I’ve recently rescued from my old set list bin and followed that with Sweet Georgia Rose, another great tune I did 40 years ago. I knew all the words, gasp! They taught me a thing or two with their version of a Robert Johnson tune, one that took me to school on mandolin. Cool.
What I took from this wonderful jam tonight is that the old folk tunes are still being played because they are good tunes, period. And that’s what the guys in the band said.
The young mandolin player was wearing a vintage Godfrey Daniels t-shirt. Wow.
So many connections on a stormy August Thursday night. Righteous stuff…