As the sun began its descent to the horizon and the shadows lengthened on the lawns of Boyd Mill Farm, families and friends gathered Saturday with blankets and chairs, picnic baskets and coolers for an early evening of music at the 19th Blackberry Jam Music Festival.
The festival is a reminder that Williamson County sits within the Americana Music Triangle that runs from Memphis to Nashville to New Orleans and towns and villages in between, said Pam Lewis during an intermission. The Gold Record Road traces the centuries-long evolution of music in America birthing the nine distinct musical traditions and sounds — blues, jazz, country, rock ‘n’ roll, soul, gospel, Southern gospel, Cajun/Zydeco and bluegrass — music lovers have come to appreciate. The Triangle is also known as the “birthplace of America’s greatest cultural export.”
The return of the Blackberry Jam Music Festival after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic once again benefited the Hard Bargain Association. The festival, with George Hamilton V of the “Viva NashVegas” radio show and David Spaulding Jr. as emcees, saw a few changes this year. What didn’t change was the support from the community and the talent of the musicians.
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Rebecca Frazier, the first woman flatpicker to be featured on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine.
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Dale Whitehead and Carol Warren perform with backup singers Lori de los Santos and Sherri Jones.
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Ava and Caroline Boyce and Emily, Jennifer and Sidney Heath
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Derrick Solomon and Brooke Wanser
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Marquita Solomon, Lavergne Holland, Steve Young and Derrick Solomon
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Country music artist Michael Ricks plays the banjo.
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Country music artist Michael Ricks plays banjo.
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Downtown Franklin Rotary Club Director Eddy Moon and Franklin Noon Rotary President Armando Estrada
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Eddy Moon, Downtown Franklin Rotary Club director; Armand Estrada, Franklin Noon Rotary president; and David Spaulding Jr., one of the emcees
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Pat McLaughlin headlined the Blackberry Jam Music Festival.
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Blackberry Jam Music Festival headliner Pat McLaughlin
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Pat McLaughlin with longtime friends Kenny Greenberg (guitar), Michael Rhodes (bass) and Greg Morrow (drums).
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Mike Boyce, Josh Heath, Amanda Jennings and Ava Boyce
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Rhonda Monk and Harper Hollenbeck
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Alyssa Hiller and Harper Hollenbeck
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Karen Fistin, Janine Winnard, Cindy Thomsen, Damon Rogers, and Courtney and Yancy Casey.
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Tom Regal, Shane Gillam, Adina Gilliam and Adina Regal
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Karen Wiechman was presented with an original painting by local artist Shari Lacey.
Rather than the day-long festival it had been for 18 years, it was cut back to four hours this year, although it went about an hour longer when headliner Pat McLaughlin and friends got rolling with his mix of country, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll and pop music.
“We are so grateful for the support from the community,” said Steve Young, one of the event’s organizers. “Even with the 100 degree ‘feels like’ temperature, people supported it.”
That support also included hundreds of volunteers who set up the two stages and tents for the artists and technicians, parked cars, kept water stations supplied and collected tickets. They passed out pre-paid dinners and drinks, sold T-shirts, blackberry jam and CDs, and helped with cleanup afterwards.
Sponsorships were also a big part of the support. The Franklin Rotary Club at Breakfast and the Downtown Franklin Rotary Club joined the Franklin Noon Rotary Club, a sponsor since 2015.
“We’re happy to have three [of our clubs] here at the same time,” said Armando Estrada, recently elected club president of the Franklin Noon Rotary.
The Franklin Noon Rotary has donated $17,000 to the event since coming on in 2015 as a sponsor.
“We’re proud to be here supporting Hard Bargain,” said Eddy Moon, club director. “Hopefully we’ll do it again.”
The music festival featured six musicians representing a variety of genres.
Quintavious Johnson, who finished fifth in the ninth season of “America’s Got Talent,” opened the festival with Chris Keenan accompanying on keyboard.
Festival founders and hosts Carol Warren and Dale Whitehead sang several of their original and some familiar songs with Lori de los Santos and Sherri Jones as backup singers.
Singer/songwriter Rebecca Frazier, a flatpicking guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, performed several original bluegrass tunes, followed by country artist Michael Ricks.
As the sunlight faded, the music moved to the Porch Stage with McLaughlin and friends. Joining him were Greg Morrow on drums, Michael Rhodes on bass and Kenny Greenberg on guitar.
The 20th Blackberry Jam Music Festival is already scheduled for next year on June 24, 2023.
