The Glendessary Jam is a collection of musicians dedicated to the sounds which emanated from the Appalachian Mountains during the latter half of the 19th Century and early 20th Century. The roots for this sound are the fiddle tunes of Ireland and Scotland, the swirling melodies of dance music created to frolic away the Saturday nights after a week of hard work. We are a group from different backgrounds and ages who fell in love with this music, and get together to play for whatever reason we can dream up. Besides, there is the lure of the Big Bucks. We have a sound driven by the sounds of the fiddle, with banjos, guitars, a hammered dulcimer, a mandolin, a ukulele and another strange bass-type device known as a “thumper”, constructed from a retired drum, a broom handle and a length of weed-wacker line. We even allow the occasional accordion, usually only in a darkened room, however. Even Old Time Musicians have standards, though the bar is set fairly low. We never know how many of us will show up for a particular gig, but it is usually in the 6 to 12 range: the proverbial Wall of Sound. We are true to the sounds of yesteryear, playing for fun and the enjoyment of whoever happens to be within earshot. We’ve been told that from “way over there”, we sound great. We think it was a compliment. Shamelessly stolen by us from someone else is the essence of our music:
Old Time Music: It’s the Same, but Different. As are we.