Earlier this summer in a place called Floyd, Virginia (pop. 448), part of the Blue Ridge province in the southwestern part of the state, I watched over 20 musicians, ranging from 10 to 93 years old, congregate to perform an old-time music jam followed almost immediately by a bluegrass jam.
Officially known as the Sunday Music Jam, this series of free jam sessions will light up Floyd’s corner of Old Dominion—not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway—on Sunday afternoons through the end of the year at the historically musical Floyd Country Store.
The store is a well-run, well-stocked tourist destination featuring roadside-diner food and selling store-branded souvenirs and locally made wares. It is one of dozens of local shops offering unique food, art, wood crafts, and gifts for purchase, an easy walk from the center of town and its one stoplight.
When you commit to sticking around the Floyd Country Store for the music—not just shopping, eating, and rushing back to your journey—you are stamping a ticket to a magical place that I will forever call Boundless Happiness, Virginia.
The sense of community inside that old building the afternoon of July 9 was unlike anything I have ever experienced. It warmed and comforted me like a favorite TV-room blanket.
HAPPINESS IN THE BACK
When you go, once inside the store, walk toward the back where you will find a U-shaped collection of chairs sitting a couple feet below a raised stage, each serving as the best seat in the house for whatever talent is being featured—on stage or in the round.
My stop in Floyd was calculated to build on a curiosity planted in my mind a few years ago, when my family visited but couldn’t hang around for the music.
On this lingering visit, I learned that participating musicians come from near and far. Among those I met were two local music teachers and one of their students, a 10-year-old who started on the mandolin just last year (and his dad and brother), and a 26-year-old born in North Carolina, raised in Virginia, and now living in Colorado to pursue music.
There was no sheet music in sight. To me, it seemed most of the players had grown up enjoying old-time and bluegrass music; once it was underway, they joined the jam when they felt comfortable.
I focused my interviews on better understanding what drew everyone to this uniquely American form of music—and the store. In the moment, I also asked them why I couldn't stop smiling as they performed.
JASON DILG
One of the teachers mentoring a student musician at the jam was Jason Dilg. He plays clawhammer and two-finger banjo, old-time and blues fiddle, rhythm guitar, bass, bluegrass and old-time mandolin, and he sings.
An accomplished touring and festival musician, Jason teaches for Floyd County’s local affiliate of the Junior Appalachian Musicians® (JAM) and the Handmade Music School in Floyd, and from his home studio. Jason met his wife Gina Dilg—the other teacher I met that day—playing music together at a jam in Lyons, Colorado in 2010. They continue to perform together today for dances and concerts.
Where did you grow up and how did you become a fan of this music?
I’m an Army brat; we moved every three years or so. I heard bluegrass when I was going to college in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.
Were your parents or other family members musicians?
I’m an adoptee. My birthmother was into Doc Watson and Jean Ritchie. She played the dulcimer.
What instruments do you play?
Whatever I can get my hands on. String instruments are my main thing, but I’ve played hand percussion in a Brazilian band, and I love playing triangle for Cajun dance bands. Really.
Who were your mentors and inspirations early on?
I’m grateful to Sally Van Meter, the Dobro great; Gene Libbea, a musician’s musician; and folk wizard Jefferson Hamer for their encouragement to keep performing. I love Frank Lee and John Herrmann’s banjo playing; baroque music and disco really did it for me as a kid.
What is your earliest memory of the store and how long have you played there?
I had been hearing about the store starting with Anna Roberts Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrelle’s time at the Floyd Radio Show in the late-aughts. My introduction to the Floyd Country Store was in 2016 or 2017, playing banjo with the Earl White Band for the Friday Night Jamboree. The jingle taps are really something!
The store was overflowing with joy while you were jamming. How do you explain the magic of that place?
Mountain music, country music, old-time music, or whatever you want to call it is originally community music. Bluegrass’ lineage is a little muddled because Bill Monroe claims he made it up, but he was mentored by a Black fiddler named Arnold Shultz. The community experience that you saw has been in the soundtrack for a good time in these parts for a long time. The Floyd Country Store does a great job of curating an environment that’s inclusive and celebrating the role of this music as a cultural vessel.
It was heart-warming to see the young man with special needs dancing with his family at different points. How does it feel to play a role in drawing them together for that experience?
I mostly think of it as joyfully and effortlessly holding space for people to enjoy the experience of music as human beings in community. That’s something everyone is wired to appreciate, and everyone can take part in. I’ve seen people of every shade of color, gender, and degree of ability on that dance floor and playing in the circle. I’m grateful to be a carrier of this tradition.
How do you spot talent in young musicians? What attributes are indicators of their future success?
There’s a musical facility that is a good indicator of musical potential, but there is also an appetite for discipline that must go with it over time.
What does the challenge of participating in a jam do for your students?
Participating in the jam teaches them to listen, watch, and start connecting the dots between what they see and hear with what they can do on their instruments. It’s fundamental to the regeneration of the community. JAM kids coming to the Sunday jams at the store is a relatively new phenomena; Floyd’s music scene for kids is incredible right now.
What advice do you have for musicians who want to show up for one of the Sunday jams? Which instruments have you seen at the jams over the years and is it as simple as arriving and introducing themselves?
You don’t even have to introduce yourself! Generally, we expect to see banjos, fiddles, guitars, mandolins, banjo ukes, and dancers at the old-time jam. I’ve seen spoons, washboards, dulcimers, and wash-tub basses, too.
Among those instruments played during the jam, are there certain ones that are difficult to master? I have heard the banjo is a tough one.
I like to say there’s nothing hard about playing an instrument; there’s only the unfamiliar. That said, I find the speed of bluegrass a challenge on any instrument! Fiddle is tough because learning to bow is like learning to speak again. Not having frets to dial in the pitch of a note for you is also a big deal. Fiddle is a beast.
How can people support the Floyd Country Store and music in the region?
The Handmade Music School does a lot of great work as an anchor for mountain music in our region. The Junior Appalachian Musicians program is also a great program doing similar work throughout the southern and central Appalachian region. Donate money, instruments, time. Go to shows, jam with people.
Who are a couple musicians, locally or anywhere, that you think other people should know about, hear, and support, and what do you find yourself listening to lately?
Clinton Davis, Jake Blount, Tatiana Hargreaves, and Alison de Groot. I’ve been wearing out a Jimmy Martin tribute album and Mike Compton and Norman Blake’s “Gallup Through Georgia.”
What were the names of some of the songs played during the jam with the students?
I don’t remember, but the likely suspects are Shooting Creek, Mississippi Sawyer, and Boatsman.
What do you want to accomplish over the next five years or so?
I’m interested in teaching more, performing solo, recording with my wife, and putting a full band together around our repertoire.
LISTEN
Sample a couple tunes from Jason and Gina.
LEARN & SUPPORT
Handmade Music School is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that strives to cultivate and strengthen community through experiences in music, dance, art, and food rooted in Appalachian traditions. Learn more about Handmade Music’s student scholarship programs and make donations here. The JAM Program Model for children in grades 4-8 and beyond introduces them to music through small-group instruction on instruments common to the Appalachian region. Learn more about Floyd JAMs offered by the June Bug Center for Arts and Education, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to providing music, performing arts, and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) through affordable after-school programs, classes, and community theatre productions. Review how you can support the June Bug Center here, including donations via their PayPal Giving Fund.
SELECTED LINKS
MUSICAL INFLUENCES
Doc Watson
Jean Ritchie
Sally Van Meter
Gene Libbea
Jefferson Hamer
Frank Lee
John Herrmann
Anna Roberts Gevalt
Elizabeth LaPrelle
Earl White Band
Bill Monroe
Arnold Shultz
Clinton Davis
Jake Blount
Tatiana Hargreaves
Alison de Groot
Jimmy Martin
Mike Compton
Norman Blake
NEXT: Old-time music jam player and parent interviews.
About the Author: Dave Schuellerman is a professional feature writer, content strategist, and communication consultant with 30 years of experience helping B2B and B2C companies inform and influence targeted audiences. Learn more about his background, perspective, and available services at FEND Communication. Ready to engage on a project? Reach him directly at schuellerman@gmail.com.
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