The 17th annual Hillbilly Jam is sneaking up again and organizers are preparing to welcome hundreds of performers and campers to the Boscombe Community Centre for the July 13 to 15 weekend.
The outdoor musical festival will feature amateur musicians from across western Canada. Last year, an estimated 2,000 people attended the weekend event, according to Guy Bouchard, one of the event organizers.
Bouchard expects new performers to take part but of course there will also be a number of “old standbys and regulars” who will be on hand to entertain.
Sticking to the event’s regular format, old country, bluegrass and new country will be featured throughout the weekend and gospel music will finish off the gathering on Sunday.
Over the past few years, the event has started attracting some younger performers, such as Vilna’s Cassidy Zahar and St. Paul’s Mickayla Chamberland, says Bouchard, adding it’s amazing to watch these young performers grow and learn.
Although the event technically starts on Friday, campers will arrive much earlier in the week, says Bouchard. Many regulars now schedule their holidays around the festival and spend nearly a week at Boscombe.
“It’s a friendly atmosphere . . . there’s no competition,” says Bouchard, adding, “People feel safe.” Performers back each other up on stage and are all friendly toward each other, and at the end of the weekend, they pack up their campers, pick up the garbage, and head home.
“It’s amazing,” says Bouchard.
As for the music itself, it is amateur, but there have certainly been some amazing moments on the Hillbilly Jam stage in past years and some big names have been spotted at the event and at times coaxed to perform, says Bouchard. He gives one example of local talent Calvin Vollrath, a fiddle player who is well-known across the country and who was inducted into the North American Fiddlers Hall of Fame in 2011.
The Hillbilly Jam will kick off on Friday around noon, with an open stage. At about 5 p.m., the stage show will begin and go late into the night. Saturday will start with a pancake breakfast and the band scramble will start at noon. Then, at about 3 p.m., the stage show will begin and go until late in the evening again.
On Sunday, another pancake breakfast will be held and more music enjoyed, but at this time the music featured will be mostly gospel country. The event will wrap up at about 2 p.m.
Over the years, “the number of performers has increased,” says Bouchard, and an exact schedule is hard to pin down since the number of performers isn’t known until the weekend of the Hillbilly Jam.
The weekend will also include an outdoor dance floor, 50/50 draws and a raffle; a full concession will be available at the hall. The Hillbilly Jam acts as a fundraiser for the Boscombe Community Centre. Admission and camping is by donation.
