Having spent my entire life in the heart of Appalachia, music has become an indelible part of my existence and the cultural fabric of East Tennessee. Bluegrass often gets associated with Appalachian music, but there's a genre that predates it - Old Time music. Rooted in the musical traditions of multiple countries like England, Scotland, and Ireland, with influences from Africa, it features stringed and acoustic instruments such as fiddles, guitars, and sometimes banjos.

Discovering Boyd’s Jig and Reel

In the very center of the Old City stands Boyd’s Jig and Reel, recently hailed as "One of the Best Bars in Tennessee" by Urban Guy in an August 2024 article. Jenny Boyd established this venue in 2011 to bring live music similar to pubs in the UK, with jam sessions throughout the week. Scottish and Irish sessions take place on Thursdays, along with attracting regional, national, and international acts. One such international act, The Tannahill Weavers from Scotland, expressed their gratitude in a May 2024 social media post, calling the Boyds good friends and stating that their music venue, bar, and restaurant is one of the best in the States. I was fortunate to witness The Tannahill Weavers at the Jig and Reel a few years ago, fulfilling a long-awaited dream.

Tuesday’s Old Time Music Sessions

Apart from the Celtic sessions, Tuesdays are dedicated to Old Time music. Sharing similar musical structures and instruments with Celtic traditions, Old Time Music is an original form of Appalachian musical expression that predates bluegrass. Sarah Pirkle leads a jam session every Tuesday, where local and international musicians come together to continue this Appalachian tradition. I recently had the chance to attend my first Old Time music session after years of attending the Scottish and Irish ones. I sat down with Sarah Pirkle to explore the history and music of these sessions.Pirkle, who has been leading the Tuesday night sessions since their inception, is a fiddle player, songwriter, and music teacher. She teaches private lessons to people of all ages and is the Program Director for Junior Appalachian Musicians, running programs in Knoxville and Blount County at the Heritage Center. She emphasized that Junior Appalachian Musicians is a "low cost or sometimes free program for kids after school, promoting Appalachian culture and music, and providing instruments if they don't have them."This teaching connection led to the creation of the Old Time music sessions. One of Pirkle's adult students, Jenny Boyd, who owns Boyd’s Jig and Reel, asked Pirkle to lead the Tuesday music sessions. Pirkle described Jenny as a "true music lover." They met when Boyd switched from classical music to fiddle. Pirkle mentioned that Boyd took a trip to Scotland and discovered a jam similar to the ones held at the Jig and Reel. She said that the "community aspect of everyone sitting around a table playing at the same time was what she was looking for." Boyd transformed the former Manhattan’s into a space dedicated to supporting music. "That's the focus here. You don't see TVs with sports on. It's for music. It has provided a great venue for many local artists and travelers for over ten years now."

The Diverse Group of Musicians

The artists playing on Tuesday nights have evolved from the early days. Pirkle explained, "When we first started, it was just me or one or two, sometimes just me sitting there playing until the word got out. And for a while, it wasn't even Old Time. It was just people playing folk music to whatever. But eventually, we got enough old time players to make it what it is today. It is pretty consistent every week."This consistent session is composed of a diverse group of musicians at all skill levels, from beginners to professionals. Many have been with the session for the entire ten years. "We all have our assigned seats like when you go to church. Sit in the same place. We have a lot of retirees. We have a couple of professional musicians. We also have some kids who come from time to time; we try to make this a kid-friendly place. These are just people who love to play music for the pure joy of it and are not interested in showing off. They just want to make the groove together."

Lon Sturgeon’s Guitar at the Session

Lon Sturgeon, one of the evening's session players and a guitar and fiddle player, told me that he loves learning new tunes and hanging out with other musicians at the sessions. He enjoys the environment at the Jig and Reel and finds it fun to be with people who share his passion. During the session, he played both guitar and fiddle, although he is primarily a fiddle music player.The sessions cover a wide range of music, including Appalachian old time fiddle tunes, some Midwestern, and a little Celtic music. Pirkle noted, "Mostly we just all sit around and play together. We play all at the same time and try to make beginners feel welcome. This is a jam for all skill levels." She explained that the old time sessions are made up of string players only and do not allow percussion. "Old time fiddle tunes are primarily dance tunes. It's like what you would hear at a square dance. All instrumental. We don't sing a whole lot, but we do from time to time."Pirkle said that songs are called out by the players. As the leader, she has each player pick a song in a circle to ensure everyone has a voice and no one person takes over. This is not a common practice in most sessions. The group has a standard repertoire of around one hundred tunes. A typical song will repeat around four times, and the musician who calls the song ends it. Pirkle added that the person will make eye contact or "stick their foot up. That's the other international symbol."Pirkle also mentioned that they have included more old time music from the Midwest as not all of their players are from Tennessee. Musicians come from Florida, the Midwest including Iowa, and even as far away as Scotland, Australia, and Japan. They sometimes play Canadian old time, which is piano and fiddle-based waltz music, adding a different flavor to the mix.After Pirkle's session ends around 8:30, a bluegrass session takes over. One of the unique aspects of the Jig and Reel sessions is that most jams around the US are bluegrass-based. In Blount and Knox Counties, most sessions are bluegrass with small groups coming up to play their songs instead of a group sitting around and making music.

Attendees and the Musical Experience

In the session I attended, the crowd varied, with approximately 20 listeners. Pirkle said that this is an average-sized crowd, but it can increase during special occasions like the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday when families come to town and want to enjoy the music.When asked about the impact of the sessions on the Old City and downtown Knoxville, Pirkle said, "It's a unique community experience. Unless you go to an open mic, you can't just sit down and play music. There are instruments on the wall. Say if you're just traveling and staying downtown, and people have done this, they'll look it up and go 'Oh, I can just borrow a fiddle and take one off the wall and play.' All the instruments on the wall are playable, and we've only had one taken, which was later returned."I also asked if the music sets change with the seasons, and Pirkle said that they will definitely be adding Christmas music for the upcoming season, probably starting on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. If you want to experience the music on Tuesdays, note that the session room offers a full menu with tableside service from Boyd’s Jig and Reel. Sessions typically start at 6:30 and end around 8:00 to 8:30.In the meantime, enjoy one of the songs I was able to film at Tuesday’s session.