Reflections on Warren Haynes’ Presents: Christmas Jam

The holidays can often be connected with traditions. Some are fantastic and fun and need to last forever while others, tired and cumbersome, ought to be forgotten and discontinued. For instance, sitting at the dinner table with my in-laws in Indianapolis, drinking coffee long after the meal was done. No one was allowed to leave the table even though football was on and the conversation had long since dwindled. Weaksauce. Tamiami Sammy used to get a bushel of raw oysters on Christmas Eve. While simultaneuously filling the baking sheet for casino and Rockerfeller he’d suck them down with cracker and heavy horshradish cocktail sauce. Now there’s a tradition one can get behind. Just like Christmas Jam in Asheville, North Carolina. Welcome to Reflections on Warren Haynes’ Presents: Christmas Jam.

Welcome back to North Carolina and another Christmas Jam, a uniquely Asheville holiday tradition in its 32nd year, kicked off at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. This year’s offering served up  a heaping plateful of old school rock and roll. You know the kind.

In the meat of the Appalachian Mountains, the party returned to Asheville, home to Warren Haynes and the Biltmore Estate. A gathering place for bourgeoisie artists and craft brew snobs, hipsters and hippies.

They were with the world’s smallest harmonica player. He wasn’t small, the harmonica was. The night before they’d ended up on the roof of his condo. Nice place. The gas fireplace exploded in flame as Shane spit a mouthful of moonshine into it, testing the alcohol content. It was the second test, after the taste test and this lighting was definitely on point. Don’t mind the smell of burnt hair and ozone.

Jack of the Wood

Where the rubber meets the road. The Songwriters in the Round showcased Juan Holiday, Christina Chandler, Nic Mac, Melissa NcKinney, Katheryn O’Shea, Whitney Monge, Morgan Geer, Ashley Heath, Keven Fuller, Ray Sisk, Laura Blackley, Aaron Woody Wood, Kevin Smith, Paul Edelman, Leigh Glass and Justin Clyde Williams.

The highlight of the night came when Lucienda Rosalita proceeded to dip her finger in a shot of 151 and light it on fire. She then poured the shot in her gaping maw, light her finger on fire and blew the flames across the bar. In classic Lucy fashion, she bowed proudly to the crowd, all the while forgetting that her finger was still on fire. No more fingerprints, all problems solved.

The Asheville Music Hall

This afternoon party was hosted by Sneeky, Mike Barnes and Friends, Joe Marcinek’s Dead Funk Summit with Jason Hahn, Sam Brouse, Josh Clark and Melody Trucks, The Snozzberries and The Empire Strikes Brass.

Lucy was glad to be photographing the show. She had no money left after two months of vacation and preparation for Christmas. She and Baitbucket had been celebrating “Mexican Monday” three times a week, give or take and now the Buick’s oil pump had gone out at the same time the price tag had come in from the luthier fixing her grandfather’s Martin. She considered it just might be time to return to “private dances” behind the KFC dumpster.

One Stop

This party lineup starred Andrew Scotchie, Paper Crowns, Red Clay Revival, Cody Jasper and  Colby T. Helms. The Girth had been seeing double since the end of the Bloody Mary marathon but the last hour had seen him drinking Pedialyte and a coffee and whiskey. The slurring had stopped and he could see straight(ish).

Lucy was playing with house money. It was a great life and she knew it would be over in about five minutes, so better to enjoy the moment and give it her genuine best effort.

Visit the Christmas Jam website and like their social media sites on Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter. AI hasn’t yet taken over rock and roll and furthermore, anyone using robot vacuum cleaners still live with piles of dog hair. The world is yours.

Thanks for making the wranglers your one-stop festival shoppe for all things fluffy. Keep up with the Jonses as we survive the high country winter and brainstorm faster ways to join the Florida festival season already in progress. High country, low bar.                                                   namaste y’all…