Pickers play at a previous bluegrass jam at Brackins in Maryville.

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Over the phone I was told that the line for the free Sunday bluegrass jam at Brackins in Maryville is usually down the street before the place opens at 2 p.m.

This wasn't the case on a recent Sunday, but it should have been.

I've been to Brackins only a few times, but I can safely conclude that it's cooler than it has any right to be. Not to be offensive to anyone from Maryville, but Brackins is one of the better venues I've been to in the entire country.

It boasts a blues vibe to it. It easily could be a Nashville or Austin bar, with the only difference being it's not taken over by an over-commercialized, uninspired scene full of pretentious young hipsters with more money than they know what to do with.

Having lived in both Nashville and Texas, I can safely say I'd rather be at Brackins than any bar in the so-called "Music City" or Austin any day of the year.

The bluegrass jam starts Sunday afternoons at 4 p.m., which I realize counts more as day-life, but when it's a Sunday wouldn't you rather be drinking earlier in the afternoon? And with my recent trip on the first day of summer, a day-life scenario was appropriate.

When asking the bartender if the bluegrass jam was still taking place that day, she enthusiastically said yes and asked if I planned on playing. I didn't, but it's nice to know that a stranger like myself was still welcome to jam. That's the true nature of jam music.

The jam unofficially gathered for about a half-hour before jumping in at around 4, as advertised. "Good evening, music lovers," the violinist said, hunched over in his chair like an older, Southern Kurt Cobain introducing their performance.

It consisted mainly of three performers who played guitar, banjo and violin and kept to their particular instrument - something neither typical of bluegrass nor of jam sessions. However, as they took turns sporting the rhythm section of the song and taking lead riffs, there was an ebb and flow of Appalachian culture pouring through the room.

And even though most of Knoxville has passed non-smoking laws for public places, it seems smoking is required at Brackins.

"When are you going to play some of that rap music?" an audience member yelled, meeting with a mock-rap of "The Beverly Hillbillies" theme song. It was a hilarious wise-crack, but strikingly appropriate given today's music fads.

And even though the line between daylife and nightlife is a vague one in this case, the older crowd certainly treated it as if it were nightlife, downing shots and keeping the waitress busy with their frequent beer orders. The bartender kept my beer and food coming and generally made me feel at home.

Though not everyone there was so keen on my photography. Trying to get video and photographs for the sake of journalism clearly offended some, even though there's no reason for that.

Small snafu aside, the Brackins bluegrass jam is one of the best-kept secrets in East Tennessee.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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