Every Tuesday evening, dozens of musicians gather at Maness Pottery and Music Barn in Carthage for a community jam session.
Guests arrive shortly after 6 p.m. and begin fanning out to different sections of the venue. A cacophony of plucked banjo strings and whining fiddles soon fills the air.
Only acoustic instruments are allowed at the weekly sessions, which owner Clyde Maness started organizing for friends at his home in 1975. Today, anyone is invited to perform or spectate.
In addition to live music, visitors are feted with cornbread, coffee and potato salad. Members of local churches sometimes cook food and bring covered dishes.
Maness is a passionate bluegrass fan — his email address is lovinbluegrass@gmail.com — who makes a living selling the handmade pots and vases displayed on shelves inside the barn. He doesn’t charge admission for the musical get-togethers, but attendees are encouraged to make a dollar donation at the door. — Jaymie Baxley/The Pilot
Salt Creek practices in a room off stage. Members include Herbert Brady on guitar, Tony Warner on banjo and Charlie, who said he did not have a last name, on the fiddle. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Autumn Boger, Jeff Medlin, Jack Hussey and Roy Hardy warm up outside the barn. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Danny Morton, a member of the Red Bluff Ramblers, tunes his instrument (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Bluegrass fans get comfortable before a performance. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Clyde Maness, owner of the barn and organizer of the weekly jam sessions. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Pete O'Dea strums his guitar. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Paula Conley with her upright bass. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Roy Hardy, left, Amon Garner and Alfred Eller. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Dancing is encouraged at the sessions. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Danene Volk sets the table. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Clyde Maness, left, joins fellow musicians for an impromptu performance outside the barn. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Clyde Maness (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
The Red Bluff Ramblers with Danny Pate, Danny Morton and Larry Bowers. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Amon Garner and Alfred Eller warm up before taking the stage. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Kathy Schilling clogs near the stage. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Malachi Freeman, 14, on the fiddle. He won a prize last month at the Highfalls Old-Time Fiddlers' Convention at North Moore High School. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Justin Freeman, left, and 'Big T' (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Pammy Lassiter plays slide guitar. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Cooper Morona, Aaron Ingram, Autumn Boger and William Britt. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Clyde Maness works the sound board. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
A bluegrass ensemble performs. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Musicians perform on the barn's main stage. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Charlie plays the fiddle. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Danny Pate, Danny Morton and Larry Bowers of the Red Bluff Ramblers. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Jack Hussey, 9, tunes his guitar. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Austin Howell strums in the barn's parking area. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Larry Bowers of The Red Bluff Ramblers. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
Bumper sticker professing love for bluegrass, the barn's favored genre. (Photograph by Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot)
(3) comments
Ok after seeing all that home cooked food, I will definitely be there
I could almost hear the music picking through the slide of pictures.. I loved to visit the Maness Barn. It is good to see the younger faces taking up Bluegrass! Thanks so much for the article. I no longer live there and it was almost like being there through the pictures!!!!. [beam]
Mr. Maness and his friends have created something special. Go to the music barn to meet real people, always a delight.
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