Pickett State Park in Pickett County, Tennessee sits in the north central section of the Volunteer State, and has played host to one of the largest if not the largest bluegrass music jam sessions in the state.
Every Labor Day, banjos, dobros, fiddles, guitars, mandolins, bass fiddles, and harmonicas descend on the picnic grounds in the park, along with the men, women, boys, and girls that make the strings sing. Hundreds of musicians and singers from all over Tennessee, Kentucky, and other surrounding states look forward to seeing old friends that they may not have seen since last year at the park.
These are not seasoned professional musicians, they are everyday folks who love bluegrass music, and are quite good at making it. Most would rather pick themselves than to watch award-winning bands playing on a stage at a festival.
Many of the pickers have been playing since they were children, and some have been coming to Pickett State Park on Labor Day every year for most of their lives. It is just a tradition, a tradition that many hope will live on for several more generations, keeping bluegrass music alive in the hearts of Americans of every kind.
