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 First, let me take a moment to thank everyone involved with this event. It took a lot of dedicated people to pull this off. Next, let me just say how very humbling it is that so many wonderful folks spent so much money and time to come join us for this event. I can not begin to describe the feeling I got when I walked out onto the stage to kick the day off and looked out over so many faces. The attendees came from every part of the country and some from over seas. Even more humbling was the amazing support of our artist friends who donated their time and money to be here at our little piece of Tennessee heaven. Some of these artists gave up some large gigs to come perform for free. All I can say is I have been truly blessed to have such wonderful friends. You all are the best!! We love you.. We also had almost 1000 hits on the webcam from Military personnel overseas. We were very proud to know that we could bring a little bit of home to our troops overseas. We are proud of ya’ll!! Thank you!!
Some of what 2008 had to offer:
This year we had over 200 attendees thru the day
We really stepped up the food, offering something for every taste
We had two webcam streams (one crowd cam, one stage cam)
We had over 5000 hits on the webcam from every part of the world
20% of the webcam viewers were service men and women
We had a General Lee Charger for folks to look at and get pictures with
Over 12 hours of Live Music
The event was recorded on audio, video, and photo
Our members in Delaware made custom T-shirts for the event
We gave all attendees souvenir Glow in the Dark Guitar Picks
Raffles all day for shirts, CD’s, gifts and an autographed guitar
Updated stage and lighting
Beautiful Tennessee Spring Weather….
Ended the Evening with Fireworks
Some Audio Highlights are available at:
History of The Jam-A-Que:
The Jam-A-Que was started 4 years ago as simply a way to bring our website members together and say thank you. The first year was held in Dixon and hosted by Bobby and Jenny Booth. About 25 members came together and quickly realized that something special was happening. Scott Braswell and Rock Bottom Band performed. Our very dear friend George McCorkle (Marshall Tucker Band) attended and was our first “Celebrity Guest.” George quickly became involved with all our events and was instrumental in creating a lot of our projects, events and websites -- including Southern Fried Magazine.
Year two our attendance more than doubled and offered even more special guests. We also had our first raffles, prizes, and gifts for attendees. We also featured our musician members with an open jam hosted by Scott Braswell.
After year two was such a success George McCorkle and myself began planning the 3rd annual Jam-A-Que. We decided to move it to our new home in Pleasant Shade/Carthage to accommodate more people and activities. Year three had many more Celebrity guests attending including Jane Van Zant, JoJo Billingsley and Gary Allen. Unfortunately, George entered the hospital the day before the Jam-A-Que. Sadly, we lost him to cancer 11 days later.
 The Southern Boys Band made their Jam-A-Que debut and demonstrated a character of the highest caliber that day. Helping to keep the event together while we were dealing with the news of George’s cancer. For those who do not know, they are the nephews of George McCorkle. We all went on per George’s request and performed a tribute to him. This was also the debut of the webcam streaming of the event. The Jam had again more than doubled in size, acts, guest, and activities. Although, it again was a great success, it was bitter sweet. Knowing that George was in the hospital with cancer weighed heavily on myself and his nephews.
 This year's event brought a lot of changes. We had upgraded the stage, lighting, sound system, webcam, and food. It was the first year we had put the event on without George’s involvement. We, however, had his awesome son to step in for his father. The event again more than doubled in size. The webcam stream hits increased 10 fold. The team of people involved in the 2008 Jam-A-Que was amazing!! Everyone chipped in on every aspect, stage, food, money, and entertainment. The event due to it’s rapid growth had a few bugs that had to be worked out. Our team of people all stepped up and we overcame them. Again, Scott Braswell and The Southern Boys Band stepped up to help keep the music flowing for over 12 hours.. I owe the boys and their beautiful ladies (Faith, Tracy, Tiffany, and Beebe) a debt of graititude I will never be able to repay in a lifetime -- love you guys and gals!!! I need to offer a very special thank you to Jason Gooch who stayed behind the board for almost 12 hours working above and beyond to ensure things stayed functioning. People attended from every part of the country and there was even a couple from Belgium. We had record producers, managers, agents, and label executives in attendance. Celebrities and soon to be celebrities all came together and put on a great show… 2008 also brought the beginnings of sponsors and endorsements. Some of the great folks who helped sponsor the event were: Guitar Center Nashville, In Tune Guitar Picks, Dixie Made Woodworks, and Camstreams.
2009 and the Future:
Where can I even begin... We have moved to an actual outdoor concert venue and added another day. Artists like Marshall Tucker's Chris Hicks, JoJo Billingsley, and Dangerous Dan Toler all volunteering to come out. Epiphone/Gibson Audio getting involved is a true blessing and launches the event into a whole new arena. Lots of great new stuff coming. The event promises to become an annual Southern Rock Stock...
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