FEATURE PHOTO: Roc’s Old-Time Jam
June 9, 2019
Jerry Ellis (right), an acoustic guitar player from Charleston, plays old-time tunes from “Dear Old Illinois” with Jim Jand (middle), a banjo player from Tolono, and Jerry Myers (left), a fiddle player from Mattoon, at Roc’s Blackfront Tavern & Grill Sunday afternoon.
The three players were playing for Roc’s Old-Time Jam, an event fiddle player Gaye Harrison organized to raise funds for the Charleston Food Pantry. Harrison said all musician tips go to the pantry.
Harrison said on Sunday, the group would go around in a circle to determine which tune the musicians would play next.
Many of the songs the group played were from “Dear Old Illinois,” a collection of songs from downstate Illinois, she said.
People can go to the Old-Time Jam on a number of additional Sundays to watch local musicians play: July 14, Aug. 4 (Harrison’s birthday), Sept. 22 and Oct. 13. from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.
Roc’s is located at 410 Sixth St.