In the beginning there was the land
June 02, 2008
I made my fourth or fifth visit to the BamaJam site over the weekend, for a sponsors, family and friends party that also kinda served as a trial run for the Bama Slam Saloon. Throw the lights, hope they work.
And they did.
As my husband and I pulled up to the main gate off Boy Scout Road, there were three serious-looking security guys checking out all visitors. One approached us with a clipboard.
“Name,“ he said.
“Debbie Ingram. With the Dothan Eagle,“ I said, holding up my press badge.
We got the wave through and headed up a dusty road toward the BamaJam Village entrance.
Except for a few temporary trailers, some roads and fencing, the outdoor saloon which organizers say is bigger than a football field, a buncha generators and lights, the 600-acre portion of this total 1,200-acre parcel, still looks unchanged. It looks like farmland.
To a country girl from Mississippi, that’s a good thing!
And it is fitting. It is a fitting location for an outdoor festival that is based around three genres of music—bluegrass, country and Southern rock—which have their roots in their South. The use of these different kinds of music makes BamaJam unique, and bringing these sounds together has captured the attention of the music industry.
“All the music folks are watching to see if this works,“ Billy Graham of Ronnie Gilley Enterprises told me last week. “It’s the first time somebody put together a festival around the different genres.“
The Main Stage, just down the hill from the saloon, has a natural amphitheatre (as Ronnie Gilley’s folks like to call it). It’s where you’ll see performances by Miranda Lambert, Lynyrd Skynrd, Hank Jr., Little Big Town, Tracy Lawrence, Trace Adkins and ZZ Top. This “amphitheatre” is a natural valley. Seating will be all up “the hill” looking down on the Main Stage. Near the stage is handicap and VIP seating. There is also a media tent and a large sponsor’s pavilion. One of two or three EMS trailers is also near the main stage.
The Alternative stage backs up to the RV campground area and the smaller Bluegrass Stage is in “The Village,“ which is home to the saloon and all the vendors. Just look for the big tree. It’s big and it’s the only one on 600 acres of open land.
