RVA Old-Time Jam at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
A Decade of Appalachian Music Tradition
Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, the deck at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery transforms into a gathering place for Richmond's old-time music community. Running for over 10 years, this jam session represents one of RVA's most enduring celebrations of Appalachian musical heritage.
The Vibe
The setting perfectly captures what old-time music is all about—community, tradition, and the simple joy of making music together. The Hardywood deck provides an open-air atmosphere (weather permitting) where craft beer flows as freely as the fiddle tunes. This is grassroots music-making at its finest, with no stage separation between performers and listeners, no amplification beyond natural acoustic sound, and no pressure beyond showing up with your instrument and a willingness to learn.
The brewery's commitment to community extends beyond serving excellent craft beer and wood-fired pizza. By hosting this jam consistently for over a decade, Hardywood has become a cultural anchor for Richmond's Appalachian music tradition, providing space for a musical lineage that stretches back centuries.
The Music
Old-time Appalachian music represents the pre-bluegrass dance music traditions—fiddle tunes, banjo breakdowns, and ballads that powered square dances and community gatherings across the mountain South. Unlike bluegrass with its spotlight solos and breakneck tempos, old-time emphasizes the collective groove, the hypnotic repetition of a well-played tune circling back on itself until dancers and musicians achieve a kind of communal trance.
The jam welcomes players of varying levels and ages who play acoustic stringed instruments: fiddle, banjo (clawhammer style, not bluegrass three-finger), guitar, mandolin, and bass. Beginners learn by sitting in and following along, absorbing tunes through the traditional oral/aural method rather than written notation. Experienced players provide gentle guidance and introduce new tunes to the repertoire.
Typical tunes include classics like "Angeline the Baker," "Cumberland Gap," "Soldier's Joy," and hundreds of regional variations collected from fiddlers across Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, and beyond. The session builds a shared repertoire while remaining open to introducing new (or very old) tunes discovered through field recordings, archival research, or direct transmission from elder musicians.
The Experience
Bring your instrument and your ears. Old-time music is learned by listening and joining in—there are no charts, no setlists, just tunes called out and started by whoever feels the moment. The format is democratic: anyone can start a tune they know, and the circle joins in if they recognize it or tentatively follows along if they're learning.
Between tunes, conversations flow about instrument setup, tune sources, upcoming festivals, and the general pleasure of making music with like-minded souls. The brewery's excellent selection of craft beers and food from Hardywood Pizza Kitchen ensures nobody goes hungry or thirsty during the proceedings.
This is music meant to be participated in, not performed at an audience. Whether you're a seasoned fiddler, a beginner banjo player, or simply a listener who appreciates traditional music, the RVA Old-Time Jam welcomes you to be part of keeping these centuries-old traditions alive and evolving in contemporary Richmond.