The gentle melodies of a thousand bluegrass tunes drifted through the atrium of the Capital Plaza Hotel this weekend, as hundreds of musicians and enthusiasts traveled to Jefferson City for the 41st Midwest Bluegrass Music Awards.
Stephanie Jones' father launched the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America - the host of the awards show and convention - in 1974.
Jones said her dad delighted in the music and wanted to not only promote bluegrass festivals, but keep them wholesome and family-oriented. He also ensured the music remained acoustic by barring electrified instruments.
Played with banjos, fiddles, guitars, mandolins and the upright bass, bluegrass music has roots in the mountains of Appalachia and shares many of the same characteristics of Celtic songs, she said.
Hundreds traveled to Jefferson City to hear Rhonda Vincent & The Rage perform Friday night. Nearly 1,200 were expected to purchase tickets for Saturday night's concert and awards program.
About seven bands - including the Jefferson City band, the Bluegrass Martins - played over the weekend, Jones said.
But Saturday afternoon in the hotel's cavernous lobby was all about pickin' and playin' and jammin'.
Sandi McClary - a mandoline and guitar player for Thermal Breakdown, a Kansas City-based band - travels to dozens of festivals annually. Although Jefferson City's is a winter event, most bluegrass festivals are held outdoors in pleasant weather and draw crowds of campers.
"I pretty much travel to all the bluegrass festivals I can in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa," she said. "I love it. I got into about six years ago and got hooked."
McClary said it's not just the music that appeals to her, but the people. After spending one too many nights in a dripping tent, she purchased an RV to make the trips easier.
"It reminds you of old times with the family," she said.
McClary, who comes from a contemporary Christian music and rock background - said the jam sessions improve her playing. On Friday night, she and a few other musicians stayed up until 2:30 a.m. playing music.
"It's addictive," she said.
At Jefferson City's awards show, amateur players get the chance to play alongside the professional musicians. McClary spent part of the weekend chatting with Michael Andes, mandolin player and vocalist for the band, Nothin' Fancy. Based in Lexington, Virginia, Nothin' Fancy travels worldwide, playing some 150 gigs a year.
"The cool thing is, because the instruments are acoustic, total strangers can start jamming together spontaneously," Andes said. "It's like another form of language that we all speak."
Frank Vaughn, 74, of Hawk Point, remembers his family holding weekly front porch practices. Although he put away his fiddle for decades, he picked it up again in his 60s.
Vaughn, like many in the crowd, came to the festival because they love old country music and find many of the same things to enjoy in the bluegrass tunes.
He said playing with others in the spur of the moment can be a challenge, but one he relishes.
"What's hard about it is a song can be sung in seven keys. You might know the song in D, but need to play it in B. That's the challenge, but that's what makes it a lot of fun," he said. "I'll never get done learning. But I keep progressing."
Andes served as the emcee of the awards show Saturday. He said fans enjoy bluegrass music because "it's wholesome and real."
"It's been handed down from generation to generation," he said.
Andes said bluegrass music has endured because each song tells a story. When he plays a song he often visualizes what's happening, like seeing a CMT music video in his head, he explained.
"Some are comedies, some are tragedies. Others are love stories," he said.
For Andes, the point of playing music is reaching fans emotionally.
He loves cracking up listeners with songs like "I Met My Baby in the Porta John Line" and then touching their hearts with "Heaven's Got an Angel," a song about the loss of a lover.
"All of a sudden you hit a heart string and they well up with tears," he said. "That's what it's all about."