The Mission is giving young and inexperienced musicians a chance to play the blues with seasoned pros - and live music fans in the area seem to like the results.
For the live music venue located at 915 E. High St. in Jefferson City, starting a monthly blues jam was a gamble. A Sunday liquor license costs about as much as one for the rest of the week.
But owner Jenny Babcock wanted to give it a try, in part to give experience to up-and-coming blues musicians. So she appealed to her regular customers, starting a small, offline crowdfunding campaign. Call it Kickstarter Unplugged.
For the patrons, it was a way to pay $50 and get into the venue for the rest of the year without a cover charge. For Babcock, it was a way to quickly raise money for the Sunday liquor license. It worked. Twenty people agreed, and she raised the money needed within a week.
In September, The Mission started its monthly blues jam with four experienced musicians who perform in other bands but come together each month from 4-8 p.m. for the event.
"We've never rehearsed, we're just blues players in our own right," said Johnny D'Agostino, who normally plays in The Fried Crawdaddies, a Columbia-based band. On Dec. 9, the Crawdaddies will hold a local CD release party.
On Sunday evening, some 30 patrons seemed to enjoy the loud, edgy grooves that featured a mix of rock, country and other styles, all grounded in blues. Like The Mission's open mic night, there's no cover charge for the blues jam.
"I'm totally enjoying myself," said Kelley Shockley, who grew up in Jefferson City and now lives in Neosho. "This is a simple bar, but there's some really good blues here."
In Neosho, she said, "We've got the blues, but no blues music."
Jefferson City has more live music and cultural opportunities now than it did when she lived here, she said.
During Sunday's event, Babcock worked the bar while her husband handled the soundboard.
"The whole goal is to allow younger musicians to be around more seasoned musicians," she said. "I feel strongly that a healthy open mic night and blues jam are reflections of a strong music community."
On Sunday, at least two musicians, bass player Izzak Green and harmonica player David Godsey, joined the band onstage. Despite their different levels of experience, they cranked out some tight blues tunes as if they had done it together before. About the only hint they weren't was D'Agostino taking some time between songs to go over the tempo and chord progressions for what they would play next.
The blues jams, Babcock said, gives musicians a chance to play with the pros, regardless of their talent or experience.
"If you sign up on the list and show up, you're pretty sure to get a chance to play," she said.