Cooperative Living July 2022 - 9

SPO LIGHT
Chicken and Pickin' in Virginia
by Gregg MacDonald, Staff Writer
Local barbecue restaurant hosts monthly bluegrass music jamboree
ADDING THE SAUCE
About that same time, McDonough
says local Hopewell restauranteur and
fellow music lover Tom McCormack was
hoping t fi nd some way to draw crowds
to his Hopewell BBQ joint, Saucy's.
McDonough put the two together.
" It was a perfect match, " McCormack
Josh Grigsby and County Line, with Ryan Holder
on upright bass, second from left.
S
ometimes the stars align just
right, allowing for great things
to happen.
That's how Becky McDonough,
CEO of the Hopewell-Prince George
Chamber of Commerce, explains the
creation of the now-annual Hopewell,
Va., Bluegrass Jamboree concert series.
Currently in its third season, the
scheduled concerts, and impromptu
ft er-show jam sessions, have brought
bluegrass music back to the community
and vice versa.
Concerts are held in the outdoor
courtyard of Saucy's BBQ near the
intersection of West Randolph Road
and East City Point Road, where once a
month, melodic mandolins and meaty
ribs come together to create memorable
evenings.
FOR FAMILIES
AND KIDS
" It all started with Julie
The concerts
have brought
bluegrass music
back to the
community.
Childrey, " says McDonough. " She
walked into my office with a passion
for bluegrass music and a desire for
someplace local to hear it. "
Childrey, a Prince George Electric
Cooperative member and bluegrass
music fan, says the idea came to her
before the onset of the recent pandemic,
but that she couldn' fi nd a local venue
where bands could play until it became
necessary for establishments to take
music and crowds outside for safety.
" I've been listening to country, gospel
and bluegrass my whole life, " she says.
" Th re used to be a few venues way
outside of town where you could go hear
bluegrass music, but they all shut down
during COVID.
" So, I thought, 'Why not find
Julie Childrey
co-opliving.com
Tom McCormack
someplace local where musicians can
play outside, right here in Hopewell?'
I didn't want it to be a nightclub scene.
I wanted it to be somewhere that families
could attend and little kids could dance.
And it had to be free to the public. "
says. " We had a few solo singersongwriters
performing in here before
the pandemic, and we experimented
with different types of music like indie,
blues and folk, but nothing really
seemed to draw crowds. I've
always been hip to trying
alternative ways of doing
things, so I thought, 'Why
not try this idea of bluegrass
bands performing outside?' "
With a little help in the form
of a grant from Richmond-based
CultureWorks, the Hopewell Bluegrass
Jamboree was born in October 2020.
Now in its third season and
beginning in the spring, the event
regularly attracts an average of 85-90
attendees per monthly performance.
For fellow PGEC member Ryan
Holder, 29, of bluegrass band Josh
Grigsby and County Line, the jamboree
has provided an opportunity for the
part-time musician to locally showcase
his skills on upright bass, and perhaps
more importantly, it has given him a
new sense of identity.
" By day I work at the West Rock
Paper Mill in West Point, " he says.
" But in my spare time, I'm playing with
the band, and it's great to have a venue
so close to home so friends and family
can attend and see me play. " 
For more information about the
Hopewell Bluegrass Jamboree, go to
facebook.com/bluegrassjamboree.
July 2022 ● Cooperative Living ●
7
PHOTO BY GREGG MACDONALD
http://www.facebook.com/bluegrassjamboree http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living July 2022

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