(gentle music) - [Vivian] Bluegrass is a music that everybody can relate to.

It's a toe-tapping happy music.

- It's just old time hillbilly, just down home gospel, anything you wanna throw in it.

- Bluegrass was coined and named by Bill Monroe.

He wanted it to be different than the country music of the day.

He was from Kentucky.

Kentucky's known for bluegrass.

It's a traditional string music.

(gentle music) - All right, we're so glad y'all are here.

We're glad we're here too.

- [Vivian] The jam here at Montgomery General Store, has been going on for almost 20 years.

- It's just the perfect medium to play just an old country store out in the middle of old country, and you know, with banjos and guitars and bass fiddles and pictures and ice cream and stuff, and people can just, you know, can stand around and play, and be very much at ease.

♪ I'm saying longtime, Monroe - [Vivian] The Bluegrass Jam is a gathering of musicians from all over the region.

Some will drive an hour to two hours to get here to play.

- You know, it's always different.

Some of these jams can go on for two hours, three hours straight.

Sometimes you know, longer than that.

♪ And I don't know ♪ I'm saying longtime, Monroe - [Vivian] It brings players together that don't have a chance to get together and pick, just pick and have fun.

- I love coming down here probably as much for the fellowship as I do for the music.

(indistinct) - Sometimes it's really nerve-wracking.

Sometimes it's so fast that you don't have time to think about it, but it's just a lot of fun.

♪ The rhythm of the brass keys ♪ The function of my mind - I'm so happy that you're here tonight.

- [Mary] And Vivian knows everybody.

- If this is the building, she's the cornerstone.

- [Mary] She really cares about the players and about the people that come.

- I don't remember a time, when bluegrass wasn't being played in our house.

My father was a musician, a luthier.

He built Fiddles guitars, mandolin.

My dad was a member of the Church Brothers Pioneer Bluegrass Band from back in the day, the late '40s, early '50s, and into the '60s.

I was about six or eight years old, when he was going out there and playing on the Opry.

That was way back when in the original Ryman Auditorium.

One of his most iconic songs was written and recorded in 1948, and Lester Flat and Earl Scruggs had just left Bill Monroe to form the Foggy Mountain Boys and needed original material.

And my dad let them record "Cabin in Caroline."

- We got Luke, we got Jacob, Taylor and Anna, they go by Brothers of Bluegrass, and Paul.

So I'm the Paul part of it, grand Paul.

Luke was the first one, and I knew that I just wanted to pass it down.

(bright upbeat music) - From day one, he started off teaching me just the basics and let me make mistakes and learn from those mistakes.

- There's hardly a day go by that I don't sit and play something.

I've drove my wife crazy forever, try and get the kids to come over two or three times a week if possible.

- When we have young kids like the Whitley children, it makes you feel good that there's still interest, and this music will live on.

I think the music brings people here that wouldn't come to Gold Hill otherwise.

People will walk in just hearing it from the sidewalk, and they'll just say, "Wow, what is going on here?

This is totally awesome."

I really want them to feel good.

I want them to be happy when they leave here.

I want them to take away a family tradition with them.

- You know, you're learning and you're playing, and you fellowship, and that's what's the beauty of this place right here.

(audience applauding)