Bragg Jam Makes Its September Debut
By Liz Fabian, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.
Oct. 1–From a stage across Cherry Street, the music of Brax Bragg filled downtown Macon on Saturday evening.
It’s been seven years since Brax and his brother, Tate Bragg, died in a car crash in Texas on the way home to Macon from a cross-country trip, but their family and friends honor the two musicians through the annual Bragg Jam.
Each year, the music festival draws musicians to play multiple venues from north Macon to Terminal Station.
Saturday marked the eighth Bragg Jam, an event which evolved from an impromptu jam at The Rookery a few months after the Braggs were killed.
Brax Bragg’s band was scheduled to play that night in 1999 and his bandmates and friends decided to turn the gig into a benefit for the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail. The event still benefits the trail along the river, which was a favorite hangout for the brothers.
Brax Bragg’s friend Shane Bridges has only missed one Bragg Jam, said his wife, Kristy Bridges.
The Bridges met at the Bragg Jam six years ago, when he was playing at The Rookery.
Saturday, she was sitting along the fountain at Third Street with his family.
They listened as her husband sang “A True Lover’s Life,” which was written by Brax Bragg.
“He was a great songwriter and his songs will live on forever,” Shane Bridges said as he introduced the song.
The early evening concert gave Bridges’ parents, sister, nieces and nephews the opportunity to see him perform outside a nightclub.
“I enjoy hearing him play,” said Faye Bridges, of Jeffersonville. “I think it’s good for people to get out.”
The lure of the music brought George Moss from his 9th floor apartment at The Dempsey.
“I’m enjoying it,” said Moss, who enjoys playing the guitar and singing.
In the warm sunshine, Moss struck up a conversation with Jim Bragg, father of Brax and Tate.
Saturday’s event marked the first time Bragg Jam was moved from late July to the end of September.
“We’ve got some beautiful weather today,” Jim Bragg said after remembering the rain that washed out the arts and crafts festival last year.
This year, about a dozen vendors lined Cherry Street between Third Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Booths selling handcrafted jewelry, paintings and crafts impressed Cindy Douglas of Wrightsville.
“These are artisans. They produce a beautiful art show,” said Douglas, who was enjoying the music festival with her daughter, Sarah Hicks. “It’s been fun and everybody has been very friendly.”
Douglas’ 3-year-old granddaughter, Jillian Hicks, was busy coloring the pavement with green chalk.
“We’re three generations and we’re all having a great time,” Douglas said.
Near the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, a towering Clydesdale caught the eye of 19-month-old Mia Pendergast, who had a pink heart painted on her cheek.
“Bye-bye horse,” Mia said as she waved at the Budweiser mascot.
Mia’s parents, Shannon and Ryan Pendergast of Macon were attending their first Bragg Jam.
“It’s wonderful,” Shannon Pendergast said. “We don’t really know any of the bands, but we’re going to walk and listen.”
While the first four hours of the event were free, a $20 wrist band covered the rest of the night’s pub crawl.
Music-lovers journeyed between The Shamrock in Payne City to Jim Shaw’s restaurant on Vineville and on to downtown, where the Capitol Theatre, 550 Blues, The Rookery and The Hummingbird Stage & Taproom supplemented the stages at Third Street and Terminal Station.
A team of 111 volunteers worked the event, said Julie Bragg, the brothers’ mother, who rode her bicycle between downtown venues with her Chihuahua riding in the basket on the handlebars.
“This is Nola for New Orleans, Louisiana,” Julie Bragg said of her dog.
Nola wasn’t the only Big Easy connection, as several of the 2006 acts had Gulf Coast roots.
Bragg Jam celebrates all kinds of music, and everything Brax Bragg loved, said his friend, Mick Allen, who was helping serve beer.
“Brax Bragg was a lover,” Allen said. “He loved to eat, he loved to drink, he loved to play and he loved to love. There were two types of people in this world, those who loved Brax and those who hadn’t met him yet.”
To contact Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 or e-mail lfabian@macontel.com [mailto:lfabian@macontel.com].
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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