Bragg Jam Heats Up Macon’s Summer Sense of Place

By July 25, 2017Place

If you ask 6,500 of your music-loving friends, they’ll tell you the hottest ticket in town always happens the last weekend in July.

Now in its 19th year, Bragg Jam will bring two nights of music to downtown Macon beginning July 28.

Started in 1999 as an impromptu jam session inspired by late musicians and brothers Brax and Tate Bragg, the festival has grown to include more than 80 bands on 18 stages.

“The festival started, in its true form, as a small concert crawl over a handful of venues, and has just about quadrupled in size since it began,” said Leila Regan-Porter, Bragg Jam marketing co-chair.

With 80 bands to choose from, where do you start? Bragg Jam has solved that puzzle with the introduction of a second night of music. This year, the festival starts Friday night at the Cox Capitol Theatre with bands Stokeswood, Cedric Burnside Project and Hank Vegas.

On Saturday, the party starts again at 2 p.m. and lasts well after midnight. Festival headliners White Denim take the stage at 10:45 p.m.

Regan-Porter described White Denim, a band from Austin, Texas, as “hot garage rock drenched in high-intensity soul and R&B.”

Young audiophiles can party a little earlier, with the Arts and Kids Fest happening from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Cherry Street Plaza. Musical guests like the Otis Music Campers will entertain the next generation of Bragg Jammers while they play on bounce houses and inflatables.

Speaking of that next generation, Bragg Jam always has the future in mind. A nonprofit organization, Bragg Jam has raised more than $250,000 for causes that were close to the Bragg boys’ hearts, like the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail.

“Bragg Jam continues to strive to build in this community, raising money for what the Bragg brothers loved, like the Ocmulgee River,” Regan-Porter said. “It’s the reason we give to causes like the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail and Canoe Launch at Porter Pavilion on the Ocmulgee River in Amerson River Park. Bragg Jam wants to continue this love of our surroundings, and ensure the community can enjoy these things for years to come.”

 

For ticket information and a complete schedule of bands, visit braggjam.org.