With no 2021 Bragg Jam, Bragg On concert slated for Saturday evening on Coleman Hill

Though they couldn’t plan a full-fledged Bragg Jam for 2021, organizers couldn’t let the end of July pass without some sort of commemoration. In its place, they created Bragg On, a free, outdoor concert on Coleman Hill set for Saturday at 6 p.m.

“Normally, we begin planning the traditional Bragg Jam Concert Crawl in November or December for the coming year,” said JR Olive, Bragg Jam president. “Obviously, when we began looking in 2020 for 2021 we were in the dark about how things would be so we knew we couldn’t schedule a full-on Bragg Jam. But as things progressed we knew we couldn’t not do anything and decided Bragg On would be the best solution.”

Bragg Jam’s roots reach to 1999 and Macon musicians Brax and Tate Bragg’s untimely death in a Texas automobile accident. Brax had just finished recording a project with his new band, The Buckleys, and he and younger brother Tate, a classically-trained guitarist, were on a cross-country trip prior to the start of a Buckleys tour.

Following the July 3 crash, family, friends and fellow musicians gathered to remember them via a Macon jam session.

A year later, there was a second jam and since then what became Bragg Jam has evolved into the biggest weekend of music in Macon with varieties of music from new and established artists in venues throughout downtown.

The brothers and their lives are remembered and celebrated but so are their forward-looking hopes for Macon’s musical future.

“What started as a few bands on a couple of stages grew into the concert crawl of more than 50 bands on multiple stages downtown,” Olive said. “Of course, last year we couldn’t do a live Bragg Jam due to COVID-19 so we did something virtual. This year, we have Bragg On but 2020 and 2021 and as continuing Bragg Jam.”

Bragg On features artists ranging from rock to hip hop: Rayland Baxter, Collective Sp8ce, Old Flame and The Buckleys.

“With Bragg Jam we bring artists representing varieties of genres so people can hear new things as well as new bands,” Olive said. “We’ve done that with Bragg On even though part of the problem of planning late last year and even now is that booking agents, venues and bands themselves aren’t able to function or plan as they normally do the pandemic’s uncertainties. But we were able to pull together great performers, including Brax’s old band, The Buckleys, who I don’t think have missed a year since we started.”

Olive said those coming Saturday are encouraged to socially distance with family or friends and can bring food and drink or buy them on-site to make a picnic of it. Bring blankets, chairs and the like but not tents or hard coolers.

Remember, it will be hot.

Not only a memorial and musical celebration, Olive said annual, full-fledged Bragg Jams are also an economic force that brings sales highpoints to downtown venues and allows the non-profit Bragg organization to have given more than $200,000 to community projects and causes and fund smaller events like Arts and Kids Fests, Bragg Jamuary battles of the bands, Dragg Jam, a Second Sunday live music series on Coleman Hill and more.

These have taken their own hit and shut down due to COVID, not only because of people not being able to gather but because Bragg hasn’t had the money from crawls to fund them. Olive hopes Bragg On can help soften that and sustain Bragg until venues are fully reopened and bands solidly touring.

“Bragg On is free and anyone can come enjoy it,” Olive said. “But we’re also accepting donations to help carry on what Bragg Jam does. It’s difficult for us to put on a free event or fund the community things we do without money from the crawl event. People can contribute and the best way is at our Eventbrite page. We’re relying on generous sponsors with a passion for community and love for music to make it a reality and sustain Bragg Jam until we sell out indoor venues again.”

Donate, sponsor or find out more about Bragg and what Bragg On perks and offers are available at what levels – think swag, a free beverage, T-shirts – by going to the Bragg Facebook page at www.facebook.com/braggjam and following links, or to www.macon365.com/event/bragg-on, or Bragg Jam’s own site at www.braggjam.org.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.