Hagerstown Magazine - The Best of Life in Washington County & Beyond

Pickin’ & Shoppin’
‘Old Tyme Jams’ Showcase Bluegrass Music at Beck & Benedict Hardware.

by Todd McElwee + photos by Jason Turner

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We’ve all gone to a concert and bought a T-shirt. But when was the last time you attended a show and picked up a hack saw, or purchased an antique Superior Dairy milk bottle at intermission? It wouldn’t seem those opportunities come around too often. But they do at Beck & Benedict Hardware in Waynesboro — and with a bluegrass soundtrack to sweeten the deal.

Friday evenings, Beck & Benedict Hardware hosts its “Old Tyme Jam,” a unique tradition spanning 20 years that continues to be one of the Tri-State’s premier live music experiences. Upwards of 200 bluegrass musicians, aficionados and fans, from as far as three hours away, flock to Beck & Benedict each week. “The people found a place to go on Friday night to listen to some good music,” says proprietor Richard Boschert. Since 1989 fans and musicians alike have come for the beloved sounds and cadences of bluegrass as well as the renowned hospitality of Richard and his wife, Della. The gracious hostess begins preparing for Friday evening’s show early in the week, and serves refreshments to complement the live entertainment. “It’s great,” says Mary Wagner of Hagerstown, who plays a bass fiddle. “We’ve been going for a long time. [The Boscherts] are so good to everybody.”

Bluegrass lovers enter the Music Theatre through a non-descript door across the foyer from the main store. A sea of chairs, some informally reserved with home-brought pillows, rest in front of the elevated stage that Richard and his sons built. Every Friday the theatre comes alive. Troupes of musicians armed with banjos, acoustic guitars, fiddles and other traditional bluegrass implements play for packed houses. They rotate on and off the stage, assembling in a variety of pairings and rarely following a concrete set list. Drums and electric instruments are typically not allowed. Officially the show kicks off at 7 p.m., but some arrive much earlier and often stay past the 10 p.m. closing time.

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Find out where you can purchase your copy of Hagerstown magazine to read this story and other articles in the current issue by clicking here.