PineCone Partners with Junior Appalachian Musicians for JAM Kinfolk-Durham Program

PineCone, the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, is proud to announce a new partnership with Junior Appalachian Musicians, or JAM.

JAM Kinfolk-Durham is an evening program that introduces middle and high school students to the joy of making music with roots in the Appalachian Mountains, including right here in North Carolina. Students will meet once a week to learn skills and songs on acoustic instruments and to continue the tradition of building community through music.

The JAM Kinfolk-Durham program will start in January at the Durham Arts Council. Registration will open before the end of 2026. Cost info is available on the application; payment plans, reduced tuition, and scholarships are available. Loaner instruments are also available. If you have a guitar, banjo, fiddle, bass, or mandolin you’d like to donate for possible use in the JAM program, please let us know.

Founded in 2000 in Alleghany County, North Carolina, the JAM program’s local affiliates provide children with opportunities to learn traditional music and perform in small and large groups. JAM Kinfolk is a new program – Durham is its first location – for affiliates away from the mountains, a nod to the region’s history of migration and how people moving to cities brought pieces of their culture with them.

Today, more than two dozen JAM affiliates are active in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. PineCone is proud to partner with JAM for the JAM Kinfolk-Durham program and looks forward to fostering a love of music in young people through active participation.

Learn more about the JAM Kinfolk-Durham program here. And don’t miss a showcase of current JAM students at this year’s Raleigh Wide Open Music Festival! JAM groups will perform from noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, on the Martin Street Stage.