A Potluck Jam

Every Monday, at 6 PM,  when the weather allows, people begin to emerge along the banks of the Hudson River in Kingston, NY. 

All kinds of people. Some are old friends greeting each other, some are strangers making new friends. The only thing they appear to have in common is that some carry musical instruments.

They come to play music—not as a performance for an audience, but simply to play together. That’s the jam.

Along with various instruments, we see a variety of ages and, we suspect, backgrounds. They bring pieces of music to contribute to the group. Instead of a dish to share, it’s a song. That’s the potluck.

Diane offers a new song, “Sweet Song from Yesterday,” to the group by teaching it. At first, people just listen. Then a few chords begin, and in short order, the song is played by everyone. Harmony—both musical and social—has been created.

Each session runs for 2 hours, and, yes, that’s much more time than folks would want to spend on this website so I cut a medley of this evening’s gathering showing the variety of the people and their songs.  

How this Defines Democracy

 There is no conductor, director, no professional manager. No one introduces himself as an executive director, no pleas for donations.  This is a member-managed group. With no permanent manager, the player who contributes to it manages it.  It is  participatory management. 

It relies on shared values rather than rules; it is an organization of the mind. In colonial times, it became an important social skill in the foundation of our democracy.