Hundreds expected at this weekend’s Apple Jam

Last year's Apple Jam saw more than 400 people over the weekend. Photo courtesy facebook.com

SOU students produce 3rd annual music festival—No apples, but plenty of jam

Hundreds of young music lovers are flocking to Williams this weekend, in celebration of the 3rd annual Apple Jam music festival.

Apple Jam is organized by Ashland band Karrgo Bossajova, and features a handful of bands from up and down the West Coast.

The band put together the festival in 2009 after playing a community barbecue on the stage attached to the Provolt Store. They built a relationship with store owners and started planning their own event.

“Southern Oregon has a community attitude towards a lot of things especially the arts,” said Karrgo Boassajova drummer Danny Quilici, who says the band saw a need for a festival like Apple Jam in the Southern Oregon area.

“If there was something else like this around, I sure didn’t know about it.”

The festival kicks off Friday afternoon with bands scheduled through Saturday night. The festival ends after an open jam Sunday that usually sees a lot of the weekend’s band members joining in.

“We’ve really went out of the way to get top-notch bands this year.”

Tickets for Apple Jam include free camping in an adjacent lot, and the band is offering canned food discounts in a partnership with the Ashland Emergency Food Bank.

In addition to music, the festival offers a handful of vendors and artists to entertain crowds.

“We also have live glassblowing and a myriad of other glass products,” said Quilici.

The Provolt store is attached to the performance stage, and the festival will also have a pizza vendor.

“It’ll be really dank food for really cheap.”

Quilici said the band tries to keep ticket prices low, but they must make enough money to compensate bands travelling from far away to come to Apple Jam.

“As a band ourselves, we understand the chore and experience of traveling to shows,” said Quilici.

The band is able to hold Apple Jam at the Provolt Store free of charge, in a special arrangement with store owner Ruth Kealiher.

“They make more money in that one weekend than they normally would in a whole month,” said Blake Norris, Karrgo Bossajova guitarist and lead organizer of the event. “We are scratching each others’ backs.”

Kealiher, who lives on the property where the festival takes place, says she enjoys watching it all come together.

“I think it’s great,” Kealiher said. “They play their music and it’s good for the store.”

Karrgo Bossajova also is working to put on another music festival, one that will take place annually in October. Last year’s Ashland Mind Music festival took place at the Provolt Store because of a last minute venue change, but ideally the band hopes to have that festival at a venue closer to Ashland.

Tickets can be purchased online this week at brownpapertickets.com, or at the festival gate.

More information about Apple Jam can be found by visiting applejam.webs.com.

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