Bedford Open Mike turns 10 years old with party on July 9

Jun 14, 2017

The Bedford Open Mike turns 10 years old this year and they’re planning a birthday celebration July 9 at Glendower Hall on Westport Road.

Here’s a brief history of the sessions, according to Joan Shepherd, who along with husband Roy got the idea after attending the Florida Old Time Country/Bluegrass/Gospel open mike sessions at the Elfers Care Centre in New Port Richey, Florida.

“When we returned home in the spring of 2007, Roy commented on how much he was going to miss the jamming,” Shepherd said. “So we asked ourselves ‘why can’t we start our own open mike’.”

So, they got together with musical friends Homer and Wilhelmine Card and on July 1, 2007, 11 performers along with a handful of audience members held the first open mike session at the Second Depot Lake pavilion.

“I might add that over half of the original jammers are still attending the bi-weekly session,” she said.

On Aug. 26 of that year, they finished up with a barbecue but the desire to keep playing was still strong.

“The end of the summer brought sadness so in canvassing the performers and audience, it was decided to carry on the sessions at another location during the fall and winter months,” she said.

That location turned out to be Piccadilly Hall.

The Piccadilly Jam sessions began Sept. 9, 2007. Snowbirds Shepherds and Cards travelled south for the winter but Judy Albertson-Murphy, sound technician and Gerry Webster served as co-hosts while many folks from the audience took ownership of setting up chairs, making coffee, setting up the sound system, etc.

It didn’t take long before the event began to outgrow Pic Hall, with crowding and parking becoming issues. So in the fall of 2009, things moved over to larger Glendower Hall (aka Bedford Hall).

“Now, the problem was we were holding the ‘Piccadilly Jam’ in Bedford Hall, which was very confusing to to people, so the Piccadilly Jam became the ‘Bedford Country/Bluegrass Open Mike Session,’” she said.

Today, the sessions go every other Sunday, often featuring more than 30 performers and a full house of audience members.

They have some special things planned for the July 9 party, but you’ll have to show up at it to find out what they are.