Jam4Dan IV rocks Downtown Topeka

A number of bands made a splash at Jam4Dan IV, but what really had people talking, those who were lucky enough to see the early sets both Saturday and Sunday, were the performance by the kids. Two youth bands, EVERYDAY INCIDENT and Resistance Code, kicked off Saturday and Jam4Dan scholarship winner Forrest Evans made an appearance the first set with his teacher Chip Janda Sunday. And, man, did they rock. It would have made Dan proud!

By the time the jam wound up Sunday night, 21 bands had hit the stage at the Celtic Fox, hundreds of music lovers had pass through the doors, and over $1500 had been cleared to give away in music scholarships to Shawnee County guitar and bass students under 18. The bands ranged from the hard-hitting originals of Sixteen Penny to the rockin’ country sounds of High Caliber, reunited for this show 20 years after Dan had fronted them, and from Flashback’s precise 60s covers to a exhilarating finale from KC Meltdown with their high-energy blues.

If the music weren’t enough, there was the excitement generated by the raffle for two beautiful guitars donated by J. Edison Custom guitars. Everybody through the door received an entry for a beautiful Strat copy, but what really caught people’s eye was the breath-taking Tele with its gracefully etched hardware. Lindsay Olsen, Topeka, was lucky enough to have her ticket for the Tele drawn from the hundreds purchased. Rogena Trimpe, Valley Falls, won the Strat.

Three other people also walked away with great guitars. A Peavy guitar/amp kit from Live Music Institute, a bass from Kansas Guitars and a Saxson guitar from Manning Music were purchased through a silent auction.

Scholarship recipients will be available in late March.

Also, T-shirts will be available for sale soon on the Web site with all proceeds going to bump up the scholarship money available.

Jam4Dan is held the Martin Luther King weekend. Dates for Jam4Dan V are January 14 and 15, 2012.

The Jam4Dan trustees are Danl Blackwood, Mike Fox, Joel Edison and Tom Krebs. Ren Richardson served as concert director. Sonny Heller provided the sound equipment and manned the mixing board. Blackwood, Edison, Krebs, Richardson and Heller kicked off the wrap-up jam Sunday with a three-song set.

--Jam4Dan Committee