Let's jam: Musicians gather on Tuesday evenings in Marquand, Missouri

This time of year, on any given Tuesday evening, in the middle of Marquand, Missouri, you'll find a handful of musicians -- maybe as few as five, maybe as many of 20 -- some with a guitar, probably a banjo and a fiddle, perhaps a mandolin, and, likely, a stand-up bass. Add to that the folks who turn up to sing, mostly gospel and bluegrass and some country music.

The weekly jam sessions in the Marquand Historical Park pavilion have been underway since May, when one of the players approached the city.

Marquand Mayor Denny Ward remembers the request, as follows:

"They said something like, 'There are so many talented musicians in the area, and they lack a venue to play acoustically. Would it be possible for us to get together on Tuesdays and play? And those who want to can come and listen.'"

From left, Ray Frog Mills, Larry Waggner, Rick Smith and Dennis Mills jam with friends under a pavilion in Marquand, Missouri, in June. (Laura Simon)

The answer was "yes," and, since then, Tuesday means tunes in Marquand, a town of about 200 people 45 miles northwest of Cape Girardeau. About one-quarter square mile in size, Marquand is surrounded on three sides by the Mark Twain National Forest.

Dennis Mills, left, Frank Sitzes, center, and Ray Frog Mills jam with friends under a pavilion in Marquand, Missouri in June. (Laura Simon)

Weather seems to be the gating factor on the number of musicians and the size of the audience, which can fluctuate from five to 40 -- with audience and performers trading places throughout the session.

"Everybody plays together, and this one will do a song, then that one will do a song. It's just a jam session," says Kathy Mills, who often sings with the group. "Every Tuesday, about 6:30, we just show up. We play until people get tired, usually ending about 8:30."

Referring to her husband, who plays banjo and guitar, Mills says, "Dennis wanted to play music, so we passed the word, and this is what came out of it."

On a rainy Tuesday in early June, the number of jammers -- Dennis Mills, Rick Smith, Larry Waggner, Ray "Frog" Mills and Frank Sitzes -- equaled the number in the audience, until Kathy stepped forward to sing.

Mills, who says she has "lived in Marquand since I was born," has no formal training.

Ray "Frog" Mills holds his fiddle between jam sessions in Marquand, Missouri, in June. (Laura Simon)

"My whole family sings, and they all play an instrument. We started singing in church and played together for many years. My father was a pastor. We were known as The Tucker Family, and we played in churches in Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee," Mills says.

Bass player Waggner says while he and the others never played in an official band, "I played with Frank and Frog years ago. We just get together. We just enjoy it."

Guitarist Sitzes echoes Waggner's sentiment: "We enjoy it. We all like music. It's nice people, and good friendships. That's what makes it," he says.

The effortless flow among the five musicians is seemingly spontaneous as they move from song to song.

"It's real simple. If someone doesn't know a song, I just tell them what key I'm going to sing it in, and they just pitch in," says Sitzes, who hosted a Friday night country music show -- the Madison County Jamboree -- in Fredericktown in the 1980s. When that ended, he turned to bluegrass.

Frank Sitzes laughs as he jams with friends under a pavilion in Marquand, Missouri in June. (Laura Simon)

Among some favorites are "Crying Holy to the Lord," a traditional gospel song also known as "On the Rock Where Moses Stood" and recorded by the Vince Gill, "Sitting on Top of the World," which, Waggner says, "is just a bluegrass tune," and "Salty Dog Rag."

Consensus is that a big Tuesday night draw is The Gipson Family -- Brad and Tara and their children, Sawyer, 12, Corley, 10, Megan, 8, and Morgan, 6. The Gipsons hail from the hamlet of Buckhorn, 13 miles outside of Marquand, and perform bluegrass and gospel.

"People like to see the kids," Tara Gipson says. "They're excited to see young people getting involved in bluegrass music. When they see a family sing together, they comment on family harmony. It's kind of a sentimental thing -- mom and dad and the kids, together, doing something as a family."

Audience favorites include Sawyer's "Three O'Clock Prayer" and Megan's "There's a Record Book." Gipson says "Boil 'Em Cabbage Down" is popular, as is "Salt and Light," a gospel song learned from The Harper Family, "Using My Bible for a Roadmap" and Hank Williams' country-gospel song "I Saw the Light."

When might the Tuesday tunes that started in May begin to fade? Mayor Ward, who enjoys the music from the front porch of his home, which faces Marquand Historical Park, predicts, "They'll keep playing until the cold weather evicts them."

But, Waggner asserts, "I'll still be there, even when it's cold."

"I don't doubt that one bit," Sitzes says.