"We've closed maybe three times on a Friday night because of snow," Rita Phipps told the Ashe Post & Times about Phipps General Store on Silas Creek Road. The store reopened in 2007, and musicians have met there every Friday night since.
The jam rarely misses a Friday, and that matters more over the next few weeks. Two of the county's seasonal music series play their last 2026 dates this month. After November 28, the live-music calendar shrinks to two things. One is the Friday jam in Lansing. The other is a short run of indoor shows at the Ashe Civic Center in West Jefferson.
Two Series Finish Before December
The first to end is the bluegrass jam at Watson General Store, 1907 Park Vista Road in West Jefferson. Since May 7 it has met on the first and third Thursday of each month from 4 to 6 p.m., and according to the Ashe County Chamber of Commerce listing, it runs "through November (weather-depending)." That leaves one date. The third Thursday this month is November 19, the end date the Chamber lists for the series. The circle is open to players of every skill level, and the diner has full bar service plus a local food truck.
The second is the Courthouse Concert Series at the Museum of Ashe County History, 301 East Main Street in Jefferson. The concerts are free and open to the public, run 7 to 9 p.m., and have been held on Saturdays since April 25. This year's lineup, as listed on the Chamber's event page:
- April 25: Rock Bottom Bluegrass
- May 23: Trish Kilby Fore and the Wild Cats
- June 27: The Watauga Community Band
- August 1: Harrison Ridge
- August 29: Calvary Reflections
- September 26: The Whitetop Mountain Band
- October 24: Wayne Henderson and Herb Key
- November 28: Taylon Hope
The series ends with Taylon Hope on Saturday, November 28. Details are on the Museum of Ashe County History website. Both series are built around a season. Watson's jam depends on the weather, and the courthouse concerts are a once-a-month Saturday run with a set start and finish. Neither one is set up to continue through January.
The Store That Runs on a Tip Jar
The Phipps General Store jam is set up differently, and its history shows why.
J.R. and Lessie Phipps bought the store in 1923, according to the Ashe Post & Times profile. He ran the store and a dairy across the street. Lessie was the postmistress and took in the community's mail at the counter. The family kept cattle, bottled their own milk, and sold it in Lansing. The store was such a hub that "people in the community even came to get the polio vaccine," Rita Phipps told the paper.
After J.R. Phipps died, the store closed. For years it held storage and served as a place to put together Christmas wreaths. Rita Phipps, their granddaughter, had learned fiddle from a local musician. She and a lot of helpers cleared the building out and held a grand opening in 2007.
The store has almost nothing for sale. It runs on donations, and a tip jar collects money to keep the music going. It is an open jam with no tickets to sell, so it has no off-season. When the doors open, the players who show up make up that night's lineup. Some of the furnishings are original to the store, including a milk jug from the dairy and a milking stool that belonged to Rita Phipps's grandfather.
Rita Phipps described the format to the Ashe Post & Times: "We just all get together — we all sit around and kind of take it one person at a time. They call a tune and we all just play." The circle sits near the front of the store, among family antiques and dairy memorabilia. Anyone who plays a stringed instrument can join. She also told the paper that "it's not a competition."
The Blue Ridge Music Trails listing shows the jam as a recurring Friday event, 7 to 10 p.m., with donations encouraged. It covers old-time, bluegrass, and early country. The listing also marks it as family friendly, pet friendly, and welcoming to dancers, and notes food service. Spectators sit on benches by the old counter or in chairs around the musicians. The address is 2425 Silas Creek Road, Lansing, and the listed phone number is (336) 384-2382.
Wayne Henderson Ties the Season Together
The store has a guitar on one wall that Wayne Henderson gave to Phipps, according to the Ashe Post & Times. It is not one he built himself. The same profile notes that Henderson has made guitars for musicians including Eric Clapton.
Henderson is also on two of this fall's bigger bills. On October 24 he played the Courthouse Concert Series with Herb Key, the second-to-last show of the year. On Saturday, November 14, the Rotary Club of Ashe County is presenting "Wayne Henderson and Friends" at its Concert for Alzheimer's Research at the Ashe County Civic Center in West Jefferson.
The Ashe Post & Times announcement gives these details. The show starts at 6 p.m., and tickets are $10 per person at the door. All proceeds go to the CART Fund, Coins for Alzheimer's Research Trust, a Rotary-supported initiative. The paper describes Henderson as a nationally recognized guitarist and master luthier from Grayson County, Virginia.
The Rotary concert is the night after the November 13 Phipps jam, so you can hear the Friday circle in Lansing and Henderson at the Civic Center on the same weekend.
December Moves Indoors to the Civic Center
The Ashe County Arts Council's December schedule picks up where the seasonal series stop. The shows are all at the Ashe Civic Center, 962 Mt. Jefferson Road in West Jefferson.
The Blue Ridge Opry, Friday, December 11, 7:30 p.m. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Kelley Breiding hosts this country variety show, modeled on the early Grand Ole Opry and the era of Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, and The Carter Family. Several artists perform. Tickets are $22.50 for adults and $7.50 for students through the Arts Council's event page. The Opry overlaps with a Phipps Friday, so on December 11 there's a choice between a ticketed stage in West Jefferson and the open circle in Lansing.
580 WKSK Live Old Time and Bluegrass Show with Gap Civil, Saturday, December 12, 11 a.m. This one is free, and donations are accepted, according to the Arts Council listing. It's a late-morning radio show, the only daytime live-music date on the December calendar.
The Arts Council also runs JAM, an instructional program for students in grades 3 through 6. It meets twice a week at the Civic Center for $3 a class, and this session's classes end in December.
Every Date From November 13 Through December 12
The calendar from this Friday through December 12:
- Friday, November 13: Phipps General Store jam, Lansing, 7 to 10 p.m., donations
- Saturday, November 14: Wayne Henderson and Friends, Rotary Concert for Alzheimer's Research, Ashe County Civic Center, 6 p.m., $10 at the door
- Thursday, November 19: Last listed Watson General Store bluegrass jam, West Jefferson, 4 to 6 p.m., weather permitting
- Friday, November 20: Phipps General Store jam
- Friday, November 27: Phipps General Store jam
- Saturday, November 28: Taylon Hope closes the Courthouse Concert Series, Museum of Ashe County History, Jefferson, 7 to 9 p.m., free
- Fridays, December 4 and December 11: Phipps General Store jam
- Friday, December 11: The Blue Ridge Opry, Ashe Civic Center, 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, December 12: WKSK Live Old Time and Bluegrass Show with Gap Civil, Ashe Civic Center, 11 a.m., free
Starting November 29, every live-music date left on that list is either a Phipps Friday or a Civic Center show. On a night with snow in the forecast, call the store at (336) 384-2382 before driving out Silas Creek Road. Rita Phipps told the Ashe Post & Times the store has closed for snow before, rarely, but it has happened.
Living in Ashe County is partly about knowing which Friday nights still have music in January. If you're thinking about a place within reach of Lansing's Friday circle or downtown West Jefferson's Civic Center, Chris Barr grew up here and can show you how different parts of the county connect to the places you'd want to be on a winter weekend. Schedule a Free Consultation & Home Valuation.
