Hillbilly jamboree

The Hillbilly jamboree is a cultural icon of the hillbilly culture in Appalachia, the Ozarks and, to a lesser degree, Oklahoma.
The ostensible purpose of the jamboree was as a music festival, with attendees joining in impromptu music making. But more importantly, a jamboree brought people from the adjacent areas together, serving in many cases as the only means for social interaction among widely spread rural families, with the opportunity to share news about births, deaths, marriages, and other important social updates, as well of news of a more global nature. It also provided an opportunity for trade and barter for needed items to maintain their isolated rural lifestyle.
A jamboree typically lasted one or more days, sometimes as long as a week. Some events were hosted by those with barns large enough to hold the event while others were nothing more than tents and a make shift stage for the hoedown.
Often the location of the jamboree may have been previously unnamed, receiving a name only because of the occurrence of the jamboree. Thus the legacy of the jamboree lives on in the place names that honor them.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu