On Friday, March 6, I saw JigJam perform at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis during their “A Night At P.J. Murphy’s” tour, opening for Gaelic Storm. JigJam is an Irish bluegrass (also known as iGrass) group, combining traditional Irish sounds with American country influences. The band members come from both the United States and Ireland. JigJam covers the range of instruments you’d expect from a band of this genre with a lead singer/guitarist (Offaly Jamie McKeogh), a five string banjo and dobro player (Daithi Melia), a mandolin and tenor banjo player (Gavin Strappe) and a fiddler (Kevin Buckley).
I had seen the band in 2019, at a much smaller venue in Chicago with my family. At that show they mainly played music from their first two albums: “Hello World,” released in 2016, and “Phoenix,” released in 2019. They have released one album since, “Across the Pond” (2024), and have also released multiple singles. I remembered the band for the way they wove story into song with beautiful music technique, which wowed me the same way seven years later.
At the Varsity, they started their set a bit early, taking the stage after a local bagpipe group, which was loud enough that I pulled out some ear protection. Their first song was “Good Ole Mountain Dew,” an Appalachian folk song from the mid-1930s. This is also the first track on “Across The Pond,” which pays homage to many places around the U.S., folk music and Irish American heritage. They also played “John D. McGurk’s (The Heartbeat of St. Louis)” from that album, which is based on the experiences of one of their band members who is from St. Louis, not Ireland, with the joke of “well, there’s an Irish pub, close enough.” The choice of this song, set in a pub, was also a nod to the theme of the concert, “Night at P.J Murphy’s [pub]”, where the headliner, Gaelic Storm, set their part of the concert.
The second song of their set showed off the each musician’s skill with extended solos. Each musician got their moment to shine. In a later part of the concert, the musicians took some time to jam with each other onstage, breaking into pairs and facing each other to cooperate on the fly (with an impromptu “Crazy Frog” moment). As someone who plays violin, I especially enjoyed the work of fiddler Buckley during these parts, who seemed to never make a single mistake as he quickly switched notes and changed directions with his bow in response to his bandmates. At one point, the audience learned he had recently become a Minnesotan, and cheered to welcome him.
I loved hearing the song “Big Grey Dog,” from their 2019 album “Phoenix,” again. The song is a true, but certainly fantastical, telling of a story from early in JigJam’s career where they rode Greyhound buses from Las Vegas all the way to Indianapolis to save money and continue their tour. It encapsulates the storytelling power JigJam has that makes their music stand out. Many of their songs, like this one, feel like a three-act adventure from start to finish.
When JigJam came out at the end of Gaelic Storm’s set for an encore, I discovered one of my new favorite songs. “Time To Go Home” is exactly what the title says: a song the band plays when they want you to get out so they can pack up and the staff can clean. But, the song carries within the melody and lyrics a deep bittersweetness. JigJam’s penchant for immersive storytelling made an entire pub, not for the first time that night, burst to life. Along with moving harmonies from the collaboration of JigJam and Gaelic Storm, the song about leaving was a comforting way to end the night and start figuring out how to get back to campus at 11 p.m.
I also want to commend the Varsity Theatre on accessibility. The venue’s general admission ticket is standing-only, which is something I did not feel comfortable committing to for over three hours. I was told over email that there would be seats available with a barrier, which would offer the same experience. Seeing the accessible section off to the side on the venue map, I had low confidence that this would actually be the same. But, as soon as I got there, I realized that the services were great. When I went through the metal detector, the staff were understanding about my cane, and a staff member led me and someone else to the accessibility area while pointing out the elevator. While I was still off to the side, the barrier didn’t impede feeling like a part of the crowd, and the seats were very close to the stage. There was also someone who came by to ask for drink orders or provide water so we didn’t have to walk all the way back to the bar. All in all, I felt like I could participate in a mostly equal way. I had a great time at this concert spot and seeing JigJam, and I hope to see one, or both, again sometime soon.
