By: Evan Levine
On Wednesday nights in Millvale, the sound of banjos, fiddles and mandolins drifts across the patio outside Mr. Smalls Cafe. That’s where the Smallsgrass Bluegrass Jam has become a weekly tradition, drawing pickers of all ages and skill levels.
“It just feels like a group of friends hanging and playing music together,” said Joe Depasquale, a full-time-musician from the North Side who organizes the jam.
Depasquale, 39, who goes by the stage name Joe Dep, has been a fixture in Pittsburgh’s bluegrass scene for more than 15 years, playing banjo with the Shelf Life String Band and now performing with the Wolf Tones and other groups at Thunderbird Music Hall.
“This is the original form of American storytelling,” Dep said.
Musicians begin arriving about 6:45 p.m. to tune their instruments and find seats. Guitars, banjos and fiddles are plentiful, with mandolins, a dobro and an upright bass making an appearance. Once everyone is settled, the first song is chosen in a mostly democratic fashion, and the picking begins.
Read the full story here.
