Charlie Daniels Announces ‘Volunteer Jam’
It may not happen until next summer, but Charlie Daniels’ legendary Volunteer Jam show is returning to downtown Nashville. Daniels launched the all-star concerts in 1974 at the War Memorial Auditorium, and through the years featured guests as varied as Garth Brooks, Don Henley and a reunited Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Set for August 12, 2015, this new installment of the Volunteer Jam will be held in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, a far cry from the more intimate War Memorial. While guests have yet to be announced for the show, the size of the venue indicates it should be artists of the A-list variety. Which should be good news for the Journey Home Project, a not-for-profit charity benefitting U.S. servicemen and women.
Formed in the Seventies, the Charlie Daniels Band became one of the leaders in Southern-fried country music, mixing rock & roll with Daniels’ fiery fiddle and chicken pickin’ guitar. With hits like “Long Haired Country Boy,” “The South’s Gonna Do It” and, of course, the iconic “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” Daniels and his group became a top concert draw, culminating in the 1974 Volunteer Jam. That loose performance begat a series of Volunteer Jam shows, including some that were staged outside of Tennessee.
Guest artists for next year’s Jam will be announced in the coming weeks, with tickets on sale this spring.