Bluesman connects with Americana students

For Americana Project students, the opportunity to meet professional, touring musicians through Sisters Starry Nights and the Sisters Folk Festival has become commonplace.

But the students seldom see a musician who is headed for the top of his profession yet is only a few years removed from being one of them.

David Jacobs-Strain, 21, spent several hours with Americana Project students on Monday, March 7, following his opening performance at Sisters Starry Nights on Saturday.

Jacobs-Strain is just a few years out of high school himself and made an easy connection with the Sisters High School students.

They asked him questions ranging from sources of inspiration to how he got his professional start.

The young blues musician recounted how he moved from playing on street corners at 13 to performing at the youth stage at the Oregon Country Fair.

“That’s something any of you can do,” he told thestudents.

Jacobs-Strain told the students that his main source of inspiration is the playing itself, seeking that moment that athletes call “The Zone” when the difficult feels effortless, almost trance-like.

That’s more important to the young musicians than audience response, how much the gig pays, more important than anything.

“I don’t get there every time I play, but that’s always what I’m going for,” he said.

Jacobs-Strain also shared time with the fifth grade Americana Project students.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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