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Here it is, time for the Jam again! The 14th Annual K92FM All Star Acoustic Jam to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida will be January 18th, 2009 at Hard Rock Live. After all these years and all the artists (Clint Black, Rascal Flatts, Sara Evans, Trace Adkins, Clay Walker, Terri Clark, Lonestar, Tracy Byrd, Blake Shelton, Kix Brooks, and dozens more), it’s hard to believe that the Jam began life as sort of an afterthought…by, of all people, Kenny Chesney.

That’s right. According to long-time K92FM Music Director, Shadow, it was Kenny Chesney’s idea all those years ago.

As most fans know, K92FM held a celebrity golf tournament for many years to benefit various Central Florida charities (for the last several years, our events have benefited the Ronald McDonald Houses of Orlando). (By the way, we are often asked why the golf tournament went by the wayside. The explanation is quite easy: it started losing money. Because of the expense of putting it on, and because we just didn’t feel right about asking our listeners for $500 or $600 to play, it just didn’t make much sense to have a charity event that lost money.) Kenny Chesney was participating in the tournament and suggested that he and a couple of the other artists break out their guitars and jam for the participants. Thus was born the All Star Acoustic Jam. (As another interesting side note, Kenny didn’t participate in that first Jam. Mysteriously, he didn’t come down from his hotel room…and we didn’t ask.)

The first very informal Jam featured Ricochet, Lonestar, Mark Wills and others. When Shadow and the other folks here at the time recognized the potential, they booked the downtown country nightspot :08 for the following year. The first “official” Jam had Ricochet back (and for many years to follow), along with Lari White, James Bonamy, Chad Brock, Neal McCoy and Tracy Byrd.

After several years at :08, the event outgrew its downtown home (plus, :08 went out of business, which made the decision to move even easier), and moved to the Hard Rock Live at Universal CityWalk, where it will be held for the 6th consecutive year in 2009.

Special mention should be made of a number of artists who have made the return trip to Central Florida for the annual Jam: Chad Brock holds the record for most appearances at the Jam with 9. Mark Wills was part of the first Jam, and has now appeared 6 times, most recently at the 2006 Jam. Ricochet has appeared 6 times, most recently in 2002, and for many years they were the unofficial “house band” of the Jam, especially in the old days at :08. Others with multiple appearances include Tracy Byrd (4 appearances), Rhett Akins (3), Blake Shelton (4), Clay Walker (3) and Joe Diffie (3). Joe met his wife, Theresa, at the 1999 Jam.

For those who have never been to the Jam, the most frequent question is, “What’s it like?” The answer is tough, because every year is unique and special. We very often describe it as “controlled chaos.” You just never know what’s going to happen. At its most sedate, the Jam is a free-for-all.

For example, Dr. Elmo (of Patsy and Elmo fame, “Grandma Got Runned Over by a Reindeer”) came to the Jam from 1999 through 2002, and the highlight of the evening was seeing all the big Country stars rush the stage to help him sing his Christmas “classic.”

The 7th Jam in 2002 is one that’s frequently talked about by folks around K92FM-- Emerson Drive, Rascal Flatts, Trick Pony, Tracy Byrd and all the other artists for that year with one of the biggest End-of-the-Night Jams ever. Incredible musicians (the guys in Emerson Drive and Rascal Flatts…just hard to describe in words) doing everything from ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd to George Jones and Charlie Rich.

The 2004 Jam was the first at Hard Rock Live and featured superstar Clint Black. We literally had to pull him off the stage at about 1:00am. Perhaps the most memorable moment of the night was an impromptu duet between Clay Walker and Sara Evans with a terrific version of the David Frizzell and Shelly West classic “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma” (although another fine moment was the group Pinmonkey backing Sara Evans on the Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Running”).

2006 brought a special surprise guest performance by Country legends the Bellamy Brothers. The Jam at the end of the night featured them, along with Blake Shelton, Tracy Byrd and Craig Morgan.

Kix Brooks, ½ of famed duo Brooks & Dunn, was guest host of the 2007 Jam and brought a unique perspective to the introductions of each artist. In fact, Kix couldn’t resist borrowing a guitar on two different occasions from Trent Tomlinson and Josh Turner and treating the fans to a couple of tunes. Blake Shelton took his first turn at closing the show and leading the Jam at the end, which brought back to the stage members from Jim Van Fleet and the Reign, PovertyNeck Hillbillies, Heartland, and more. Other highlights from last year’s Jam: special surprise guest Aaron Tippin; Josh Turner; hot teen newcomer Taylor Swift; American Idol’s Kellie Pickler; and Trent Tomlinson and his amazing “stage dive” into the Hard Rock crowd.

Last year was another unique year. In fact, the “end-of-the-night Jam session” got underway at almost the moment Clay Walker hit the stage as the final act. It was another big line-up with Heartland, Jake Owen, Mark Chesnutt, special surprise guest Collin Raye, Tracy Lawrence, Joe Nichols and Clay. The night ended with a chilling accapella rendition of “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Mark Chesnutt.

What will happen this year? No one can predict. As we said, every year is unique, and every year is special. What we can predict is that you’ll have a great time. Plus, as has been the case every year since 1998, a portion of the proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald Houses of Orlando. We’re proud of our relationship with this great organization, and very proud of the more than $800,000 our listeners and sponsors have given to the Houses over the years. Thanks to everyone who’s attended the Jam and donated to the Ronald McDonald Houses. And, please join us for our annual Home Away From Home Radiothon to benefit the Houses on February 12th and 13th, 2009!