In Lincoln, the mood is casual, but the music is lively

LINCOLN, Maine — The Knights of Columbus Music Jam isn’t much for rules, but it has customs.

Held on alternating Wednesdays at the Knights of Columbus Hall off Route 2, the event draws all kinds of musicians, but nobody gets paid. Anybody can play most any kind of music they want — though heavy metal and rap have yet to make their debut.

The musicians generally sit in front of the hall where the amplifiers are and leave open the dance floor, but some players like to sit around the long tables next to the women who knit and play along with the music when they feel like it.

It might all sound haphazard, but event co-chairwoman Therese St. Pierre said the jam has been a stationary music feast for almost six years and doesn’t show any sign of moving on or fading out. It typically draws 100-160 people, mostly middle-aged and elderly, who come to dance, sing, chat and have fun. She and her husband, event co-chairman Fernand St. Pierre, are a bit surprised by that.

“We are nice, I guess. No, that’s just bragging,” Fernand St. Pierre said during an interview late last week. “It is an amazing place. I don’t understand it. They come from Danforth, Milo, Levant, Brewer, Mattawamkeag and quite a few other places, too.”

Blues, rock ’n’ roll and jazz are among the Jam’s offerings, but mellow, older country music — the kind good for relaxed dancing — is its mainstay. Mostly elderly people attend the jams, Therese St. Pierre said. Anyone is welcome. Spectators don’t get charged, but donations are encouraged.

Part of the fun of running the event, the St. Pierres say, is that they’re never quite sure what they’re going to get one week to the next — not that those who attend would let the Lincoln couple quit running the Jam.

“They don’t want us to give up because we have a lot of widows and they love to come here,” Therese St. Pierre said. “We don’t have much entertainment around here, but we have this, and it works.”