Johnson’s Corner bluegrass jam a chance to let the gospel shine

Johnson’s Corner bluegrass jam a chance to let the gospel shine

by Dan England

Ron Camerrer was living the dream in Las Vegas. At least that’s what he thought.

He got his broker’s license and was ready to capitalize on the smokin’ hot real estate market. But Vegas wasn’t for him, and soon he plummeted into one of the lowest points in his life. And while some might seek solace from Vegas’ erupting volcanoes, chirping slot machines and squint-inducing neon lights, Camerrer found peace in a guitar, stashed deep in his basement and almost forgotten after he traded a file cabinet for it.

He found a bluegrass gospel jam and he fell in love with the music, something he believes God invented. He was amazed at the players who could call out a song, pluck a few strings and then play it as if they’ve played together for years. He thought they were really good. He also thought he wasn’t nearly as good as them.

Yet Camerrer, of Fort Collins, gulped one day, after several months of shuffling his feet on the sidelines, and he asked if he could join them. They accepted him, even though they had to show him how to tune his guitar and even though he could only strum a few notes during each song.

“They were playing a lot of the songs I knew from church,” Camerrer said. “But they were fast and peppy.”

That was several years ago. Now Camerrer is one of the leading forces behind a crop of bluegrass jams that have sprung up all over northern Colorado. Camerrer not only helps lead some of them, he encourages others to start their own. And he’s hoping one day to build a gathering place, a building next to Johnson’s Corner, where he hosts monthly sessions for hundreds of spectators.

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