Pickin' is

a passion if you're into bluegrass, says Steve Daugherty, who plays guitar

for Whitesburg Bluegrass Jam, slated to appear in Sharpsburg this weekend.

"We just

do it because we enjoy doing it," says Daugherty.

There's something

about bluegrass that turns a two-hour concert into a late-night jam session,

with spectators, often as not, joining in. "If you go to a bluegrass

music event, you will find people jamming in parking lots long after the

show is over," says Daugherty.

WBJ is a relatively

new group that formed New Year's Eve 2000. "We starting picking together

and it kind of went from there," says Daugherty.

Daugherty and

Jim "Pappy" Phillips, who plays mandolin, guitar and dobro,

first started talking about getting together, and each knew another picker

or two, and they formed the group, he says.

They started

out with open stage night at a local venue, and soon their appearances

blossomed into a full schedule, though they'll have to cut back some in

the fall, Daugherty says. Their banjo player, Adam Teal, is 15 and in

school, and one of the group members is a teacher.

Other members

of the group are Kevin Pace on mandolin and guitar and Tom Robataille

on bass. Members are from all around south and west metro Atlanta, from

Villa Rica to Carrollton to Roosterville.

Whitesburg

Bluegrass Jam will perform Saturday at Papa JuJu's Collectibles in Sharpsburg

at 2 p.m.

You'll hear

bluegrass, bluegrass gospel, and lots of original songs.

If you like

what you hear, mark Oct. 12 and 13 on your calendar. There's a bluegrass

festival at the VFW in Carrollton.

"There

will be local groups of varying talent levels, and lots of jamming,"

Daugherty says.

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