Music lovers have flocked to the Square for the last 20 years for a pickin’ good time, thanks to one woman who had a dream. In 1999, Collierville local Betty Westmoreland saw a need – a desolate, yet beautiful Square that needed life strung back into it on Friday nights. Betty called a few musical friends, and approached the Mayor seeking permission to start an open invitation acoustic music jam for free on Friday evenings. Former Mayor, H.W. Cox, was on board with the idea and Betty remembers his enthusiastic response to her request being, “Baby, this Square is as much yours as it is mine!”

From a modest beginning, word of the new jam location had musicians coming out of the woodwork, and within a few years, musicians from all over West Tennessee and North Mississippi came to perform with one another, impromptu, on our beloved Square. 

“Twenty years ago I would drive through the Square after work from teaching school and think to myself, ‘Gee, I wish we had more music around here. We have this beautiful Square, now where do I get started?’ ” remembers Betty. “And it started with just a handful of folks. Whether it’s been at the Square or at the church [CUMC], everybody who has come out and picked a note deserves a proclamation! Really it’s all about the Square, and it’s about keeping the music alive!”

When you bring your lawn chairs and picnic dinner on a Friday night during the warmer months, you’ll find small groups of musicians scattered along the Square grounds. Kids play yard games beneath the trees as the sun fades into a warm Southern night. Parents converse with one another while tapping their toes to the beat of the unrehearsed tunes being played. You’ll hear songs that span the bluegrass, folk and traditional string-band genres, recognizing some and learning others.  

“Music brings us together,” says Betty. “Having things like this [Square Jam] introduces this old-timey music, where nothing is plugged in, to some who have never heard it before, all while preserving as much originality as we can. We just have a pickin’ good time with the neighbors and the kids and the music. The music is at the heart of it!” Rest assured, much of Betty’s heart is put into making this event happen every week.

Much effort is done throughout the week by Betty before she can enjoy the Friday night music. Betty faithfully prepares and sends a weekly email invitation on the Square Jam, keeping more than 200 informed with news updates, welcoming new participants, keeping tabs on longtime members, and serving as overall director. In the winter months, she arranges for jam sessions to be held at the Common Cup, located at the Collierville United Methodist Church, so the pickin’ never stops. Her interest in, knowledge of, and love for traditional folk music and those of us who play is one of the hallmarks of her life. Talk with her for just a moment, and you’ll feel her infectious joy towards the music and musicians that participate each week.

For the last two decades, Betty has been the organizer, motivator, and guardian of this Collierville tradition. Tour Collierville sends a warm congratulations on the 20th Anniversary of the Collierville Square Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Jam, and we are excited to see what the next 20 years will bring!

In the words of Betty Westmoreland, “Pick Away.”

By: Anna Bell