Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1536125
June/July 2025| maconmagazine.com 63 ABOVE Festival t-shirts show different eras among a quarter century of the concert crawl. read a book or two. I like to see their face when they figure that out." Osborne believes part of his mission as a musician is to make his community a better place. He hails from Puddin' Swamp, South Carolina – there is officially no "g" at the end of "Puddin' – and he attended The Citadel, so he naturally ponders his indelible provenance. "My Southern identity is baked into my music," he says. "My worldview is not always in line with the folks closest to me, so I'm at odds with certain things, but at the end of the day, it's my South. I like to push the boundaries as only someone who is truly comfortable with his heritage can. I try to lyrically address the cultural restrictions and biases I've seen in my life and use my music to get my opinions into the mix. And, yes, I've ruffled some feathers." What's the answer to the regional shortcomings, to the social divisions that persist despite everything? Handily enough, the benighted region has some built-in tools to heal itself. "Music and food," Barham says. "Nobody else can touch us on music and food, and those are two of the greatest social unifiers there are." So, more music, more connection. "As an artist we have a responsibility to bring people of all backgrounds together," Osborne says. "I don't take that lightly. The country is so polarized right now, and the South represents one of those poles. What will address these problems – what will get us over this us-versus-them mentality – is to come together to celebrate and commiserate. To communicate on a deep level. It's only then that we realize we have more in common than our differences might suggest." Bragg Jam – "where 2,000 strangers quickly become family," in the words of Walter -- is the ideal place for such reflections. If you don't know the origin story, it started in 1999. Macon singer/ songwriter Brax Bragg had just recorded a CD with his new band The Buckleys, and they were scheduled to tour. But before hitting the highway with his band, Brax took his younger brother Tate, an accomplished classical guitarist, on a cross-country road trip. While traveling through Texas on July 3, the brothers were tragically killed in a car accident. Back in Macon, friends reeling at the loss organized an impromptu jam session at The Rookery. It since has grown into a rite of summer and a tuneful, nonprofit extravaganza. This March, a bench "I know some bands choose Athens and Atlanta on their touring circuits, but we've always been more partial to Macon."