Soap Box

1999 - 2014

Three years after the last official Volunteer Jam came the age of the Volunteer Jam Tours. This concert series continued off and on from 1999 to 2014, and there were some mini Jam tours and one particular CDB show which called itself a Volunteer Jam in Colorado, but we’ll get to that one in a little bit.

The first Volunteer Jam Tour was in 1999.  It partnered with Habitat For Humanity to promote its organization at the Jam shows. and several homes were built throughout the tour with dad on hand to deliver house keys to the new recipients. 

The ‘99 Jam Tour featured the CDB, The Marshall Tucker Band, Molly Hatchet and Hank Williams, Jr. was featured on several of the shows and played to over 377,000 people in 33 cities.  

No Volunteer Jam would be complete without surprises, those surprise guests included Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus, Travis Tritt, Lee Roy Parnell, Montgomery Gentry, Rhett Akins, and Tracy Byrd.

It was successful enough to bring it back the following year when Volunteer Jam Tour 2000 kicked off in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The 2000 Jam, of course, featured the CDB along with Hank Williams, Jr., and Little Feat for part of the tour then Edgar Winter replaced Little Feat for the remaining dates.

Since Nashville was the Jam’s original home, the Nashville stop became a sentimental slice of what the Jam had been in its glory days, complete with traditional surprise guests. 

Volunteer Jam Tour 2001 included the CDB, 38 Special, The Dickey Betts Band and newcomer Trent Summar and the New Row Mob.

The CDB returned again in 2007 with The Marshall Tucker Band and The Outlaws, in 2008 it was .38 Special and Shooter Jennings.

It’s possible there were a couple of years I’m leaving out, but this is a fairly complete history through 2008.

The Jam Tour came back for two or maybe three shows in 2014, Union City, TN and Greenwood Village, CO come to mine and the one in Colorado was a huge deal. It was probably the biggest moment in Jam Tour history at the newly renovated and appropriately-named Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre.

The show was for Colorado-based military, National Guard police and first responders and featured the CDB, The Outlaws, Blackhawk (with Henry Paul doing double duty for both) and Craig Campbell.

The show was broadcast live on AXS TV and was the first time a VolJam show had been seen nationwide in over a decade,  but that exposure and a milestone anniversary might have helped bring things back to Nashville, and I’ll be writing about that next time.

Please join us for Volunteer Jam: A Musical Salute to Charlie Daniels on August 18, 2021 at Bridgestone Arena. Get tickets HERE

“Ain’t it good to be alive and be in Tennessee!”

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—  Charlie Daniels, Jr.