By day, Jeff Delfield is the Librarian at Bryson City’s Marianna Black Library. And in his spare time, he’s a maker of unique hand-crafted musical instruments, filling requests from as far away as Australia.

Above, he’s putting the finishing touches on a tackhead banjo with a distinctive “patchwork quilt” design — a specific request of the buyer. To achieve the multicolored pattern, Jeff constructed the rim from eight different woods. And to fully display the beauty of the woodwork, he hid the head tensioning system on the inside of the rim, a technique he borrowed from the makers of Irish Bodhrán drums. The head is calfskin, the neck walnut and the fretboard is made of bloodwood.

Jeff makes just one instrument at a time, a process that usually takes about six weeks. You can see more of his hand-crafted folk instruments, including videos, on his Deep Creek Strings website.

Twice a month, there’s an informal gathering of string musicians at Bryson City’s Marianna Black Library for the Community Music Jam. The group generally includes a mixture of professionals, amateurs and learners; and in the Summer — when they usually gather outside under the shade tree — there can be as many visitors as locals. Anyone with a banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle (anything unplugged) is welcome.

Larry Barnett of Grandpa’s Music keeps the music flowing and the fun going. Normally, Larry calls out a tune and its signature and the group plays it together. But there’s also an opportunity for anyone to perform a favorite tune for the group. The jam sessions offer a chance for musicians of all ages and levels of ability to share music they have learned over the years or learn the old-time mountain songs.

Community Music Jams are held on the first and third Thursdays of every month, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm at the Marianna Black Library. For more information, call 828-488-3030 or visit the library web site.

Mountain music is very much a part of the Smoky Mountains experience, and it’s yours to enjoy every Saturday night through October at the Bryson City train depot. “Music in the Mountains”, the town’s free Bluegrass concert, features regional talent including the popular group Reel Tyme (above). The two-hour show begins at 6:30, courtesy of the Swain County Tourism Development Authority.

The Smokies are where mountain music was born and our homegrown music is very much alive today. On Saturday evenings throughout the Summer, you can hear area artists perform at the Bryson City train depot. On Thursday evenings, there’s music on the lawn at the Bryson City library. Also on Saturdays, there’s the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center’s summer concert series, An Appalachian Evening. Above, Adam Masters (left) and Roger Howell perform at Stecoah’s 2008 Mountain Music Championship.