Marathon Jam

The mission of the Marathon Jam is to gather people and players from all walks of life and across the globe together for a day of public service. In recent years, the focus of the Marathon Jam has been to give tangible support to our service members and their families as they recover from injuries sustained in the line of duty by raising money for the Fisher House Foundation.

However, if there is not a Fisher house in your state, or you feel the need to help folks closer to home, that is GREAT! Set up a Marathon Jam in your hometown and play for the food bank, the homeless shelter, a local church or school program, the Wounded Warrior Project, or anything you want! The idea is musicians all across the country to gather for one day with one purpose: To give back to the community.

If you DO chose to join us and play for the families of our troops, we ask you to not make the Marathon Jam political in any way: this is not about the pros and cons of any particular administration or policy. It is about soldiers who have chosen to serve this great country and the families who support that decision with their own personal sacrifices.

This event is in honor of those families.

If you feel the need to make a political statement, that's certainly your choice, just please do not use the name Marathon Jam in your advertisements or publicity.

About the Marathon Jam:

More than 20 years ago, a small group of musicians, led by John Santa, began to meet once a month at someone's house to play music. Most of these players were studio musicians that had worked together on various albums for other artists and decided it would be good to get together socially and not just for work. Thus was born the RDU Session Players.

Over time, the group expanded to include more than 150 people, now including non-professional musicians and even civilians (people who can't play or sing). Any given month would see 20 to 40 people at the monthly gathering, and spectators became more and more common. As the catalogue of songs grew so large, someone once commented that they believed we could play for 12 hours straight and not repeat a single song. From that simple thought, the first Marathon Jam was born in 2004.

That first Marathon Jam was held in one of Whit Kenney's vacant offices, and several people earned the distinction of becoming "Iron Pickers" for playing the entire 12-hour Jam, beginning at noon and playing past midnight. John and Whit were talking on the phone as John was driving home, and John said that it was a shame that, in spite of the pain which comes from 12 straight hours of pressing guitar strings, no one got paid. Then, the idea of turning this wonderful time into a fundraiser was born.

The concept was simple. Treat the Marathon Jam like a walk-a-thon, only gather sponsors for hours played, not miles walked, and contribute the money to charities that were close to our hearts. The first year, the funds raised went to The Sheppard Wasdell Teacher Excellence Award, given annually to a teacher at Apex High School, and to The Community Music School, an organization which helps low-income children access both instruments and lessons.

Over the next several years, we contributed funds to The Community Music School and also added contributions for scholarships to honor the passing of several RDU Session Player family members.

In 2007, one of our members, Lt. Col. Greg Rawlings, was deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he formed the Baghdad Bad Boys. It was quickly decided that we wanted to do what we could to help our soldiers. Musical equipment was donated immediately from several of the RDU Session Players, including Jim Dennis, owner of The Music Loft in Chapel Hill, and Harry Tueting, owner of Harry's Guitar Shop in Raleigh. Following talks with Greg, it was decided to donate all of the money raised at future Marathon Jams to the Fisher House Foundation. This wonderful organization provides lodging for the families of servicemen who have been wounded and are being treated in hospitals back in the States. The Fisher House allows the families to stay at their facilities for a nominal fee and thus avoid the cost of typical hotel accommodations.

Check out Fisher's House response!

Have questions? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions or contact us!