SAVE 30 YEARS OF JAM BAND HISTORY BEFORE IT’S LOST FOREVER
When James Brown took the stage at Telluride’s Blues & Brews Festival just days after 9/11, Annemarie Jacar captured his soul-stirring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner—a powerful moment in music history now at risk of being lost forever. For three decades, Jacar has documented the jam band movement through her lens. After working for MTV straight out of college she covered the scenes in Nashville, Austin ,Manhattan and nationwide. Now in Colorado Jacar started JamCamTV.blog to highlight her irreplaceable archives!
The Jacar Archive includes exclusive and unreleased content including:
Hundreds of hours of performances by Grateful Dead, Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, James Brown, Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Colonel Bruce Hampton, Willie Nelson, Warren Haynes, Phil Lesh, and 150+ legendary artists.
Exclusive, intimate interviews featuring fan suggested questions—earning her the nickname “The Barbara Walters of Music” from Oteil Burbridge.
Historic festival moments including early Bonnaroo Festivals, The HORDE tour, and the post-9/11 Telluride Blues & Brews Festival and High Sierra too.
THE URGENT NEED
These tapes have already survived two fires—in Manhattan and Colorado’s Marshall Fire—but analog media degrades over time. Without immediate professional digitization, this unreleased footage could be lost forever. Many featured musicians have passed away, making this archive truly irreplaceable.
THE VISION
We aim to preserve and share this historic footage through a multi-format archive that honors the jam band movement. This collection will become a living time capsule, featuring:
• Digitally restored performances
• Artist retrospectives & documentaries
• Reaction features-where musicians relive their performances from decades ago
By preserving these moments, we connect the roots of jam band culture to its thriving present, ensuring future generations can experience this uniquely American musical tradition.
In 1995 it “was all speculative whether there was life after Jerry Garcia,” said by Los Lobos in an interview with Jacar in 1999 just as the jam band festival scene emerged.
This is American Music Jam Band culture lovingly cultivated on film by Jacar and her crews who always went for the deep cuts and deep interview questions.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Your contribution directly funds:
• $15,000 – Professional tape restoration & digitization
• $25,000 – Post-production & editing
• $35,000 – Music licensing & legal clearances
• $15,000 – Distribution & film festival submissions
Before smartphones, Annemarie’s cameras captured fleeting moments of musical magic. Now, we need your help to make sure they aren’t lost forever.
JamCamTV.blog is the place to make it happen.
This is our story—the tale of a community that changed music forever. Just as we once traded tapes, let’s now preserve history together.
💛 Join us. Every dollar counts. Be part of music history.