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Pickers Circle at Barber Shop welcomes
Every Sunday for the past 15 years or so, area musicians have gathered at The Barber Shop on Mercer Street for an old-fashioned Pickers Circle. It’s a rotating group, and the backgrounds of the participants are as varied as their instruments from saxophone to standup bass, squeeze box to cajon, and penny whistle to violin. And of course it wouldn’t be a Pickers Circle without a variety of guitars, plus a mandolin and a ukelele or two.
Longtime participant Jim Hudson, a retired veterinarian who owned Dripping Springs Animal Hospital, has been coming to the Pickers Circle since the beginning, when Brian Byrwa had the idea to start it.
“We started playing here every Sunday, and it’s just kind of grown from there,” Hudson said. “There are so many different kinds of music that we get to play, and there’s a certain acceptance of all levels of players and all kinds of music here that’s very engaging and very inspiring to aspiring musicians and to, you know, old farts like myself.”
Hudson plays with two local bands, the Hill Country Ramblers and the Ghost Jam Players. These days, he’s usually playing the mandolin. He said he enjoys playing with friends and neighbors at the Pickers Circle.
“You cross all kinds of lines with music political lines, racial lines, socioeconomic lines - everybody just comes together and plays music because it fills you up,” Hudson said. “It enriches your soul, no matter what line you’re on.”
Todd Culbert is another musician who has been coming to the Pickers Circle since the beginning. He said originally they used to go around the circle in order, but now it’s more of a freefor- all.
“Whoever is ready, they play a song and everybody joins in, and it’s just amazing. We have sometimes six people, sometimes we’ll have up to 13, 14, 15. Any instrument you can think of, we’ll be here playing,” Culbert said. “A lot of the folks are local pseudo celebrities, and a lot of them are not, but everybody is equal on Sundays here.”
Culbert said one of his favorite things about the Pickers Circle is the camaraderie.
“To us, it’s kind of like church, you know, people come here and it’s kind of a fellowship,” Culbert said. “We all visit, we all love each other, we all support each other outside of this.”
He said musicians of all levels are welcome, from entry level to very advanced.
“Anybody can come here and no one will feel shunned. No one will feel embarrassed,” Culbert said. “Even if they only play two or three or four chords on guitar, they can sit and anybody will help them. There are a lot of mentors in this group.”
Sheri Kokemoor has been coming to listen to the music at the Pickers Circle for about five years, but just started playing with the group.
“This is my second Pickers Circle with them,” Kokemoor said. “I used to play drums with my son, who is a guitarist. Recently I told my husband that I kind of miss playing the drums, and I’d like to have a drum set, but we don’t have the room for it.”
Her husband suggested a cajon instead, which is a box-shaped percussion instrument. That way it would be portable and she could take it places with her.
“So we got a cajon for me, and then brought it here, and he’s right, it’s awesome,” Kokemoor said. “They’ve been so open and inviting, teaching me and helping me, and it just feels really natural for me. It’s like I just kind of fall into it.”
Kokemoor said that even if people aren’t inclined to play, it’s still an awesome group to listen to.
“If you really want to come and see a real true pickers circle, come over here,” Kokemoor said. “You’re gonna get at least a dozen musicians in there hanging out just for a couple hours, playing good music and enjoying it.”
Wesley Riddles is another musician who is somewhat new to the group. He’s been coming out for about a year now.
“I came here nervous. I did not bring a guitar. I was scouting it out with a friend of mine,” Riddles said. “I brought a guitar the next week, and I’ve come nine out of ten Sundays since. It’s my group therapy.”
Riddles said every week is different, depending on who shows up, which means no song ever sounds the same.
“I guess my favorite part about coming here was I got to play a song I wrote, and hear it as an ensemble of other musicians for the first time,” Riddles said. “That was a real magical moment for me.”
Another participant who is relatively new to the group is Michael Cutrera, who moved to Dripping Springs from the Dallas area about 15 years ago, when he retired. He’s originally from South Louisiana, and has been playing tenor sax since 1958.
“I do blues, jazz and American Songbook songs,” Cutrera said.
His son introduced him to The Barber Shop, and he’s been coming somewhat regularly for the last few months.
“It’s just really enjoyable music. It relaxes you,” Cutrera said.
Jamie Luce, who plays guitar, has been coming to the Pickers Circle since 2008.
“I probably knew three chords when I showed up, and now I know four,” Luce said.
He said he enjoys getting to meet a lot of cool people at the event, like Dr. Dan.
“Dr. Dan can play just about anything,” Luce said. “He’s got a penny whistle flute and then he’s got a mandolin he built himself.”
Luce said he also likes the variety of music that the group plays.
“If you like music and you like anything from an Irish tune to a classic rock tune to a country tune - we play everything,” Luce said. “You may even hear ‘Play That Funky Music White Boy’ one time. You never know what’s gonna happen.”
