Bring an acoustic instrument and play along at this free event on June 20. 

By Sonu Babu

Photo: Slim Forsythe performing with guests at the former Nied’s Hotel in Lawrenceville. Courtesy of the artist

Kevin “Slim” Forsythe is back with a performance celebrating Father’s Day on Sunday, June 20 at Scratch & Co. in Troy Hill. 

“The Father’s Day Mountain Gospel Jam” at Scratch & Co. is an outdoor event where anyone with an acoustic instrument is welcome to play along. This is the first jam where Slim will exclusively play mountain gospel songs. It is free to attend. In the case of rain, the band will play indoors. 

Slim, a singer-songwriter who performs classic country western, mountain gospel, bluegrass, and rockabilly music, hopes that the jam is a welcoming and nurturing place for young people learning their instruments. 

“The overall atmosphere [of the jam] is an openness to the unexpected, to surprises, to improvisation and experimentation,” said Slim. 

Slim has hosted many jams, usually with 10 to 12 people jamming along. He expects more than that this Father’s Day. 

Slim recently performed in Pittsburgh on May 22 at Spring Hill Brewing. His past appearances include KDKA TV’s Pittsburgh Today LIVE Morning Show, radio appearances on The Saturday Light Brigade and The River’s Edge, and more. 

He has been performing across the country for more than 12 years. He has written over 30 original songs, released two full-length records and was inducted into America’s Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame in the fall of 2014. In November of 2016, Get Hip Recordings released an album of Slim’s greatest hits.

Some of his popular songs include “The Ballad of Punxsutawney Phil” and “Why Can’t I Get Duquesne on This Sad Lonesome Train?” You can find Forsythe’s full discography here. 

“I hope we can shine the light of God’s love into the darkness of the broken world through the beauty and wonder of music.”