May 23, 2018
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Recroom, RA Clayton
Zelek’s 'Jamboree In The Hills' Tune Written from His Heart
The lyrics were simple. He wrote what he saw with his own two eyes. “Here we are, all redneck and proud. With our cowboy hats and bikini tops and the country music playing loud. We take it easy and party hard. Do our cooking on the grill. Looks to me like we got ourselves another Jamboree in the Hills.” He then put it to music and, of course, titled the tune, “Jamboree in the Hills”. “I never thought of the song I wrote as the new Jamboree song or as the replacement song. I saw it as another Jamboree song to listen to along with the original one that Mayf Nutter did, and I didn’t expect it to take off like it did when it was released. I just kind of wrote it for fun and nothing like what happened after it was released was calculated,” Zelek recalled. “It’s simply based on my experience out there with my group of friends, and it was an idea that came to mind. Superstar Johnny Cash was the headliner one evening during the first Jamboree in the Hills in 1977. (Photo by Bill Burke) “It’s really an honor for me that the song sits next to the original Jamboree song,” he said. “I grew up on Mayf’s song and it’ll always be the Jamboree song, and to have a little place in the history of the whole thing is just an incredible honor. My song is a companion piece that I just wanted to write one day, and I’m so lucky Kelly Tucker eventually heard it, loved it, and ran with it.” “Mayf Nutter” was born Mayfred Nutter Adamson in 1941 in Parkersburg, he’s member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, and he wrote his version of “Jamboree in the Hills” in 1978. Once the newer version of “Jamboree in the Hills” was released and became the new anthem for what was known unofficially as the “Super Bowl of Country Music,” Zelekk fear Nutter’s reaction. Until that is, he met the local legend in person. Jamboree in the Hills was born as a showcase of country music, and it evolved into the biggest party in the Upper Ohio Valley. “Meeting Mayf Nutter backstage one year will forever be one of my favorite moments from Jamboree in the Hills. I remember being so nervous,” Zelek said with a chuckle. “I’ve always loved his music and his Jamboree song, and I had so much respect for him. “There was a little bit of controversy about it all, and I think that was created by people with motives, but I don’t think those people realized I was just some kid from Mount Pleasant writing something from his heart,” he said. “But I didn’t know how Mayf was going to react, but he couldn’t have been nicer. He was just the nicest, warmest, and supportive guy I could have ever met. “I felt like I kind of had his blessing in some way and that he was okay with everything. And that meant a lot to me, and I really hold on to that.” Zelek performed his version of "Jamboree in the Hills" to the huge crowd that gathered every July in Belmont County. More Than a Couple of Songs Loretta Lynn. Mel Tillis. Jerry Lee Lewis. Tammy Wynette, Charlie Daniels. Lorrie Morgan. Tim McGaw. Willie Nelson. Toby Keith. Hank Williams Jr. Garth Brooks. Neal McCoy. The biggest of the big. Those performers – and many, many more – were booked through the years to perform at JITH’s two locations along U.S. 40 in Belmont County. When Jamboree in the Hills was founded in 1977, only the Woodstock festival in 1969 could compare to what gathered at Brush Run Park to watch country music stars like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard that July. Over the next 40 years, the festival evolved into a four-day tradition for thousands, and fans discovered their favorite campgrounds, crowd sections, foods, and squirt bottles. But it was a local favorite named Travis Tritt who lit a fire for Zelek as a teenage musician. Zelek is now the drummer for "Tiny Wars," a rock band based in Pittsburgh. “These big corporate, modern festivals that you see everywhere now have become so commonplace. They'll never have the character, that grassroots nature of that homecoming aspect that Jamboree in the Hills had. It truly forged a new ground in entertainment, and there will never be another like it,” insisted Zelek, who now the drummer in the “Tiny Wars” rock band based in Pittsburgh. “We were very fortunate to have been able to experience that. “I think the first year I went was maybe in like my junior or senior year in high school, and I remember that it was Travis Tritt headlining that year. And, yeah, the whole experience just blew me away,” he said. “The power and camaraderie and family-like atmosphere … and the craziness in that audience. That Travis Tritt show really resonated with me at that point in my life because it was that mix of modern country with southern rock, and it just pushed all the right buttons for me. “And just being able to drive a few hills over and have your life changed like that was just invaluable to me.” Joe continues producing and working with bands from the U.S. and Canada, too. It remained especially special, too, for Zelek and for an entire community that – without fail – collected each year on that hillside in East Ohio. “So grab a squirt bottle and never fear, I've been building this custom cooler all year. You won't believe it 'til you see it with your own eyes. From all 50 states we gather 'round, to pledge our allegiance to that hillbilly sound.” Sadly, though, Live Nation placed JITH into perpetual “hiatus” status following the 2018 weekend. “That event was more than a concert or a festival. It was the centerpiece in people’s lives this time every year. It was their vacation, their homecoming. People grew up with it,” said Zelek, who recently has been re-releasing a number of his original songs. ‘“Homecoming’ is a great word for it. That’s exactly what it was for so many. It’s when they could touch base with that family. You had the chance to touch base with everyone, it seemed. “They don’t make events like that anymore. It was so unique and groundbreaking in the very beginning back in the 1970s. It was the first of its kind,” he said. “I love what Chris Dutton has done with Ranch Night. I think that was a great pivot from what ‘Blame My Roots’ was, and I think what their doing at the Old Washington Fest this weekend is awesome. What a great lineup.” But? “But I don't think they should be compared to Jamboree in the Hill because it's a different era and it's really difficult to do what they're trying to do. So, I hope that everyone supports them and they can get it off the ground, but there will never be anything like Jamboree in the Hills.” https://ledenews.com/the-best-parts-were-the-worst-parts-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-chapter-1/ https://ledenews.com/the-best-parts-were-the-worst-parts-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-chapter-2/ https://ledenews.com/the-end-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-the-eyewitness-accounts/ Read the full article
The Rise and Fall of Something Called ‘Jambo County’?
The plan banned coolers, wiped out an entire day of county music, and renamed the “Redneck Run” to the “Morning Run,” and even though general manager Kelly Tucker hated every tiny bit of it, her life was threatened over and over once the world learned of “Jambo Country”.
It was Live Nation’s blueprint for making an annual country music festival in Morristown, Ohio, sustainable, but Tucker, who ran “Jamboree in the Hills” for 14 years, believed it was too harsh too fast. After all, the festival had become a 40-year tradition that featured the greatest country music stars and attracted fans from throughout the country and across the world.
The event’s two sites just off of Interstate 70 were destination points every third week of every July every year between 1977 and 2016, and for the fans, it was an annual vacation, a family tradition, and a homecoming celebration that filled campgrounds and hotels in East Ohio and the Northern Panhandle. Buy a ticket, bring your own party, and the Porta Johns are over there.
Singer/songwriter/producer Joe Zelek performed his version of "Jamboree in the Hills" to the huge crowd that gathered every July in Belmont County.
Have at it, and good luck.
It was a rite of passage, and every fan had their own ideas about how to go about their Jamboree weekends, but then – out of nowhere – back in early December 2016, Live Nation introduced its disastrous idea.
“’Jambo Country’ was supposed to be a reinvented Jamboree in the Hills that could sustain itself, so, only three days and no coolers. That’s what they thought would keep Jamboree alive,” Tucker recalled. “And no, I didn’t think it was going to fly. I knew better.
“I wasn't totally against making some of the changes because I knew it had become unsustainable, but they decided to rip everything away all at once and I didn’t believe that was correct approach,” she said. “I wanted to take a more tailored look with cooler sizes and in-and-out access all day long. I believed the Jamboree crowd would have adapted over time, and if that happened, maybe it could have survived a different way but still be ‘Jamboree in the Hills’.
“But that’s not how the people above me wanted to go about it.”
Jamboree in the Hills was born as a showcase of country music, and it evolved into the biggest party in the Upper Ohio Valley.
But “Jambo Country”? Who came up with “Jambo Country”?
“Not me, that’s for sure,” Tucker answered immediately. “They changed the name because they thought it wouldn’t be the same festival, and that would’ve been true in a lot of ways. But I didn’t like the new logo or the new name, and I knew the fans weren’t going to like it either. None of it was my choice, and I told them they were making mistakes. I was devastated by all of it.
“The festival meant so much to me personally that I felt, at times, I was the fan fighting,” she said. “They were literally blowing up the entire festival, but I knew what the outcome was going to be. Now, I didn't know that people were going to threaten to kill me over it, but I knew it was going to be bad.”
Jamboree in the Hills was a very patriotic event for the fans and the performers on stage.
Loud, Clear, and Hurtful
Live Nation promoted performers Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, and Lady A as the headliners for “Jambo Country”, and the press release stated that the venue would be a safer environment without the festival’s BYOB policy.
But everyone who had ever attended “Jamboree in the Hills” – including Tucker – knew outrage would be the reaction.
“And to say people were upset would be a very big understatement,” Tucker recalled. “On the day of the announcement, I went to WTOV for an interview, and I had practiced what I was going to say for days. So, I did the interview and then went straight to the airport and got on a plane for a conference in New Orleans. By the time I got to the hotel, I learned that the WTOV interview had more than 100,000 views.
The Tucker family (Ryan, the late Kathy Tucker, Kelly, and sisters Shannon and Jan) has been involved in the area's entertainment industry for more than three decades.
“I also had hundreds of Facebook messages and hundreds of people were commenting about how much they hated me,” she said. “And yeah, I got at least a dozen death threats, so that was the worst 72 hours of my professional career. I did not expect that my life would be threatened, but it meant that people didn’t realize how much the festival meant to me.”
That’s because most Jamboree fans were unaware of the internal battle Tucker was waging with Live Nation’s hierarchy before and after her superiors unexpectedly reversed course.
“I thought we could have compromised with the changes that would have let the fans know that we heard them,” Tucker explained. “The first year, keep it four days but limit the size of the coolers to the standard sizes, and then the second year, go down to three days, allow the standard coolers, but also start offering a great deal on a cooler of beer that had nothing to do with gouging our fans.
Performing on the main stage at Jamboree in the Hills in 2013 was certainly a dream come true for local performer Matt VanFossen and all other local musicians who were hired to play.
“But no, they said ‘Nope, we screwed up, give it back to them. That's what they want’, and it didn’t matter that I disagreed,” she said. “So, I left the conference, landed in Pittsburgh and drove from the airport straight to WTOV to let everyone know the decision to scrap ‘Jambo Country’ and to revert back.
“Some thought it was a marketing stunt, but trust me, it was everything but a stunt.”
It was a spectacle never seen before when Jamboree in the Hills began in 1977 at Brush Run Park. (Photo by Bill Burke)
A Short-Lived Resurrection
So, wait.
One day, Live Nation officials shredded a region’s cherished tradition, and the next day, they handed it back as if nothing happened?
Exactly.
Once Tucker landed in Pittsburgh and drove directly to Steubenville, Tucker told WTOV, “Jambo fans are unique. I’ve always said that they are the best part of our event, and we heard them. They were loud; they were vocal; they didn’t want the change. They love the tradition of the event, and the powers that be within Live Nation said ‘We hear you and we want you to come to this festival. So, we’re going to give it all right back to you.’”
Just like that.
Tucker is now the executive director for the Wheeling Sports & Entertainment Authority, and hospitality specialist Cindy Johnson is one of several staff members that works with her at Wesbanco Arena and the Capitol Theatre.
“Before all of that, my boss asked me to meet him at the conference, and he asked me what I thought about the whole ‘Jambo Country’ thing. I told him no one was going to come, and that I thought we should have gone about the whole thing differently,” Tucker recalled. “So, then we got on a conference call with a bunch of people; the majority said to revert it back.
“They kept saying that ‘Kelly knew what she was talking about’ and that ‘We should have listened to Kelly,’ and they said to revert it back, and I said, ‘My God, don’t.’ I didn’t want them to revert right back because I knew it couldn’t last,” she said. “I knew what the end result was going to be.
“But they didn’t listen to me again.”
The second and final location for Jamboree in the Hills was squeezed between Interstate 70 and U.S. 40. (Image: Google Earth)
So, with the name, the cooler policy, and the four days restored, “Jamboree in the Hills” took place from July 13-16, 2017, with Rhett, Aldean, and Lady A as the headliners. And then, from July 19-22, 2018, the 42nd annual “Super Bowl of Country Music” featured Travis Tritt, The Charlie Daniels Band, Toby Keith, and Neal McCoy.
There has never been a 43rd annual JITH.
On November 7th 2018, a “hiatus” was announced, and this time, Live Nation’s decision was irreversible.
“I knew the truth the moment they changed their minds about ‘Jambo Country’, and that was that ‘Jamboree in the Hills’ could not continue to survive in the form that it was in. The economics of the industry all changed so much during those 40 years,” Tucker said. “It still makes me sad, especially at this time of year, because I still believe there was a way to make it work so we would still have ‘Jamboree in the Hills’ today.
“I think back on those days pretty often, and I still believe we could have figured it out,” she added. “But now, I guess we’ll never know.”
https://ledenews.com/the-best-parts-were-the-worst-parts-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-chapter-1/ https://ledenews.com/the-best-parts-were-the-worst-parts-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-chapter-2/ https://ledenews.com/miss-kelly-tucker-and-her-love-of-country-music/ https://ledenews.com/zeleks-jamboree-in-the-hills-tune-written-from-his-heart/ https://ledenews.com/the-end-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-the-eyewitness-accounts/ https://ledenews.com/belmont-county-sheriff-zusack-recalls-those-jambo-weekends/ https://ledenews.com/silence-in-the-hills/
The Rise and Fall of Something Called ‘Jambo County’?
The plan banned coolers, wiped out an entire day of county music, and renamed the “Redneck Run” to the “Morning Run,” and even though general manager Kelly Tucker hated every tiny bit of it, her life was threatened over and over once the world learned of “Jambo Country”.
It was Live Nation’s blueprint for making an annual country music festival in Morristown, Ohio, sustainable, but Tucker, who ran “Jamboree in the Hills” for 14 years, believed it was too harsh too fast. After all, the festival had become a 40-year tradition that featured the greatest country music stars and attracted fans from throughout the country and across the world.
The event’s two sites just off of Interstate 70 were destination points every third week of every July every year between 1977 and 2016, and for the fans, it was an annual vacation, a family tradition, and a homecoming celebration that filled campgrounds and hotels in East Ohio and the Northern Panhandle. Buy a ticket, bring your own party, and the Porta Johns are over there.
Singer/songwriter/producer Joe Zelek performed his version of "Jamboree in the Hills" to the huge crowd that gathered every July in Belmont County.
Have at it, and good luck.
It was a rite of passage, and every fan had their own ideas about how to go about their Jamboree weekends, but then – out of nowhere – back in early December 2016, Live Nation introduced its disastrous idea.
“’Jambo Country’ was supposed to be a reinvented Jamboree in the Hills that could sustain itself, so, only three days and no coolers. That’s what they thought would keep Jamboree alive,” Tucker recalled. “And no, I didn’t think it was going to fly. I knew better.
“I wasn't totally against making some of the changes because I knew it had become unsustainable, but they decided to rip everything away all at once and I didn’t believe that was correct approach,” she said. “I wanted to take a more tailored look with cooler sizes and in-and-out access all day long. I believed the Jamboree crowd would have adapted over time, and if that happened, maybe it could have survived a different way but still be ‘Jamboree in the Hills’.
“But that’s not how the people above me wanted to go about it.”
Jamboree in the Hills was born as a showcase of country music, and it evolved into the biggest party in the Upper Ohio Valley.
But “Jambo Country”? Who came up with “Jambo Country”?
“Not me, that’s for sure,” Tucker answered immediately. “They changed the name because they thought it wouldn’t be the same festival, and that would’ve been true in a lot of ways. But I didn’t like the new logo or the new name, and I knew the fans weren’t going to like it either. None of it was my choice, and I told them they were making mistakes. I was devastated by all of it.
“The festival meant so much to me personally that I felt, at times, I was the fan fighting,” she said. “They were literally blowing up the entire festival, but I knew what the outcome was going to be. Now, I didn't know that people were going to threaten to kill me over it, but I knew it was going to be bad.”
Jamboree in the Hills was a very patriotic event for the fans and the performers on stage.
Loud, Clear, and Hurtful
Live Nation promoted performers Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, and Lady A as the headliners for “Jambo Country”, and the press release stated that the venue would be a safer environment without the festival’s BYOB policy.
But everyone who had ever attended “Jamboree in the Hills” – including Tucker – knew outrage would be the reaction.
“And to say people were upset would be a very big understatement,” Tucker recalled. “On the day of the announcement, I went to WTOV for an interview, and I had practiced what I was going to say for days. So, I did the interview and then went straight to the airport and got on a plane for a conference in New Orleans. By the time I got to the hotel, I learned that the WTOV interview had more than 100,000 views.
The Tucker family (Ryan, the late Kathy Tucker, Kelly, and sisters Shannon and Jan) has been involved in the area's entertainment industry for more than three decades.
“I also had hundreds of Facebook messages and hundreds of people were commenting about how much they hated me,” she said. “And yeah, I got at least a dozen death threats, so that was the worst 72 hours of my professional career. I did not expect that my life would be threatened, but it meant that people didn’t realize how much the festival meant to me.”
That’s because most Jamboree fans were unaware of the internal battle Tucker was waging with Live Nation’s hierarchy before and after her superiors unexpectedly reversed course.
“I thought we could have compromised with the changes that would have let the fans know that we heard them,” Tucker explained. “The first year, keep it four days but limit the size of the coolers to the standard sizes, and then the second year, go down to three days, allow the standard coolers, but also start offering a great deal on a cooler of beer that had nothing to do with gouging our fans.
Performing on the main stage at Jamboree in the Hills in 2013 was certainly a dream come true for local performer Matt VanFossen and all other local musicians who were hired to play.
“But no, they said ‘Nope, we screwed up, give it back to them. That's what they want’, and it didn’t matter that I disagreed,” she said. “So, I left the conference, landed in Pittsburgh and drove from the airport straight to WTOV to let everyone know the decision to scrap ‘Jambo Country’ and to revert back.
“Some thought it was a marketing stunt, but trust me, it was everything but a stunt.”
It was a spectacle never seen before when Jamboree in the Hills began in 1977 at Brush Run Park. (Photo by Bill Burke)
A Short-Lived Resurrection
So, wait.
One day, Live Nation officials shredded a region’s cherished tradition, and the next day, they handed it back as if nothing happened?
Exactly.
Once Tucker landed in Pittsburgh and drove directly to Steubenville, Tucker told WTOV, “Jambo fans are unique. I’ve always said that they are the best part of our event, and we heard them. They were loud; they were vocal; they didn’t want the change. They love the tradition of the event, and the powers that be within Live Nation said ‘We hear you and we want you to come to this festival. So, we’re going to give it all right back to you.’”
Just like that.
Tucker is now the executive director for the Wheeling Sports & Entertainment Authority, and hospitality specialist Cindy Johnson is one of several staff members that works with her at Wesbanco Arena and the Capitol Theatre.
“Before all of that, my boss asked me to meet him at the conference, and he asked me what I thought about the whole ‘Jambo Country’ thing. I told him no one was going to come, and that I thought we should have gone about the whole thing differently,” Tucker recalled. “So, then we got on a conference call with a bunch of people; the majority said to revert it back.
“They kept saying that ‘Kelly knew what she was talking about’ and that ‘We should have listened to Kelly,’ and they said to revert it back, and I said, ‘My God, don’t.’ I didn’t want them to revert right back because I knew it couldn’t last,” she said. “I knew what the end result was going to be.
“But they didn’t listen to me again.”
The second and final location for Jamboree in the Hills was squeezed between Interstate 70 and U.S. 40. (Image: Google Earth)
So, with the name, the cooler policy, and the four days restored, “Jamboree in the Hills” took place from July 13-16, 2017, with Rhett, Aldean, and Lady A as the headliners. And then, from July 19-22, 2018, the 42nd annual “Super Bowl of Country Music” featured Travis Tritt, The Charlie Daniels Band, Toby Keith, and Neal McCoy.
There has never been a 43rd annual JITH.
On November 7th 2018, a “hiatus” was announced, and this time, Live Nation’s decision was irreversible.
“I knew the truth the moment they changed their minds about ‘Jambo Country’, and that was that ‘Jamboree in the Hills’ could not continue to survive in the form that it was in. The economics of the industry all changed so much during those 40 years,” Tucker said. “It still makes me sad, especially at this time of year, because I still believe there was a way to make it work so we would still have ‘Jamboree in the Hills’ today.
“I think back on those days pretty often, and I still believe we could have figured it out,” she added. “But now, I guess we’ll never know.”
https://ledenews.com/the-best-parts-were-the-worst-parts-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-chapter-1/ https://ledenews.com/the-best-parts-were-the-worst-parts-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-chapter-2/ https://ledenews.com/miss-kelly-tucker-and-her-love-of-country-music/ https://ledenews.com/zeleks-jamboree-in-the-hills-tune-written-from-his-heart/ https://ledenews.com/the-end-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-the-eyewitness-accounts/ https://ledenews.com/belmont-county-sheriff-zusack-recalls-those-jambo-weekends/ https://ledenews.com/silence-in-the-hills/
The Rise and Fall of Something Called ‘Jambo County’?
The plan banned coolers, wiped out an entire day of county music, and renamed the “Redneck Run” to the “Morning Run,” and even though general manager Kelly Tucker hated every tiny bit of it, her life was threatened over and over once the world learned of “Jambo Country”. It was Live Nation’s blueprint for making an annual country music festival in Morristown, Ohio, sustainable, but Tucker, who ran “Jamboree in the Hills” for 14 years, believed it was too harsh too fast. After all, the festival had become a 40-year tradition that featured the greatest country music stars and attracted fans from throughout the country and across the world. The event’s two sites just off of Interstate 70 were destination points every third week of every July every year between 1977 and 2016, and for the fans, it was an annual vacation, a family tradition, and a homecoming celebration that filled campgrounds and hotels in East Ohio and the Northern Panhandle. Buy a ticket, bring your own party, and the Porta Johns are over there. Singer/songwriter/producer Joe Zelek performed his version of "Jamboree in the Hills" to the huge crowd that gathered every July in Belmont County. Have at it, and good luck. It was a rite of passage, and every fan had their own ideas about how to go about their Jamboree weekends, but then – out of nowhere – back in early December 2016, Live Nation introduced its disastrous idea. “’Jambo Country’ was supposed to be a reinvented Jamboree in the Hills that could sustain itself, so, only three days and no coolers. That’s what they thought would keep Jamboree alive,” Tucker recalled. “And no, I didn’t think it was going to fly. I knew better. “I wasn't totally against making some of the changes because I knew it had become unsustainable, but they decided to rip everything away all at once and I didn’t believe that was correct approach,” she said. “I wanted to take a more tailored look with cooler sizes and in-and-out access all day long. I believed the Jamboree crowd would have adapted over time, and if that happened, maybe it could have survived a different way but still be ‘Jamboree in the Hills’. “But that’s not how the people above me wanted to go about it.” Jamboree in the Hills was born as a showcase of country music, and it evolved into the biggest party in the Upper Ohio Valley. But “Jambo Country”? Who came up with “Jambo Country”? “Not me, that’s for sure,” Tucker answered immediately. “They changed the name because they thought it wouldn’t be the same festival, and that would’ve been true in a lot of ways. But I didn’t like the new logo or the new name, and I knew the fans weren’t going to like it either. None of it was my choice, and I told them they were making mistakes. I was devastated by all of it. “The festival meant so much to me personally that I felt, at times, I was the fan fighting,” she said. “They were literally blowing up the entire festival, but I knew what the outcome was going to be. Now, I didn't know that people were going to threaten to kill me over it, but I knew it was going to be bad.” Jamboree in the Hills was a very patriotic event for the fans and the performers on stage. Loud, Clear, and Hurtful Live Nation promoted performers Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, and Lady A as the headliners for “Jambo Country”, and the press release stated that the venue would be a safer environment without the festival’s BYOB policy. But everyone who had ever attended “Jamboree in the Hills” – including Tucker – knew outrage would be the reaction. “And to say people were upset would be a very big understatement,” Tucker recalled. “On the day of the announcement, I went to WTOV for an interview, and I had practiced what I was going to say for days. So, I did the interview and then went straight to the airport and got on a plane for a conference in New Orleans. By the time I got to the hotel, I learned that the WTOV interview had more than 100,000 views. The Tucker family (Ryan, the late Kathy Tucker, Kelly, and sisters Shannon and Jan) has been involved in the area's entertainment industry for more than three decades. “I also had hundreds of Facebook messages and hundreds of people were commenting about how much they hated me,” she said. “And yeah, I got at least a dozen death threats, so that was the worst 72 hours of my professional career. I did not expect that my life would be threatened, but it meant that people didn’t realize how much the festival meant to me.” That’s because most Jamboree fans were unaware of the internal battle Tucker was waging with Live Nation’s hierarchy before and after her superiors unexpectedly reversed course. “I thought we could have compromised with the changes that would have let the fans know that we heard them,” Tucker explained. “The first year, keep it four days but limit the size of the coolers to the standard sizes, and then the second year, go down to three days, allow the standard coolers, but also start offering a great deal on a cooler of beer that had nothing to do with gouging our fans. Performing on the main stage at Jamboree in the Hills in 2013 was certainly a dream come true for local performer Matt VanFossen and all other local musicians who were hired to play. “But no, they said ‘Nope, we screwed up, give it back to them. That's what they want’, and it didn’t matter that I disagreed,” she said. “So, I left the conference, landed in Pittsburgh and drove from the airport straight to WTOV to let everyone know the decision to scrap ‘Jambo Country’ and to revert back. “Some thought it was a marketing stunt, but trust me, it was everything but a stunt.” It was a spectacle never seen before when Jamboree in the Hills began in 1977 at Brush Run Park. (Photo by Bill Burke) A Short-Lived Resurrection So, wait. One day, Live Nation officials shredded a region’s cherished tradition, and the next day, they handed it back as if nothing happened? Exactly. Once Tucker landed in Pittsburgh and drove directly to Steubenville, Tucker told WTOV, “Jambo fans are unique. I’ve always said that they are the best part of our event, and we heard them. They were loud; they were vocal; they didn’t want the change. They love the tradition of the event, and the powers that be within Live Nation said ‘We hear you and we want you to come to this festival. So, we’re going to give it all right back to you.’” Just like that. Tucker is now the executive director for the Wheeling Sports & Entertainment Authority, and hospitality specialist Cindy Johnson is one of several staff members that works with her at Wesbanco Arena and the Capitol Theatre. “Before all of that, my boss asked me to meet him at the conference, and he asked me what I thought about the whole ‘Jambo Country’ thing. I told him no one was going to come, and that I thought we should have gone about the whole thing differently,” Tucker recalled. “So, then we got on a conference call with a bunch of people; the majority said to revert it back. “They kept saying that ‘Kelly knew what she was talking about’ and that ‘We should have listened to Kelly,’ and they said to revert it back, and I said, ‘My God, don’t.’ I didn’t want them to revert right back because I knew it couldn’t last,” she said. “I knew what the end result was going to be. “But they didn’t listen to me again.” The second and final location for Jamboree in the Hills was squeezed between Interstate 70 and U.S. 40. (Image: Google Earth) So, with the name, the cooler policy, and the four days restored, “Jamboree in the Hills” took place from July 13-16, 2017, with Rhett, Aldean, and Lady A as the headliners. And then, from July 19-22, 2018, the 42nd annual “Super Bowl of Country Music” featured Travis Tritt, The Charlie Daniels Band, Toby Keith, and Neal McCoy. There has never been a 43rd annual JITH. On November 7th 2018, a “hiatus” was announced, and this time, Live Nation’s decision was irreversible. “I knew the truth the moment they changed their minds about ‘Jambo Country’, and that was that ‘Jamboree in the Hills’ could not continue to survive in the form that it was in. The economics of the industry all changed so much during those 40 years,” Tucker said. “It still makes me sad, especially at this time of year, because I still believe there was a way to make it work so we would still have ‘Jamboree in the Hills’ today. “I think back on those days pretty often, and I still believe we could have figured it out,” she added. “But now, I guess we’ll never know.” https://ledenews.com/the-best-parts-were-the-worst-parts-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-chapter-1/ https://ledenews.com/the-best-parts-were-the-worst-parts-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-chapter-2/ https://ledenews.com/miss-kelly-tucker-and-her-love-of-country-music/ https://ledenews.com/zeleks-jamboree-in-the-hills-tune-written-from-his-heart/ https://ledenews.com/the-end-of-jamboree-in-the-hills-the-eyewitness-accounts/ https://ledenews.com/belmont-county-sheriff-zusack-recalls-those-jambo-weekends/ https://ledenews.com/silence-in-the-hills/ Read the full article
What Tales Could Cell Towers Tell about Double Murder in Belmont County?
They are everywhere. Cellular towers are mounted on mountaintops, in the middle of dairy farms, and on top of skyscrapers, water tanks, and church steeples from the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean to the coast of the Pacific, and the hardware connects data providers to their customers as they travel from one location to another. In fact, first responder agencies often utilize the cell tower technology for the “Ping” process to locate individuals reportedly missing from family and friends. That’s why it can be stated that cellular towers “follow” cell phone users, and why Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan will present cell tower data and lead a tour of four cell towers during the October trial against double murder defendant Andrew Griffin. Andrew Isaac Griffin, 33, was extradited to Belmont County in mid-March and has been lodged at the Belmont County Jail since. Griffin is accused of murdering husband and wife Thomas and Angela Strussion in their home in Belmont, Ohio, on September 21, 2021. Griffin had become business partners with the Strussions’ Salsa Joe’s Smokehouse restaurant business in October 2020, and helped operate the locations in Belmont County and in the Elm Grove area of Wheeling until a few weeks before the homicides. Thomas Strussion was 52 years old and his wife was 48 at the time of the murders, and a 14-count indictment against the Oklahoma native was returned by the February 2025 Belmont County Grand Jury. Griffin was arrested in Hawaii in mid-February, and he was extradited to East Ohio on March 17th last year. “What we have when we are discussing cell towers is we're discussing location,” said Flanagan, who was elected to become Belmont County’s next Common Pleas Court Judge. “And so, we had previously filed a motion to allow the jurors to be able to visit cell tower locations because we believe those locations are going to play an important part in our upcoming trial. The motion was approved by (Common Pleas Court) Judge Chris Berhalter, and that trial is to begin on October 19th. Firefighters were first to respond to Trails End Drive on Sept. 21, 2021, but then detectives with the Belmont County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation into the murders of Thomas and Angela Strussion. “In doing so – visiting the cell towers – they get to see the locations much better than if they were just looking on essentially a map and seeing where these locations were,” he explained. “Judge Berhalter has ruled that the four locations are going to play a very important part in our trial.” The Strussions' residence was located at 67140 Trails End Drive in a private community resting just south of U.S. Route 40, and Flanagan’s tour of cell towers will take place near the neighborhood where the tragedy took place. “There will be other tower locations that we disclose during the course of the trial, but the four that are relevant to our view with the jury that Judge Berhalter has already ruled upon, those are in Belmont County,” Flanagan said. “Those towers actually are around the residence where the murders took place on that September day. “We've already had Detective (Jordan) Blumling deemed an expert in a pre-trial hearing, and that means he will be able to testify regarding the area, if you will, that a cellular device was essentially hitting off of the tower,” the prosecutor explained. “That's where we are going to be able to hone in on the location. It is obviously not a precise science and it just gives you a general location, but it is our claim that the location is important in the prosecution of this case.” Detectives allege that defendant Andrew Griffin ignited a fire inside the Strussion home on Trails End Drive. According to the prosecutor, the data provided by cellular towers is far more detailed today than what was provided at the time when homicides took place nearly five years ago. “Cellular towers are much more specific now than they were in 2021, and in this case, we’re dealing with 2021 technology because that’s when these crimes were committed,” Flanagan said. “And there is a big difference because location services are much more specific than they were five years ago, but that’s also why we’re using information from four different cell towers. “Cell towers aren't that far apart, so usually when you drive down the road, you are hitting off of one, and then another as your travel continues. If you're running an app like Google Maps, you're going to hit off of a tower and then you go down the road a little bit further and hit off another one. And so on,” he reported. “That gives you a nice little roadmap if you're an investigator trying to figure some things out.” The Belmont County Courthouse is located along U.S. 40 in St. Clairsville. Hurry Up and Wait The request for a continuance was filed by Griffin’s defense attorney back in early January, and by the end of the same month, Judge Berhalter granted the motion and set the new date in mid-October. In other words, Flanagan and his staff, lead investigators Ryan Allar and Jordan Blumling, and the victims’ families now must wait until the fall for the proceedings to finally begin. Flanagan has estimated the trial could take as long as two weeks. “We were prepared for the trial at the time the continuance was granted. We were not prepared for the continuance,” Flanagan said. “Even before Christmas, we were in ‘tunnel vision’ mode because we were getting so close to the original date in March. We were focused on this trial and this trial only, and then the defense had asked for a continuance. It was upsetting. It was upsetting for our victim's family members. Griffin has been a resident of the Belmont County Jail since his extradition took place in mid-March 2025. “And it was upsetting for us. This is not a trial that you can just pivot and continue for a couple of weeks. We are talking about a whole host of witnesses – maybe above 50. We are talking about location differences, meaning that some of our people are scattered throughout the United States, and we’ll need to bring them back in. So, it is a mammoth project,” he detailed. “Nonetheless, we understand why the defense asked for the continuance. We understand the need, but it was frustrating for sure.” Flanagan, though, insisted his team will remain ready to prosecute. “We understand why it happened because, while we’ve had some time to build a case, the defense may need more time. That does happen,” Flangan said. “So, it would not have been very surprising to us if they filed for a continuance maybe four months before the trial. “It was a little more of a surprise when it happened just under six weeks before the original trial start date,” he said. “But we were ready then, we’re ready right now, and we’ll be ready to go in October.” Read the full article
Belmont County Sheriff Zusack Recalls Those Jambo Weekends
By now, Kitty Paboucek would have the process well underway, and that’s because there once was a need for at least 150 law enforcement officers to patrol the greatest tourism weekend in the history of the Upper Ohio Valley. Paboucek, the former fiscal officer for the Belmont County Sheriff's Office, would recruit men and women officers to join K-9 units and even horses when reporting to Belmont County each July. The majority of the LEOs traveled in from outside East Ohio after accepting the gig to help patrol what many considered to be the “Super Bowl” of country music. For 42 years, Jamboree in the Hills annually attracted more than 100,000 fans to the Morristown area, and the likes of Johnny Cash, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Trisha Yearwood, and hundreds of others performed from 1977 through the 42nd annual festival in 2018. More than 150 deputies were recruited each year to help provide security for the thousands of country music fans who attended Jamboree in the Hills in Belmont, Ohio. (Photo from the Belmont County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.) Some of those LEOs returned every year, while others left never to return. “It wasn’t easy and there was always something,” said Belmont County Sheriff James Zusack. “It took a special member of law enforcement to be able to work those days and nights at Jamboree in the Hills.” Sheriff Zusack was one of those deputies for more than a couple of decades, too, and his service at the event dates back to the festival's original location near the Alderman Airport off of State Route 82. “When I first started, they put me in charge of directing traffic into the venue,” he remembered. “And man, what a treat that was. I mean, it was something. It was really neat just because that's where it started and the fans absolutely loved it. “I remember the first year they moved to the new location (along U.S. 40), too. I remember all of that mud,” Zusack said with a chuckle. “That was probably one of the rowdiest Jamborees I worked because of the fights, and I was in a couple of knockdown drag-outs because people reacted to that weather with a combination of intoxication and frustration.” The weather proved very challenging for law enforcement and the Jambo staff on more than one occasion. (Photo provided by Kelly Tucker) Most years, though, were comparatively peaceful and predictable despite the certain mayhem taking place inside and outside the actual venue. Thousands of campers covered the grounds surrounding the venue, and thousands more drove in and out of the four-day festival. “When we worked Jamboree, we learned real fast to keep your eyes open, to stay with your group of deputies, and to listen to the radio … just in case,” Zusack said. “Usually, we walked in groups of seven or eight deputies, and there were probably four or five groups like that walking through the show at all times: day and night. And honestly, there were not enough of us, and that’s why we were always thankful that most folks were there to have fun and not cause any issues. “Of course, you had our mounted units, but they were typically used when something went really bad, or when they shut it down, and people didn't want to leave,” he said. “But when you had a mounted unit come up to a group that was just hanging out, they left then. Plus, we had deputies stationed in the crow’s nest when the production people were located in the middle of the show. That gave us a great vantage point. The second and final location for Jamboree in the Hills was squeezed between Interstate 70 and U.S. 40. (Image from Google Earth) “Those were very long days, and there were some very difficult situations, but nothing involving weapons. Just tempers, and a lot of underage drinking.” The event, according to former general manager Kelly Tucker, was scheduled for the third week of July each year because historically it was the warmest and driest of the year, and most years those forecasts proved true. “When it was really hot out there, we did have to handle a lot of fights, but there were only a few pretty serious situations. And there were domestic situations, too, but most of all, we just took care of people,” Zusack explained. “No matter what the weather was, though, we were making sure they got the help they needed from their family and friends, or at the medical tent. It was pretty easy for us to see when someone had had enough of the party. “There were tough days out there – absolutely – because the heat and all of the dehydration that took place,” he said. “And it was tough. A lot of people in that heat didn't hydrate and just kept drinking, and that always led to some interesting situations. Most of the time when you would walk past the medical tent, it’d be full with a bunch of people hooked up to something.” Belmont County Sheriff James Zusack worked Jamboree in the Hills for several years, and that's why he knows the venue changed once sunset took place after 8:30 p.m. (Photo provided by Kelly Tucker) Daylight to Night Life When Mother Nature flipped the switch and darkness fell over Belmont County, the crowd at Jamboree in the Hills grew larger – and more rambunctious – in anticipation of headlining superstars like the late Toby Keith and Jason Aldean. “It sure seemed like the crowd doubled in a matter of minutes, and nighttime always gave us different challenges, that’s for sure,” Zusack said. “And over the years, Jamboree in the Hills changed once it got dark, and I think the music was connected to that because the folks with the show brought in some different music sometimes. One year, Kid Rock was there, and that was a little different. I’m a fan of Kid Rock’s music, but the mood definitely changed during that show. “He fired up that crowd for sure,” he said. “So, as far as the behavior of the crowd, it depended on who was on stage and what time of day it was,” he recalled. “That’s just the way it was out there. You had bands that fired people up, and those Friday and Saturday nights were always interesting, that’s for sure. When it was daylight, we could see everything and everyone, but there’s a reason why much more criminal activity takes place during the night.” It was a spectacle never seen before when Jamboree in the Hills began in 1977 at Brush Run Park. (Photo by Bill Burke) The LEOs surveilled the Jambo grounds from the time when the gates opened to when the last person was pushed out, and the plethora of patrols were always at least five people deep as they strolled from the A Row to the last row near the food vendors at the top. Most often, the sheriff recalled, the deputies assisted fans who were stranded or who seemed lost, intoxicated, and sometimes without one shoe. “That’s why I’ve always believed the most peaceful time of the Jambo weekend was Sunday morning because people were just kind of out of gas. You could tell when you saw them going in for the Sunday shows; they were moving a little slower,” Zusack said. “But overall, it was a great time because the vast majority of fans were there to have a great time with their family members and their friends, and they did it every year. It was their vacation, and it was their reunion. “That weekend was very special for a lot of people, and it was great to be a part of it.” But does he miss it? Would he, as Belmont County’s Sheriff, want to be responsible for protecting and serving that 100,000-plus crowd every year? Most of the time, Zusack explained, LEOS at Jambo checked in with the fans to make sure they were well and having a good time. (Photo from the Belmont County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.) “I do miss it, but now that I am older, I know I’d be depending on our younger guys if Jamboree hadn’t gone away almost 10 years ago,” Zusack said. “When we tell stories about Jamboree, our younger deputies can’t believe we did that every year. They see the photos and wonder how it was possible. “Now, I know Jamboree was a big economic boost for the county, so I’m sure there are a lot of businesses that miss that weekend very much. Plus, it brought a lot of people home, and it sure was huge for Belmont County,” he said. “Most of those folks were very nice to us; they offered us bottles of water and food because they wanted to try to take care of us because they knew we were taking care of them,” Zusack said. “And we’d see a lot of fans every single year because it was a tradition for them and their friends. I think I missed that part the most.” Read the full article
One Year Later: Chief Investigator Recalls Hawaiian Arrest of Alleged Double Murderer
Andrew Griffin was shopping with his younger sibling inside a home improvement store at the time he was arrested one day and one year ago in Hilo, Hawaii, and Zach Griffin immediately wanted the officers to know he wasn’t hiding his big brother from the law. The 33-year-old Griffin, an investor in the Strussions' Salsa Joe's business, was apprehended inside the Home Depot in Hilo, Hawaii, two days after detectives Chief Ryan Allar and Sgt. Jordan Blumling arrived to the island on Valentine’s Day 2025. They teamed up with law enforcement from the Hilo Police Department, and it was the local officers from the “Crescent City” who placed the cuffs on the alleged murderer. “Because the local authorities were involved, we separated into teams and me and Jordan were on the car he and his brother had driven to the Home Depot. The local authorities were the one who arrested and cuffed him inside the store,” Allar recalled. “Once they said they had eyes on him in the store, we went inside and arrived just in time to witness them taking Griffin into custody. When he saw me, he knew the bill came due in Belmont County. Tom and Angela Strussion were found murdered in their home on Trails End Road. “His brother (Zach) really wanted to let us know that he wasn’t trying to hide him,” he said. “He told us he had no idea what was happening and that he wasn’t part of any criminal conspiracy to hide him. He was very cooperative with us.” The arrest followed more than three-and-a-half years of investigation into a shocking and surprising double murder that took place on Sept. 21, 2021, at 67140 Trails End Drive in Belmont. Ohio. A neighbor had reported smoke coming from an upstairs window of the three-bedroom, four-bathroom dwelling, and firefighters discovered Thomas and Angela Strussion deceased. But not because of the blaze. Retired Sheriff Dave Lucas announced the next day the incident was indeed a double homicide, and that’s where he stopped and where he stayed when it came to providing any additional information. Sheriff Zusack and Chief of Investigations Ryan Allar presented these officers with a Certificate of Commendation for the Completion of a safe, secure extradition of double murder suspect, Andrew Griffin, from Hilo, Hawaii to Belmont County Jail. The extradition team brought Mr. Griffin to Belmont County Jail to face justice without incident. Pictured are: Chief Allar, Jail Administrator Chris Baker, Detective Sgt. Jason Schwarck, Deputy Tristan Thomas, and Sheriff Zusack. Lucas refused to release the autopsy reports or any other details, and it wasn’t until Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan announced the 14 indictments issued by the spring 2025 session of the county’s Grand Jury that the public officially learned about the use of a firearm was involved. It took about a month for Griffin to be extradited from the Hawaiian city to the Belmont County Jail, and that’s where he has remained since. Monthly “housekeeping” hearing have been scheduled and held by Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Berhalter, and the original trial date of March 2 was pushed back to October 19th in late January. “The Sheriff’s Office worked that case every single day for more than four years, so, yeah, it’s frustrating that we’re still awaiting the trial,” Allar said. “We were ready to try this case the day we arrested him a year ago, so it is frustrating that we’re still waiting for the trial to begin because it’s so important to us to give closure to the family. On the morning of March 14th, Griffin was escorted by Sheriff James Zusack into the Belmont County Jail. (Photo by Karen Fatula from the River News Network) “Angela’s father even traveled here for the most recent hearing instead of waiting for us to call him and let him know what’s happening with everything. He just wants to see justice for his daughter,” he said. “The families have to live with this every day, and yes, with a case this big, there are going to be delays, but just because we know that doesn’t make it any easier for anyone.” How did Allar and Blumling know where to find Griffin once Prosecutor Flanagan formally charged him last February with two counts of aggravated murder? “Once we were pretty confident he was our guy, we tracked him for a while, but I can’t divulge how that was accomplished,” Allar explained. “When it came to him staying with his brother in Hawaii, we thought he was just visiting and would be going back to Oklahoma so we had a plan to arrest him there so we could save the travel expense. But then we got some intelligence that indicated that he had no immediate plans to return to the continental U.S., so that's when we had to make plans to go out to Hawaii. This collage of photos of Griffin was released by the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Office in Oklahoma in July 2023 when he was reported missing. In October 2023, he was reported to be safe in Harris County, Texas. “It wasn’t the first time he had traveled away from his hometown in Oklahoma, and at one point, he left the country through Mexico. He was on the run because, at the time, he was facing charges in Oklahoma that involved his marriage ending,” he said. “We did think about going down to Costa Rica, but then he came back on his own and was arrested in Houston for the charges in Oklahoma.” Griffin is expected to appear in court again for yet another pretrial hearing on February 27 at 1:30 p.m. in St. Clairsville. https://ledenews.com/surprise-strussion-murder-suspect-arrested-at-home-depot-in-hawaii/ https://ledenews.com/the-strussion-investigation-mile-after-mile-question-after-question/ Read the full article