Jump right in, Jenna!

MEET JENNA DARNELL. She is 11 years old and lives in Canton, Mo. Her parents got her a guitar from Second String Music a few months ago, and she is taking lessons at Vancil Performing Arts.

Jenna jamming with "the band!"

Jenna likes to come into the store with her father before her lesson to show off her chops and give me some pointers. She has learned incredibly quickly - Lenny over at Vancil has her doing Beatles and Elvis songs, so of course she is rocking! She is always eager to grab a guitar and strum away, singing happily along without a care in the world.

Last night Paul Lester and I were working on some Christmas songs when Jenna, her sister Olivia, and her father, Phil, came into the store. Paul and I were jamming and suddenly, there was Jenna with a guitar joining right in.

"Of course I can do it!" she said, when asked if she was ready to play. I was amazed at how well she kept up - she's a sponge and learns in a hurry. Rudolph and Jingle Bells never sounded so good! As she told her dad later, she was "playing with the band."

A long time ago we had a store party at our old Eighth and Washington location. We had a bunch of people at a jam session merrily making noise. I looked at Frank Haxel and said, "That's the power of music."

Almost six years later, we are still experiencing the power of music. Thank you, Jenna, for putting up with a couple of old guys and rocking out on a cold December night at Fifth and Maine.

Lessons are done for the year both for me and at Vancil Performing Arts. But I have a feeling I might be seeing Jenna back in the store once or twice before the New Year. And we'll be rocking away again!