PHOTO BY DAVID LOWE Terry Stephenson, at left, Derek Groves and Benny Boyd play a song during an informal Tuesday night “jam session” at 1004 E. Third St., future home of Perception Creative Art School. On a chilly night, musicians sat in a circle, strumming old country songs, alternating solos and occasionally trading jokes. The “jam session” was nothing fancy -- and that’s just the way the participants like it.

As Derek Groves and his fiancee, Judith McGinty, prepare to open Perception Creative Art School at the former Gillen’s Army Surplus property on East Third Street, twice-a-month informal music gatherings keep the mood casual and welcoming.

Open to the public, the free jam sessions give musicians a low-pressure environment in which to gather, meet new friends and practice with their instruments. Participants, who have ranged in age from 15 to 65, congregate on the second and fourth Tuesday nights of each month to play mostly old country songs -- with some rock or other styles mixed in.

“You just play whatever you feel,” Groves said.

Drugs and alcohol are not allowed.

“It’s definitely kid-friendly,” Ms. McGinty said.

The sessions often attract 20 or more musicians and usually are held in a music hall on the four-acre Perception school site. Lights strung on the rafters in the venue evoke the feeling of the nationally renowned Luckenbach dance hall, Ms. McGinty said.

A nine-month-old tradition, the Lampasas jam sessions attract participants with a variety of skill levels.

Some have been playing for years. Others began learning an instrument more recently. Some love to sing along with each tune, while others focus on instrumentation.

Terry Stephenson, a regular member of the jam sessions, considers himself primarily a songwriter. He enjoys the casual setting in which to play old favorites or new creations.

“It’s just a fun deal,” Stephenson said. “It doesn’t matter how good or bad you play. When you mess up, they’re just going to look at you and not say anything.”

Elzie Jones, who brought a fourstring tenor guitar to a recent gathering, took lessons from Groves and has been playing the guitar for about two years.

Groves and his fiancee believe Perception Creative Art School will advance the arts both through community music gatherings and private lessons.

The school will offer lessons in ukulele, bass guitar, mandolin, drawing, mosaics, painting, sculpture and a variety of other specialties to children as young as six, Ms. McGinty said.

She and Groves also have considered trying to support youth bands. Groves coaches the FFA band every Monday night and said his son and another student rehearse daily.

Art education, Groves said, will offer Lampasas County youth positive ways to use their time outside of school. Creative arts schools have gained popularity in recent years, he said, noting that Harmony School of Creative Arts in Marble Falls, where he used to teach, attracts over 300 students per week.

“I just think something like this in Lampasas could work,” Groves said. “It’s kind of a new thing that’s come along.”