Bluegrass, despite its origins in Celtic music, came into its own as a musical genre in the Southeast and is one of America’s earliest genres to call its own.

Appropriately, then, bluegrass will be the main musical course at the first-ever “Fourth of July Jam” at the Athens Steam Co. Pub’s outdoor patio on Sunday. The Packway Handle Band, a frequent visitor from Atlanta, opens the show at 7 p.m. for a night of mandolin-pickin’, banjo-strummin’ celebration.

Having just made its entrance into the music world three years ago, Packway Handle has already made its mark on the Classic City with performances at AthFest, Athens’ annual music and arts festival, as well as various other shows throughout the city during the last couple of years.

At the 2003 Flagpole Music Awards, Packway Handle won for best folk/bluegrass band, and at this year’s awards ceremony, it won Flagpole’s Favorite Album Cover Art award for “Chaff Harvest,” the band’s second release.

But as excited as this quintet is to play for Athens on the Fourth, its members said they’re just as pumped to be jamming with Fragment, a bluegrass band hailing from the Czech and Slovak Republics.

“We hope to talk to the band and get some jam-time with them,” said Josh Erwin, Packway Handle Band’s guitarist.

Erwin said Packway Handle had heard of Fragment and its many accomplishments (including winning multiple awards for its music in the United States and in Europe) and asked its booking manager, Penny McDaniel, to get them together for the Fourth.

This will be Fragment’s first time playing in Georgia, but it will be its second time playing at Fourth of July festivities.

“We respect that it’s one of the biggest holidays for all Americans,” said Jana Dolakova, vocalist for Fragment. “People are off from work, having fun, and we love to play for people who are having a good time, so it’s special for us, too.”

And although McDaniel admits that it crossed her mind that to some, a Czech band playing for a Fourth of July event might seem odd, she said that it really is not a big deal.

“They play American bluegrass music, and they play it better than many bands from here,” McDaniel said. “And in any case, they’re young, talented and love what they do. That appeals to (a fan of) any genre.”

Dolakova, reputed to have a voice with the sound of Alison Kraus and an emotional delivery all her own, said she lives a nomadic life with the other four members of the band.

During their stays in America, she said they canvas the country, trying to get the word out that the Czech and Slovak people can play a good fiddle.

Wendy Naylor, manager of the Athens Steam Co. Pub, said she looks forward to seeing how the pub’s first crack at a Fourth of July hoedown turns out.

“It’s our first time, so we hope it’s a success,” she said.

The party won’t end on the Fourth, however. Packway Handle will keep high-steppin’ beyond the weekend, playing Monday evening at Ashford Manor in Watkinsville as part of this summer’s “Ashford Manor Concerts on the Lawn” series.

Bluegrass fans or anyone clinging to the holiday will have the chance to kick off their shoes and stretch out for a spell for a twilight performance.

Ashford Manor’s Web site, (www.ashfordmanor.netnik.com), suggests bringing “blankets, lawn chairs, picnic suppers and beverages.”

Gates will open at 6 p.m., and Packway Handle is scheduled to play from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for children under 12 and free for children under 6.

For more information, call Ashford Manor at 769-2633.

– Contributing: Russell McLendon