WATERLOO -- It all started in February 1993 with a weekend jam in a farmhouse basement in rural North Washington.

A half dozen pedal steel guitar players assembled to try out some tunes, while roughly 25 friends and family members tapped their toes to the instruments' wavering melodies.

The musicians in attendance decided to make the gathering a annual event. Word spread, and each year an increasing number of performers and steel guitar music fans joined the fun.

This weekend between 700 and 800 people are expected to attend the 16th annual Northeast Iowa Steel Guitar Show at Waterloo's Electric Park Ballroom. The action starts Friday with a free informal jam session. Saturday and Sunday 30 Midwest musicians will treat attendees to non-stop music. Ron Elliot, a pedal steel guitar player from Nashville, and DeWitt "Scotty" Scott, a lap steel guitar player, are this year's featured artists.

"One of our goals with the show is to introduce the steel guitar to more people," said Darwin "Lefty" Schrage, event organizer.

The instrument, an American creation, is a floor-mounted electric guitar. It is usually equipped with 10 strings and a metal slide, which is used in the same manner that a traditional guitarist uses his or her fingers. Musicians press pedals to change the pitch of the strings while they are being played, creating a unique wailing sound.

"It's been widely used in country music, but it's broken out of that particular genre and into many other fields" said Schrage, who has been playing the steel guitar for more than 50 years.

Admission is $10 per person, per day. Half of the facility's ballroom will be left open to accommodate dancers. Players are scheduled for 30-minute sets and will be backed up by a house band. Some proceeds from the event go to support scholarships with the Jump Start Academy, which trains new steel guitar players.

This weekend's event marks the kick-off of steel string guitar performances in the Midwest, said Kirk Dighton, a show performer and organizer. The three-day gathering has been held in Waterloo since 1997. Last year's festival was cancelled due to an ice storm.

"We're really looking to get back at it - it's time to get rid of the cabin fever," said Dighton, of Troy Mills.

The entertainment runs 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 10:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Food and refreshments will be available on site.

"There's not a lot of places, especially in the Cedar Valley, where you can go and listen to music all day and all night," said event volunteer Jeff Kolb of Clarksville.

Contact Mary Stegmeir at (319) 291-1482 or mary.stegmeir@wcfcourier.com.