Correct, which is insanely cool. It's like a design contest - if an organization crowdsources all of their design work it is tacky and offensive, but having a rare or occasional contest is a great way to get talented fans involved.

Except it wasn't an amateur contest, or even a contest; they just chose the best professional musicians they could to back them up.

No, she hired and paid a band of professional musicians, who toured with her. She also invited fans in each city to play with them on stage.

A friend of ours is a very talented fiddle player and she got invited to jam with Amanda on stage. She was thrilled, naturally.

This whole incident serves to remind me that many people apparently have no idea that folk music exists. Yes, people routinely spend tens of thousands of hours mastering multiple musical instruments in order to be able to play for themselves, for their family and friends, and for random passers-by for free. Yes, folk musicians sometimes get paid to play, but can also be expected to be found jamming away in hallways, tents, parking lots and living rooms with fellow musicians and fans - there is no real line between a musician and a fan. And the privilege of jamming along with one of your musical idols is not something one expects to be paid for; indeed, a relatively modern innovation in folk and bluegrass is the formal "music camp", where the students pay for this privilege.