songs for festivals

[cooper4205]

being relatively new to playing music, and especially mandolin, what are some songs to learn for bluegrass festivals and jams with others.

i know that it ultimately takes time to learn a vast number of songs, but what are some essential tunes a mandolin players should now before heading off to play at a festival or informal jam.

are there certain songs that pop up often? should you learn alot of fiddle tunes or monroe standards? i enjoy playing mando solo and like to play different types of music when by myself, or try songs that take quite a while to learn, but i also want to be able to go out and play with other musicians and do more than chop or not know where the chord changes are, or what the melody is, etc.
also, how can i practice to be better prepared to play with others. i try to every chance i get, but most of the time i'm just picking in the recliner. i hope i made myself clear and didn't ramble too much, thanks.

[John Flynn]

I have been on the quest for such a list of tunes for the past couple of years, but never found one that works consistently. Every jam is so different. I do find that most open jams will tend to stick with the basic tunes. So if you learn all the tunes in just about any beginning bluegrass mandolin book, you should definitely know some of the tunes that will be called at many jams.

There is also a list of the "top bluegrass tunes" on the Bluegrass Guitar site. If you work down that list starting with top vote getter, you will quickly have a list of very popular tunes, but it is still no guarantee. #
http://www.bluegrassguitar.com/allvotes.php

[250sc]

cooper4205,

I agree with Johnny that the songs you'll hear vary a bit from festival to festival but its worth it to go to a festival even if you don't know what material will be played.

When I go to a festival I'm always looking for some new material to learn. If I hear something that catches my ear I write it down and learn it for next year.

I normally come away from festivals with at least a few new songs I want to work on.