Seneca Falls New York

[JeffD]

Hey folks, I am going to be in the Seneca Falls / Waterloo area of upstate New York, for what looks like an extended period of time.

Any good jams within an hour or so driving?

[allenhopkins]

Bluegrass jam the last Sunday of every month in Canandaigua, at "All Things Art" on South Main Street, sponsored by Ontario County Arts Council.

Golden Link sing-around every Tuesday night at 12 Corners Presbyterian Church, 1200 South Winton Rd. in Rochester.

Several Irish sessions in Rochester, Lima, etc. The Comhaltas Coelti Eirann web page (http://www.irishrochester.org/ACTIVITIES.HTM) is a good place to look for information.

If you message me directly I'll give you an e-mail address for Jim Clare, who frequents a bunch of weeknight jams in that general area.

Give me a shout when you get to Seneca Falls and I'll try to fill you in on what I know (which isn't everything!). I'm in Rochester, about 45 miles north and west.

[allenhopkins]

Addendum:

If you want to go toward Syracuse, here's the Central New York Bluegrass Association website . (http://www.cnyba.com/) They sponsor monthly jams, have a calendar of BG-related stuff in that area.

[Andy Alexander]

Hey Jeff,

I live in Seneca County in the town of Lodi about 20 minutes south of Waterloo and Seneca Falls. My wife and I run Pickin' In The Pasture bluegrass festival which will be Aug. 20, 21, 22, and 23rd 2009. We were just in Seneca Falls last night to see Jay Ungar and Molly Mason. An outstanding mandolin player named Perry Cleaveland lives in Waterloo and owns the Ridley Inn on Main St. You definately want to hook up with him while you are in the area. Give me a call at (607) 582-6363 or alex11@empacc.net if you want to get together and pick. We play mainly bluegrass. I play guitar and banjo, my son plays mandolin and fiddle, and my wife plays bass. I have usually found the Canandaigua jam and the CNYBA jam that Allan mentioned to be pretty disappointing from a musical standpoint.

Andy

[allenhopkins]

I have usually found the Canandaigua jam and the CNYBA jam that Allan mentioned to be pretty disappointing from a musical standpoint.

Well --

1] Agree on hooking up w/Perry C. I've played his "Acoustic Desserts" at the Gridley Inn a couple times. He's in the current version of Bristol Mountain Bluegrass w/Don Springer (also worth looking up).

2] Music at the Canandaigua jam depends on who shows up (as with any jam). Had a fairly hot session with Jessica Boss on fiddle and John Irvine on mandolin... The "onstage" part tends to be mostly "trad country" rather than bluegrass, but picking in the other side of the building can be pretty good.

3] I haven't attended the Syracuse area jams so can't evaluate.

There are three really good instrument dealers in Rochester, worth visiting:

Bernunzio Uptown Music (http://www.bernunzio.com/)
Stutzman's Guitar Center (http://www.stutzmansguitarcenter.com/)
Lehmann Stringed Instruments. (http://www.lehmannstrings.com/)

And, in the other direction, Ithaca Guitar Works. (http://www.guitarworks.com/)

[jesse007b]

There is a fine jam in Marcellus ,NY every Friday night 7:00-?
can be very good. The best around I think. But Jam's are a funny Thing.
you will find old and new players there, And different instruments.
Ok over and out. Maybe 45 min drive?

[otterly2k]

It's just about an hour or so to Ithaca... you might see what you can find there...
and it's a great town, too!

[Andy Alexander]

It's just about an hour or so to Ithaca... you might see what you can find there...
and it's a great town, too!

Ithaca has some really good Irish sessions. There are also some top notch Old Time players in the area but I'm not aware of any regular open jam sessions. The bluegrass scene in Ithaca is pretty lame as far as any quality organized regular jams.