1st & 3rd Saturday Morning Jam in Central VA - Old-Time & Irish

[sixwatergrog]

The 1st and 3rd Saturday morning, 10am-1pm jam that I host at Ashland Coffee and Tea in Ashland, VA is ongoing and will be entering its 2nd year this April.

I play mandolin and tenor banjo at an intermediate level and encourage players of all instruments of all abilities to attend. This is an easy going, mostly instrumental jam for open-minded players who are more about having fun than enforcing rules. Participation is encouraged. Melody instruments are a great addition, but no limits are placed on the number of rhythm instruments, for example.

There are about 10 people there usually, with plenty of room for more more. The jam attracts both beginners and advanced level musicians. One caveat - we freely mix tunes from the Irish session repertoire (jigs, reels, slides, hornpipes) and the old-time Appalachian repertoire, plus crossover contra dance tunes and whatever else someone brings in. We typically play melodies in unison ala Oldtime or Irish without taking jazz or bluegrass "solos", but the occasional pub song or bluegrass number might get played if someone with that skill set is present.

Ashland is a short drive from Richmond, VA and within an hour's drive of surrounding cities of Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Williamsburg and Petersburg. I hope you can come check it out!