jam sessions

SONG	KEY	SUNDAYS (BEG/INT)	MONDAYS (INT)	WEDNESDAYS (ADV)
Old Joe Clark	A	70, 85 & 100	90, 100 & 110	95, 110 & 120
Red Haired Boy	A	80 & 95	90, 100 & 110	110, 110 & 120
Nine Pound Hammer	A	85 & 105	105 & 115	115 & 130
I am a Pilgrim	G	65 & 85	65 & 85	65 & 85
Whiskey Before Breakfast	D	65 & 85	90 & 100	100 & 115
Wayfaring Stranger	Em		55 & 120	55 & 120
Cherokee Shuffle	A		90 & 100	110 & 120
Clinch Mountain Backstep	A		100 & 110	75 & 85
Little Maggie	A		105 & 115	80 & 90
Big Spike Hammer	A			105 & 115
Bill Cheatham	A			95 & 110
Gold Rush	A			95 & 110
Billy in the Lowground	C			95 & 110
St. Anne’s Reel	D			90 & 100
Fireball Mail	G			110 & 120
Big Sciota	G			95 & 105
Blackberry Blossom	G			95 & 105

OTHER JAMS

WEEKLY VOCAL TUNE JAM (at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge)

TUESDAYS from 6 – 7:30 pm at the Cantab: Weekly Vocal Tune Jam
– please note: no rsvp needed if you plan to join us for this jam
– every Tuesday at the Cantab Lounge in Central Sq. in Cambridge
– see below for details of the “Song of the Week” system
– otherwise no instrumentals, very fast vocal tunes, or difficult songs
– the Cantab is located at 738 Mass. Ave. in Central Square in Cambridge, MA 02139
– held upstairs at the Cantab immediately before bluegrass night
– this jam is open to the public and there is a $10 requested pass-the-hat donation
– more details at http://cantab-lounge.com/public_html/cantab_calendar.html

Cantab Jam Details

Weekly Vocal Tune Jam – Tuesdays from 6 until 7:30 pm at the Cantab Lounge
(1) the jam meets every Tuesday from 6 until 7:30, no rsvp required
(2) unlike my other jams, we don’t know what songs we’ll be playing each week
(3) we don’t play instrumentals, very fast vocal tunes, or obscure/difficult songs
(4) you don’t need to be able to sing, but it’s more fun if you can
(5) improvising solos is also not required, but it’s more fun if you can
(6) the best preparation is to learn a common bluegrass song to sing with us
(7) the Cantab Lounge is one block from the Red Line, or try these “secret” parking spots:

There are six parking spaces very near the Cantab that are almost always free if you can get there at exactly 5:55 pm. These six parking spaces are all loading zones (that means tow zones) up until 6 pm, but if you arrive at 5:55 they are almost always empty. You can then sit in your car for a couple minutes, after which the parking spaces become non-tow zones and are free. There are two of these spots directly in front of the Cantab and the 7-11 on the corner, but don’t park in the handicapped spot unless you have the placard! And there are four more of these loading-zone-until-6-pm spots directly across Mass. Ave. from the Cantab in front Pill Hardware down to the 1369 Coffee House.

“Song of the Week”

The Weekly Vocal Tune Jam at the Cantab had been limited to easier songs (that is, no very fast vocal tunes, or songs with very complicated chord changes), but with the new “Song of the Week” system gives everybody attending the jam almost a week to work on a more difficult song for next week’s jam. These songs will be chosen on a nearly weekly basis by people at the jam, or by e-mailing me directly if you know you can attend next week’s jam.

We might play the Song of the Week from previous weeks too, so I have included the list below. But you never know what songs we songs we’re going to play at the Weekly Vocal Tune Jam, so you’ll have to come out to the Cantab Lounge to find out!

Recent “Song of the Week” List (as of winter 2017):

JAM REPERTOIRE BY LEVEL

OTHER JAMS