Next jam is Jan 19 at 6:30pm at Amnesia. Get on the mailing list to get jam updates and reminders the week before the jam.

Dave Zimmerman hosts an open bluegrass jam on the 3rd Monday of every month at Amnesia in San Francisco's Mission District for anyone who's just getting started pickin' or is looking for a supportive place to get better and learn more about bluegrass. The jam focuses not only on developing confidence in leading songs but on learning how to work with others in the group to create a complementary band sound. For anyone considering joining a PickUp Band, it's a great way to get an idea of how Dave works in these sessions.

The jam is open to anyone who plays a bluegrass instrument (acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, dobro, or bass) and wants to play bluegrass music. There are other jams out there that are more flexible with repertoire but the idea is to keep this one fairly pure. The bluegrass police will be on hand (but will be gentle).

A jam basically works by going around in a circle with each person taking their turn calling out a song. If you know the chords and words to a bluegrass song, come ready to sing or play it. We'll take a second at the beginning of each song to review the chords and review the harmony and then get into it. If your new to bluegrass or need some suggestions of songs to learn, check out the Bluegrass Standards page for lyrics and a few harmony samples.

The jam preceedes the regular Bluegrass Monday show and will run from 6:30pm until the music starts around 8:30. There's free blugerass every Monday night at Amnesia so come on down to pick a few, then sit back and enjoy the show.