These weekly Teacher-Directed Jams hosted by Tony Watt are open to all bluegrass instruments, both rhythm and lead players. Each week we play through songs from the same set repertoire at various tempos depending on the experience level of the jam. You can attend even if you don’t know all of the tunes as I have mp3s and copies of tab, chords, and lyrics for most of these tunes, however, I only have tabs for mandolin, guitar, and bass at this time.
Every Monday the “2-Hour Intermediate” jam meets from 7 until 9 pm in north Cambridge. Each week we play through as many songs as we can from the following list: Red Haired Boy (in A), Nine Pound Hammer (in A), Cherokee Shuffle (in A), Little Maggie (in A), Clinch Mountain Backstep (in A), I am a Pilgrim (in G), Whiskey Before Breakfast (in D), Wayfaring Stranger (in Em), and Old Joe Clark in A (time permitting). The term “Intermediate” refers to the speed of the jam, which is faster than my slowest jams (on Sundays) but slower than my fastest jams (on Wednesdays).
The jams are held in north Cambridge, about a half mile from where Rt. 2 hits Cambridge at the Alewife T station. This location is one block from the intersection of Rt. 16 and Mass. Ave., near the Cambridge/Arlington border. There is plenty of meter-free, permit-free parking on Mass. Ave., and the location is only a 10-minute walk from Alewife and 15 minutes from Davis Sq.
Most of the attendees of the jam are what I call “subscribers”, which means they have paid in advance and committed to attend a block of six jams. The subscriber cost is $20 per 2-hour jam, but you can attend even if you are not a subscriber by RSVP’ing on a first come, first served basis at the regular cost of $25 per 2-hour session. Please e-mail me at [email protected] if you’re interested in joining us or have any questions whatsoever.