MUSIC JAMS

Making music with others is one of life’s simplest and truest joys. If you sing, play guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, bass, dulcimer, dobro, harmonica, or any other acoustic instrument, or just want to listen, join us most Mondays, Thursdays, some Tuesdays, and Saturday mornings for a music jam in a variety of different genres:

Jam Genres and Days

  • Bluegrass: We offer 3 different levels of bluegrass jams:

    • BIBGJS: Beginning and Intermediate Bluegrass Jam Session (but not limited to just bluegrass): This is a great jam for anyone that is new to jamming, or new to Black Rose jams. - 1st and 3rd Saturdays

    • Festival Bluegrass: Bluegrass jam emphasizing typical bluegrass festival jam etiquette with limited reliance on printed music. Open to all levels, but beginners will be challenged. - 1st and 3rd Mondays

    • ABAJS: Advanced Bluegrass/Americana Jam Session: For advanced jammers, and we welcome beginner/intermediate players to come listen. There are no written chord charts, each jammer should know how to lead a song and teach it to others.  Jammers should be able to take a solo on most songs. Still a welcoming jam, but we ask jammers to help uphold the advanced musicianship. - 2nd and 4th Saturdays

  • Pop and Rock: Favorites from the 60’s & beyond. - 1st Mondays

  • Fiddle Tunes: But not just for fiddles! - 1st Thursdays

  • Gospel: Songs of praise and worship, but not a prayer meeting. 2nd Mondays

  • Country: Front porch, country music from the classics to the contemporary. - 2nd Tuesdays

  • Select Handpicked Jam: Different featured songwriter (e.g. Bob Dylan) or special category (e.g. “summer songs”) each month. - 2nd Thursdays

  • Gypsy Swing: Django Reinhardt gypsy jazz swing (and some western swing). Charts are relatively advanced, but all are welcome - 3rd Mondays

  • Hootenanny: Folk songs - 4th Mondays

  • Kids and Teen Jam: This is for teens and kids old enough to be respectful of fellow jammers. If you have kids interested in the Kids and Teens Jam, please send an email using the template on our Jam Reminder Subscription page and we will email you details on the day, time, and location.

  • Cowboy Campfire: Songs of the west - 5th Monday or Thursday

Other jams are held on specal occasions, or to fill out months with 5th Mondays, Thursdays, or Saturdays. Be sure and check the schedule below for specific dates as in holiday months and certain other times we have to move some of the jams. AND, in the summer months, we have jams on the Friday evenings just before our concerts at the Black Forest Community Center. All levels are welcome, from beginner to advanced, (with ABAJS limited to advanced only). All we ask is a small donation to help cover room rental.

Most jams are led from songbooks or playlists composed by our enthusiastic volunteer jam leaders, but you are welcome to bring a song to share with others as long as it is in the appropriate genre and level of the jam. Several jams (Festival Bluegrass and ABAJS) purposely do not use written music to help develop the ears and musicianship of the jammers.

Need some help finding which jam is best for you? Then check out our Find-A-Jam page.

Now, “Go get your jam on.”

JAM SCHEDULE

December 2024

January 2025

Locations

We hold our jams at several locations and times around the Colorado Springs area. Check our Jam Locations page for links to detailed maps and directions.

Stands and Songbooks

We don’t have much storage space for music stands or songbooks at our jam locations, so it’s important to bring your own. Our downloadable songbooks offer clickable navigation, so they’re much easier to use than paper books. Click the “♦” symbol next to any jam in the schedule above to download its songbook or access its playlist.

SuperJam

Starting in 2023 we have held annually a “SuperJam” consisting of all of our weekly jam genres getting together at one time in one location for a, well, a SuperJam!

For other jam-related events go here.

Jam-Reminder Emails: Check back to this page for evolving schedule information. You can also sign up for up-to-the-minute email reminders on our various jams on our Jam Reminder Subscription page.

Jam Facebook Page: We offer a special Facebook page to support our jam community. There, you’ll find reminders of upcoming jam events, photos, and lots more. Link to it here.