Jams · Bluegrass and folk

Bluegrass and folk jams on the Front Range

Bluegrass, old-time, Irish and folk jams mostly happen in a circle, acoustic and unplugged, on tunes players learn by ear. Players care about etiquette here more than at any other kind of jam on this list.

Schedules change. Confirm with the venue or host before you go.

How bluegrass and folk jams work

What gets played

Players in the circle play bluegrass standards like Salt Creek and Nine Pound Hammer, old-time fiddle tunes repeated until everyone has them, Irish session sets, and folk songs with choruses the whole circle can sing. Most tunes are in G, A, D and C, and capos are welcome.

How signup works

Most circles have no signup. You sit in the circle and play, the lead moves around the circle, and you can pass when it's your turn. Some jams split into a fast circle and a slow one, and the slow circle is the place to start.

How a set goes

Whoever's turn it is calls a tune and a key and starts it. In bluegrass, solos, called breaks, go around the circle in order. In old-time and Irish circles everyone plays the melody together and nobody solos. A tune ends when someone raises a foot or calls the last time through.

Habits worth knowing

  • Match the circle's volume and tempo. If you can't hear the fiddle, you're playing too loud.
  • Play rhythm on tunes you don't know yet, and take the melody only after you've heard it come around a few times.
  • In old-time and Irish circles, play the tune with everyone and save improvising for bluegrass.
  • Ask before you record, and ask a tune's name after it ends.

Monday

Acoustic Afternoons Music Group

Buchanan Park Recreation Center (Bristlecone Lounge)Evergreen

Mondays, weekly

from 1:00 PM

  • Jam
  • acoustic
  • folk
  • rock
  • Cover Free drop-in
Host
Evergreen Park & Recreation District
Gear provided
Acoustic only; no amps or effects
Age
Active adults / seniors (50+)

32003 Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen, CO 80439

CBMS Monthly Beginner's Jam

American Music SchoolLakewood

2nd Monday of the month

6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

  • Jam
  • bluegrass
Host
Amy Martin and John Pierce (CBMS)

1180 S Van Gordon Ct, Lakewood, CO 80228

Tuesday

A band with music stands plays on the rug-covered stage at The End Lafayette
Photo: The End Lafayette
The room at The End Lafayette with a band on stage and people watching under red lights
Photo: The End Lafayette

Rock For The People Acoustic Open Mic

The End Lafayette (inside Dog House Music Studios)Lafayette

4th Tuesday of the month

6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

  • Open mic
  • acoustic
  • singer-songwriter
Signup
RSVP at rockforthepeople.org/shows-events; performer sign-up link emailed after RSVP
Host
Aimee Newson and Anelise Cho
Cover
Free (donations to nonprofit)

525 Courtney Way, Lafayette, CO 80026

Luke's Monthly Tuesday Night Pick

Bar 404Denver

1st Tuesday of the month

7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

  • Jam
  • bluegrass
Host
Luke Blaser

404 N Broadway

Wednesday

Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren - Open Mic (Shack's Open Mic)

Prince of Peace Church of the BrethrenLittleton

3rd Wednesday monthly

6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

  • Open mic
  • contemporary
  • blues
  • folk
  • House band Yes
Host
Scott "Shack" Hackler
Cover
Free; coffee & dessert for donation
Age
All ages (alcohol-free)

7000 S Windermere St, Littleton, CO 80120

Thursday

A singer with an acoustic guitar playing to a full taproom at TooSteppin
Photo: TooSteppin Brewing
The TooSteppin building at dusk with an old pickup truck out front
Photo: TooSteppin Brewing
People gathered at the bar inside the TooSteppin saloon
Photo: TooSteppin Brewing

Thursday Open Mic Night at TooSteppin

Toosteppin Saloon (TooSteppin Brewing)Boulder

Thursdays, weekly

6:00 PM to 10:00 PM

  • Open mic
  • singer-songwriter
  • acoustic
  • hip-hop
  • poetry
  • comedy
  • Signup 6:00 PM
  • Cover Free
  • Age Family-friendly
How to sign up
In person
Gear provided
House mixer, 2 DIs, 2 microphones

4843 Pearl St, Suite A1, Boulder, CO

Front Range Brewing Jam

Front Range BrewingLafayette

Thursdays, weekly

7:00 PM to 9:30 PM

  • Jam
  • bluegrass

400 W South Boulder Rd, Lafayette, CO

Four performers with guitars and microphones on a small Swallow Hill stage
Photo: @swallowhillmusic
A young musician playing guitar and harmonica at Swallow Hill
Photo: Swallow Hill Music
The Swallow Hill Music sign outside the brick building
Photo: Swallow Hill Music

Swallow Hill Open Mic

Swallow Hill Music (Quinlan Cafe)Denver

2nd Thursday of the month

7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

  • Open mic
  • Any genre
  • folk
  • singer-songwriter
  • Signup 6:30 PM
How to sign up
In person; random number draw at 6:30 PM for up to 20 slots; doors 6 PM
Host
John Dandurand
Gear provided
4 mics/stands, keyboard, 2 instrument inputs, sound engineer; no drum kits (small percussion OK)
Cover
$5 suggested donation

71 E Yale Ave

Friday

A full room of listeners seated in the St. Vrain Cidery taproom during a live set
Photo: @strangebyrds

CiderPickin' Bluegrass Jam

St. Vrain CideryLongmont

3rd Friday monthly

6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

  • Jam
  • bluegrass
Host
Phil and Alex

350 Terry St, Ste 130, Longmont, CO 80501

Open Poetry Reading & Acoustic Open Mic Night

Unity of Boulder Spiritual Center (Fellowship Hall)Boulder

4th Friday of the month

6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

  • Open mic
  • acoustic
  • poetry
  • spoken word
  • Cover Love offering
  • Age All ages
Signup
first come first served; check in with facilitator
Host
Giavanni Gatti (facilitator)

2855 Folsom St, Boulder, CO 80301

Saturday

Sandy's Coffee & Tea Open Mic Morning

Sandy's Coffee & TeaLongmont

3rd Saturday of the month

10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

  • Open mic
  • acoustic
  • poetry
  • Signup 9:45 AM
How to sign up
In person

2130 Mountain View Ave, Suite 302, Longmont, CO 80501

Littleton Social's Open Stage - Sing It. Say It. Play It.

Littleton Social (Aspen Grove)Littleton

Monthly (last Saturday; no October or December edition)

6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

  • Open mic
  • Any genre
  • singers
  • acoustic
  • bands
  • comedy
  • spoken word
  • instrumental
  • Cover Free
  • Age All ages
Signup
walk-ins add name at the door by 6:30 PM, advance performer application form (https://wkf.ms/4fOCGCq) or walk-in

7301 S Santa Fe Dr #718, Littleton, CO 80120

Sunday

Photos belong to the people credited on them. If one is yours and you want it down, tell me and it comes down.

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What each instrumentalist needs

  • 1 to 2, first-timer friendly Your first time on any stage is fine, and so is playing basic chords or a groove and following along.
  • 3, middle You hold your part, take a solo or a verse, and know the common tunes.
  • 4 to 5, experienced People expect you to know the tunes by name and keep up, and working pros sit in.

All five levels, defined

Guitarists

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can play G, C, D and A with a capo, keep a boom-chuck rhythm, and follow the changes by watching the other players' hands.
3, middle
You can play solid rhythm at fiddle-tune tempo with bass runs between chords, take a flatpicked break on the common tunes, and play the G run where it belongs.
4 to 5, experienced
You can take breaks at any tempo that gets called, crosspick, back a singer with no mandolin chop to lean on, and kick tunes off cleanly.

We put rhythm first, since every circle needs it, and build breaks from there. Guitar lessons

Bassists

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can play root-fifth in G, A and D on beats one and three, every time.
3, middle
You can walk into chord changes, play waltz time, read a capoed guitarist's chord shapes, and keep the tempo steady against a rushing banjo.
4 to 5, experienced
You can play in any key that gets called, slap where an old-time jam wants it, and keep time for the whole circle.

We make root-fifth automatic and train your ear for the changes in the fiddle keys. Bass lessons

Banjo players

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can play rolls in G at an easy tempo, vamp on the tunes you don't know, and capo up for A.
3, middle
You can play Scruggs-style breaks on the standards, play backup up the neck, play basic clawhammer for the old-time circles, and take your turn without speeding up.
4 to 5, experienced
You can take breaks at session tempo in any key that gets called, play melodic style where it fits, and switch between bluegrass drive and old-time rhythm.

Inquire about a good teacher for you, and I'll recommend someone if I know one.

Mandolin players

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can play two-finger chords for G, C, D and A, chop on the offbeat, and use tremolo only when you choose to.
3, middle
You can take breaks on the common fiddle tunes, play double stops, kick off a tune cleanly, and keep the chop going when the guitar takes a break.
4 to 5, experienced
You know a deep list of fiddle tunes, play at session tempo in any key that gets called, pick up old-time and Irish melodies by ear, and lead tunes from the chop.

Inquire about a good teacher for you, and I'll recommend someone if I know one.

Fiddle players

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You can play first-position melodies in D, G and A with long, in-tune strokes, and play softly under the circle until you have the melody.
3, middle
You know the common session tunes from memory, play double stops and drones, kick off at a tempo you can keep, and play pads behind singers.
4 to 5, experienced
You can play bluegrass, old-time and Irish sets, take breaks at any tempo, add harmony lines on the spot, and lead sets without losing the circle.

Inquire about a good teacher for you, and I'll recommend someone if I know one.

Singers

1 to 2, first-timer friendly
You know one folk song with a chorus everyone knows, in a key the circle can play, with the words memorized.
3, middle
You can lead the verses while the circle sings the choruses, teach a chorus by singing it twice, and pitch the song so the last verse still fits your voice.
4 to 5, experienced
You can sing harmony above or below a lead on the spot, stack duet and trio parts, lead call and response, and reach the back of the venue with no microphone.

Inquire about a good teacher for you, and I'll recommend someone if I know one.

Walk in ready.

In a lesson or two before your first jam, we cover the fiddle keys and circle tunes that come around, how the signup works, and how a set goes. Once you're my student, I'll help you pick the right jam, and I'll be there.

Book a lesson How a first jam goes

$75 an hour, in your home or on Zoom. You pay after the lesson.