Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Time Afternoon Jam Session

Event Details:
Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Time Afternoon Jam Session
Date: Sunday, December 14th, 2025
1:00pm - 3:00pm

The Artesian is wheelchair accessible, all-ages, and a proud supporter of positive spaces initiatives with a zero-tolerance policy towards hate, harassment, and/or discrimination. We reserve the right to remove any patron creating an unsafe environment. The accessible entrance is available via a lift, Please ask staff for help if necessary.

Find out more: https://northernlightsbluegrass.com/jams/

Here is Some Old Tyme History

Old-time is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances such as square dancing, clogging and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination of fiddle and plucked string instruments (most often the guitar and banjo) as well as the mandolin.

How It Works

Most of us play by ear, and we encourage new players to learn to play and pick up new tunes that way.

If you need music, that’s okay, but please place your stand where it won’t get in the way. Keep in mind that (a) you may not always hear the tune name before it starts, and (b) the group won’t wait for you to find the page.

Choosing and Starting Tunes: Each person takes a turn choosing a tune to play. To accommodate banjo players who need to retune, choose a tune in the current key. The tune list will indicate the key.

Whoever picks the tune starts it off by setting the tempo, which the group should then maintain. If needed, you can ask someone else to start it.

It’s helpful to set the tempo by starting with a few measures of “potatoes” (shuffle bowing on fiddle) or strumming to lead into the tune.

Stopping: The person who chose the tune always indicates when to stop.

This is usually done by raising a foot as we approach the end of the tune, preferably part-way through the last section, a few measures before stopping.

You can also call out “one more time” or “last time” at the start of the last round. This helps, especially if you can’t raise your foot or if others can’t easily see it.