Stewart,

What a brilliant idea! :)

Dusty Strings has started an ongoing Saturday jam from 4:00-5:30 p.m., open to all instruments. No need to register; there is a Tip Jar with a $5 suggested donation. Every week, the jam will be led by a different local (or visiting) musician or group, and will cover a different genre or style.

Here are some upcoming jams:

February 14th: Cathie Whitesides will lead a jam session on contradance tunes to which all instruments are welcome. Cathie has played for dances, taught workshops and led jams nationally since the '80s and is a local favorite for contradance playing.  She is known for her welcoming, supportive style and is expert at guiding sessions with tunes that are fun for everybody and yet approachable by near-beginners. A good keyboard will be available for the jam.

February 21: The Whateverly Brothers (Dan Roberts, Matthew Moeller & Chris Glanister) have led sea shanty sing alongs and maritime music song circles for many years. Songs of the sea! Songs of pirates! No prior experience required! All acoustic instruments are welcome (banjos too).

February 28: John Calvin has been leading and participating in song circles for more years than he cares to admit! We'll sing familiar songs by Bob Dylan, Gillian Welch, Gordon Lightfoot, John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Ray LaMontagne, Steve Goodman, and others. Bring a song of your own, if you like; we'll make time for a few originals. This jam is open to singers and players of all sorts of folk instruments.

...and a little preview of March, starring a very familiar name!

March 21: Stewart Hendrickson plays fiddle and guitar and sings traditional songs from the British Isles and America, including songs of the sea. He has led workshops at Northwest Folklife and Seattle Song Circle's Rainy Camp, and performed in many venues around Seattle. This jam will be a mix of songs and tunes, so bring your acoustic instruments as well as your voice. All experience levels welcome. Check his web page for some songs and tunes, or bring your own. www.stewarthendrickson.com

(Stewart, if I knew how, I'd put your name in big flashing red letters, but my HTML know-how pretty much stops dead at bold tags. Also, the blue clicky wasn't working for me, so I couldn't make it a live link. Sorry! :D)