Five more places to jam which are not in DC proper, but within reasonable driving distance:

Contra Dance Open Band, Glen Echo Park, 2nd Friday of the month, some 40 musicians for 600 dancers in the Spanish Ballroom. I don't care who your are, you never played for a contra dance until you've done this one. Get there by 7 if you're new, or you'll sit in the fifth row on stage. (A properly executed "Balance and Swing" will blow the music off your stand). Call National Park Service for more info.

Market St Cafe, Frederick, MD. Every Tuesday night from 6:30 on, alternating Tues. nights between Old-Time and Irish. (301) 540-2092 Jeanean Martin, for more info.

Boe's Strings (music store), Frederick, MD. Nothing but hard as nails Bluegrass. (They do not suffer beginners well). Every Thursday night.

Martinsburg Train Station, Martinsburg WV every Wednsday night from 7:30 on. Singer-songwriter, Celtic, Old-Time. A lot of local Folk singers work out their songs and form groups from the participants. (304) 876-0215, Don Moore for info.

O' Hurleys General Store, Shepherdstown, WV. Every Thursday night from 7:30 on. Oldest jam in the area, running for twenty years. Epicenter of the revived hammered dulcimer movement, and a hiring hall for local musicians. Primarily Celtic, with a touch of Scots-Irish Traditional. Everything from folk harps to cellos, fiddlers to autoharps, hammered and lap dulcimers. Beware of unrestrained ceili/clogging during music. (304) 876-6907 Jay Hurley or Genevive O'Loughlan for info.