Nichless,

I can understand your frustration, but I wonder if you are taking into consideration what others are after. If you are coming in and playing with a style that crosses genre boundaries, the other musicians will likely not focus on you or your playing, in fact you may be a distraction to them. That can certainly feel like rejection, but it may be a result of the gut level need on the part of the other musicians to hear the "true" sounds of that particular genre. I don't use the word "need" lightly; music and music making can be passionate.

Some may see playing a particular genre as limiting, but others, including myself, see it as incredibly interesting and expansive. For example, it takes a long time for most of us to really understand and hear what makes us sound particularly Irish, old time, whatever, and when we have the opportunity to make that sound, our gut reaction is don't get in our way. Though we curb those feelings with social niceties and respect, we probably won't gravitate toward those that have different goals and that do not have the respect for the genre that we are fostering.

I hope you can find musicians to cross those boundaries with you, but you might need to start a band with likeminded folks instead of relying on the jam scene.

Good luck,
Claire