How do we keep this Jam running smoothly? – Friendliest Blues Jam on the North Shore

Note: the Pro Blues Jam is a private event. Participation is not guaranteed and is solely at the discretion of and with the permission of the Wooden Nickel and your Jam Hosts.
The Pro Blues Jam is not an “open mike night;” it is a blues jam.
Because this is a “Blues Jam” we prefer that most of your set is true blues. A modest amount of other, blues-derived tunes such as rock, jazz, latin, jam-band stuff is fine as long as you can communicate the structure of the song to everyone who is currently playing. We follow these guidelines not because we want to exclude any particular type of music, but we want to provide a common musical vocabulary to all the participants.
The jam is not about you – it’s about us. It is a group experience, collaborative in nature, designed to bring players together so that they can…play together.
Sign in and be ready to go when you are called up. Sign in even if you’re a regular – we need the written list to manage the flow of musicians.
Have your guitar tuned before you come on stage. We tune to A=440.
If you have any extra equipment you wish to use, please check with the blues jam hosts before bringing it to the stage. It may not always be possible to take time from the music for set-up during the jam.
We try to allow each group of musicians to perform 3 songs, and we typically go by the order of names on the sign-up sheet. Long songs with extended solos may cut your time on stage to 2 or even 1 song. Conversely, we try to cycle the list so many people can get up multiple times in an evening.
Don’t be offended if we turn your volume up or down, as the blend in the audience may be different from that on stage.
Groups who would like to perform together, must note that on the sign-up sheet and inform the Jam Hosts. No guarantees that we will let your group perform – we’ll try, but this may delay your performance time.
Please don’t invite other musicians up on-stage without checking with the Jam Hosts first.
If you are a multi-instrumentalist, sitting in means you have taken a turn in the rotation; you don’t get to jump from one instrument to the another ahead of other musicians.
The Pro Blues Jam focuses on the blues genre to provide a common basis that allows musicians who do not regularly play together to perform effectively.
If you are the singer, or are selecting the song to be performed, please make sure all on-stage musicians know the key and feel of the song.
We are guests, and customers, of the Wooden Nickel. Buy some drinks. Buy some food. Bring some friends. Spread the word. Tip your bartender.
Your Jam Hosts reserve the right to alter these rules at any time in order to make the most positive experience for all the Jam participants.