Bluegrass Friends Jam Sessions

Bluegrass Diamonds Concert plus Blueberry Bake and Craft Sale - August 7, 2008

Don't miss the Bluegrass Diamonds performing at the Saint John Marina on Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 7:00 PM. A Blueberry Bake and Craft Sale will be held at the same time. This event is part of the Fundy Bay Festival which is taking place August 7 to 10, 2008.

Tickets for the Bluegrass Diamonds are $10.00 advance / $12.00 at the door. For tickets, call 738-9090 and ask for Fred. Tickets will also be available at the weekly Monday night Bluegrass Friends jam sessions held at the Saint John Marina from 7:30 PM until 10:00 PM.

The Saint John Marina is located at 2050 Westfield Road, Saint John, NB - only 15 minutes from Saint John city center.

Looking For People to Fill Time Slots for Artist Spotlight Feature

One of the great features we have at the Bluegrass Friends weekly jam sessions is the Artist Spotlight segment. I am currently looking for people to fill the Artist Spotlight slots for the weeks of July 28, August 4, 11, 18 and 25 and September 8, 15, 22 and 29.

Visit the About The Bluegrass Friends Jam Sessions for more information about the Artist Spotlight.

Please submit your name if you would like to fill one of the available slots. Who wants to be the first?

Contact Michael Floyd. Your participation is most appreciated.

Acceptable Music List - UPDATED

This post is primarily aimed at all of the musicians and singers that attend the Bluegrass Friends jam sessions every Monday night at the Saint John Marina.

There are now over 1000 songs that have been evaluated by the Bluegrass Friends Music Committee. I'd like to encourage all Bluegrass Friends musicians to take a look at both lists (Bluegrass and non-Bluegrass) on a regular basis to determine where your tunes might fit in. There is a link in the menu on the left to view the Acceptable Music List.

If the committee feels one of your tunes does not contain enough Bluegrass content, you can expect a friendly reminder. This is in keeping with the Bluegrass Only rule which is the primary purpose of the Bluegrass Friends jam sessions.

Members of the Bluegrass Friends Music Committee have put in a substantial amount of time evaluating music and continue to do so on a daily basis. Please do your part to help make the Bluegrass Friends jam sessions some of the best ever to be held.

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage In Concert on Grand Manan Island August 25

Rotary International presents 7 Time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Rhonda Vincent & The Rage performing at Grand Manan Community School on Monday, August 25, 2008 at 7:30 PM.

Special room rates available at Surfside Motel (506-662-8156) and Marathon Inn (506-662-8488).

Advance tickets are $20.00 and are available from Michael or Helen Floyd in Saint John at the Bluegrass Friends jam sessions on Monday nights or from Sheldon Frost on Grand Manan Island. Contact Michael or Helen at (506) 738-2988 or Sheldon Frost at (506) 662-8329.

Labour Day Jam Session Cancelled

Bluegrass Friends will not host a jam session on Monday, September 1, 2008. Jam sessions will resume the following Monday - September 8. Have a nice long weekend holiday.

About Cancellations

Although it is a rare occasion when a Bluegrass Friends jam session has to be cancelled, please make it your responsibility to always check this web site or contact Michael Floyd by telephone before heading out to a jam session. If there is a last minute cancellation, the web site will be updated by 6:00 PM on the day of the jam to indicate its status.

It is especially important to check the status when the weather is questionable, but there may be other times when a session needs to be cancelled due to an emergency.

I put these reminders on the web site from time to time in an effort to avoid having people drive long distances only to be disappointed.

Bluegrass Jam Sessions Running Again

The Bluegrass Friends Weekly Jam Sessions are back up and running again at the Saint John Marina. Every Monday night at 7:30 PM Helen and I (Michael) will host the weekly jam session along with much help from some of our Bluegrass Friends. Without the help of these key individuals and without your participation, the jam sessions would not be possible.

If you haven' already done so, please take a few minutes to read About The Bluegrass Friends Jam Sessions where you can learn about the rules and what is expected of you.

If you have any comments you would like to make, please contact Michael Floyd.

Bluegrass Friends Music Committee Formed

A committee consisting of four members will listen to approximately 2000 songs and instrumentals from various "Bluegrass" albums and CD's. Each selection will be evaluated for its Bluegrass content based on a set of predetermined guideleines. Utimately, a decision will be made as to which tunes will be acceptable at the Bluegrass Friends weekly jam sessions.

The purpose of the Bluegrass Friends jam sessions is to provide an environment to promote and learn Bluegrass music. In the past there has been much in the way of unclear lines as to what constitutes Bluegrass music. It is hoped the formation of the committee will remove some of these unclear lines while at the same time removing the responsibility from one individual as well as provide diverse input.

Committee members are Harvey Arbo, Kenny Innis, Ed Betts and Michael Floyd.

Bluegrass Friends on YouTube

This video of Ed Betts singing New Love (written by Josh Pickett) at a local jam session in Saint John, NB on October 26, 2007 is the first YouTube post I have ever made.

The video was shot by Becky Betts and features Ed Betts on lead vocal and rhythm guitar, Matthew Hayes on fiddle, Kenny Innis on mandolin, Glen Vautour on upright bass and harmony vocals, Clay Johnson on resonator guitar, Deek McCluskey on rhythm guitar, Harvey Arbo on banjo and me (Michael Floyd) on 2nd banjo.

You'll have to excuse the audio quality as the video was filmed with an inexpensive digital camera about 15 feet from the source. Considering this, I'd say it turned out pretty good.