Grand Rapids, MI

Long before we started planning our Eastern Canada tour for this summer and fall, there was exactly one fixed point in the schedule, and that was a four-day blues jamming extravaganza in Grand Rapids, Michigan organized by our friend Tom (aka tommytubetone), that we could catch on the way home. Tom is no stranger to this blog, having hosted us twice when we were around Kalamazoo. Tom also jammed with me that time in Memphis as well as at various other times and places going back almost ten years by now.

This event was already being laid out when we swung by to see Tom in 2018, and it was well along in the planning stage when we stopped by again in 2019. And while it was disappointing to see all of those plans go into storage with COVID, much like a fine whiskey improves with age, when this bottle was finally opened we found there was pure magic inside.

There were about 20 of us Blues Guitar Unleashed guitarists in attendance, plus Sue (who sat in at the drum set and, as you will see below, for her performance debut at the keyboard) as well as a few non-playing family members with a high tolerance for listening to the blues. Also, Tom arranged opportunities for us players to sit in with three blues bands who were playing at our jam venue in the evenings.

On Wednesday evening the group got together for a meet-and-greet session at the hotel in Grand Rapids where most of the group was staying. (Sue and I had a site for the motorhome at a campground a few minutes outside of the city, and a rental car to get back and forth.) After a sufficient amount of meeting and greeting each other, we adjourned and a handful of us headed over to the venue to set up the sound system and the backline for the morning jam.

Eastern Avenue Hall has an upstairs space with a large stage. This is where we jammed all day Thursday. They let us in early at 9am. Tom had hired professional drummers to back us up for all three days, so as soon as drummer Jeff got his kit set up we started jamming in groups of three guitarists at a time, with another of us (Chris, Lloyd, David or me) on the bass guitar. Sue sat in at the drums a few times to give the hired guns a few breaks. The bar downstairs opened at noon (the regular opening time), and we left when the venue closed their doors at midnight!

Friday was the same routine, except there was a different drummer (drummer Mark) and at 8 pm (after a break for dinner) we all moved downstairs to the bar where Tom’s band Kat and the Bluetones was playing the opening set, followed by the Tomas Esparza Blues Band. Most incredibly, Tom had made arrangements so that jam players who wanted to could sit in with one of the bands for a song or two. Wow!

Saturday was similar to Friday, except that we had the same drummer as on Thursday AND… we moved all our gear downstairs to the bar to jam there until the bar opened again at noon – at which time WE were the live band playing for the public! It was already shaping up to be a nice crowd when 60 rugby players came in for their lunch and a few drinks (even a little dancing, though the ruggers hadn’t expected that). A good time was had by all! After our afternoon show and a dinner break, Kat and the Bluetones again opened the evening, and this night the second band was James Reeser & the Backseat Drivers. Whoa! And again both bands provided opportunities for us students to sit in with the pros.

There is no way I can write down how much fun this was, and how much I learned from it, so the rest of this story will be told in pictures (and maybe some video…).

For anyone who’s interested, the photos above and more are in a flickr album for viewing and downloading.