About us and what we do...

Stan's Blues Jams started in January 2009  with our first jam venue in Bournemouth and subsequently other venues across the Poole to Southampton area.
The Jams attracted musicians from all over the South of England, and often further afield. Jams add another dimension to a pub's live music programme whilst not clashing or taking audiences away from  the traditional gigging nights later in the week.

They give individuals  the opportunity to perform within the blues genre, improving the understanding of the blues and helping to keep the blues alive with live performance and entertainment.

Jams are run on a basis that is as fair as possible - there is no houseband and the jams will start at precisely 8pm every time, with each line-up playing 2 songs.

Bands are made up from the musicians who register when they arrive - the bands are put together, not entirely randomly, by the organisers.
For many jammers, this will be the first time they have met, let alone played together on a stage, and as such the music is unrehearsed and improvised around the blues structure. Blues Jammers don't need sheet music, or charts, just an understanding of the language of the blues and their ears.

It is not an open mic event, it's a Jam.

The jam caters for musicians of all ages from 9 to 78 (so far),and as long as you can play a 12 bar blues, are a competent player and can follow guidelines (see Jamming Etiquette below...) you'll fit right in.

Jammers range from talented school age players, students, people taking their first steps to playing in public, band members from the local pub circuits across the South, and full-time musicians playing the national and international stages. In fact, anyone who enjoys playing music in their free time. They meet up for a natter, make contacts with deps, buy & sell gear, find new band members - and get to play a few blues tunes, using the blues structure as a common language..….with the added bonus of not having to lug all their gear in.
An appreciative audience of non-players also joins in the fun ….
Think of it as a kick-about at the local park when there's no praccy and the big match isn't till the weekend.

All equipment is provided - PA, amps, drum kit, keyboard - apart from your personal instruments so bring your guitar, bass, sax, harmonica, drum sticks etc.

The jams are filmed and a selection of the songs are uploaded to Youtube for everyone to enjoy. We sometimes take photographs too and put them up on the Jam's Facebook page. We do not use flash as it is generally unnecessary, intrusive and off putting.