The Chicago Scottish Jam

Update: Tim no longer runs this jam session since moving to Scotland, but it continues under the leadership of Rich. I’m keeping this page up as a historical document, but get in touch with the Duke or Rich for the current state of play.

In collaboration with the Illinois St. Andrew Society, Tim or accordionist Richard MacDonald are leading a Scottish jam session on certain Tuesdays.

All sessions will take place at the Duke of Perth in Lakeview East (2913 N Clark St), begin at 7PM, and run until 9 or so. Some of us arrive around 6 for dinner, feel free to join in!

Everyone is encouraged to play their favorite Scottish tunes, but newcomers to the Scottish style might find it useful to look over the collection of tunes we’ll probably play. We try to be aggressively welcoming to new players of all abilities: the jam is usually a mix of professional musicians (either in folk or classical music), amateurs, and even beginners who just play open strings in the right key. We’ll always figure out how to get you involved if you show up with an instrument!

Almost any instrument is welcome—while many of us do play fiddle, we’ve had tin whistlers, cellists, guitarists, pianists, flutists, players of diverse squeezeboxes, bodhran players, smallpipers, and many other people show up!