Calgary musicians bringing jam sessions to community parks
Posted Jul 30, 2021 7:36 am.
Last Updated Jul 30, 2021 9:24 am.
CALGARY – A group of musicians has been touring the parks in Calgary neighborhoods setting up open mic jams.
Jacqui Drew, the executive director of CommunityIsobreaker, is a singer and her husband is a sound guy.
She says it all started on her front porch as a way to bring people together while respecting distance during the pandemic.
But months later, it’s turning into something much bigger.
“We thought, ‘Hey, we have a generator. Now we can take this wherever we want.’ So we took our musical PA and everything and we set it up in a soccer field, the little green spaces around the neighborhood,” she explained.
“Gradually we got other performers interested in doing the same thing.”
Eventually, they created a regular group of people together to jam.
“If you own a mic, bring a mic! Some people play guitar, we have a drummer, we have a cellist who basically plays bass for us quite often. Some people play ukuleles.”
A lot of their newcomers come from neighbours who hear the music carried on a breeze and come to investigate.
Drew says each time is a real variety show because different musicians show up.
You don’t have to play anything either–anyone is welcome to pull up a chair just to enjoy.
They usually set up the jams on Wednesdays and when a plan comes together to hold a jam, they post it on Facebook.
