Bluegrass/Folk Jam Sessions: Mondays at Al’s

In an effort to escape the merciless downpours and warm up with a pint, my sister and I ducked into Al’s Tavern (Corliss and 45th) around 9pm on Monday. Accustomed to seeing just a few bearded-and-flannelled men in their fifties and the occasional mutt stretched out under a booth on weekday nights, we were surprised to find the dive bar packed.

Then, we heard the music.

About five or six bluegrass/folk musicians had crammed themselves, several chairs, guitars, violins and what appeared to be a lap steel guitar and an upright washtub bass into a corner booth. They were all male, with the exception of a sole female violinist, and ranged in age from early twenties-to-late fifties. As it turns out, this was their weekly jam session—some belong to local bands, others just play as a hobby.

As the night wore on and the bar became standing room only, additional musicians arrived, threw off their rain gear and without hesitation, jumped right in. Harmonizing beautifully, they worked their instruments for hours, taking turns to belt out tunes with deep, soulful voices. Energized, alcohol-fueled customers chatted with complete strangers, whooped and hollered at the end of each song and downed pints and schooners of Big Al’s hearty, dark “Winter Warmer” ale… among other microbrews. An hour or two in, a few female customers even lent their voices for a song.

As we packed up to leave around 12:15am, most of the crowd and musicians had already done the same. The four or five remaining players, though, grabbed refills and were still plucking and strumming as we walked out the door.

Wanna stop by next week? Bluegrass/Folk music, every Monday night from 9pm-(about) 2am, Al’s Tavern, 2303 N 45th St

(Note: Photo by jdong, and it was actually taken over a year ago at an Al’s Bluegrass session)