Minnesota Bluegrass Fall Jam

FALL JAM Workshops

Irene Kelley Songwriting Workshop

Dates and Times: 

October 28th (9 a.m. - 3 p.m.)

October 29th (9 a.m. - 3 p.m.)

Cost: $150.00 

Limited to 15 participants. -- REGISTER NOW

This year the Fall Jam is proud to present our 2 day intensive Songwriters Workshop featuring Irene Kelley!

Irene Kelley is a successful singer/songwriter and recording artist living in Nashville for 35+ years. Her songs enjoy worldwide airplay, have been licensed for film and TV, and recorded in many genres of music, including Country, Pop, Bluegrass, Children’s Music and others.  Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent, Little Big Town, Pat Green, Pure Prairie League and others have covered her songs. Irene has recorded for MCA Nashville and Relentless/Nashville as a country artist. Her current career as a Bluegrass artist has been distinguished by having 6 #1 songs on the Bluegrass Today Singles Chart.

Irene will share her experience of the writing process which will include: 

• How/where to find inspiration 
• The importance and meaning of metaphors 
• How to present a song for outside consideration
• Dos and don’ts of songwriting and pitching
• And much more. 

 For more about Irene, see https://www.irenekelley.com/

  Note registration is not complete until payment is received.

REGISTER NOW FOR SONGWRITING WORKSHOP

More Workshops!

Saturday, October 30, 2021

9am to 11am - Conference Room C

Guitar Workshop with Jefferey C Wood
Fall Jam is very fortunate to have two great guitar workshops for 2021. Jeff Wood returns with a next level workshop on using Hammer-ons and Pull-offs and Rhythm Embellishments for the intermediate guitarist. Jeff is a great guitarist and also a great teacher. His workshops are always well organized and well attended.  

9am to 12pm - Conference Room E

Wernick Method Jamming Workshop with Graham Sones

Register Here for Graham Sones Workshop

Graham Sones is a more than forty-year veteran of the banjo, a Scruggs-style picker who enjoys his craft and helping students learn to play. Born in Rochester, MN with strong family ties in Des Moines and the Arkansas hills, he grew up with bluegrass music and festivals. His picking, singing, and recording experience includes three years with Monroe Crossing all over the Midwest at festivals, concerts, and fairs, as well as with bands such as DriveTime and No Grass Limit, and currently Dick Kimmel & Co.

*Wernick Method Classes teach real bluegrass jamming!

Hands-on learning in large and small groups

Learn many bluegrass standards

Gentle tempos! Mistakes expected!

Full ground rules and etiquette of typical jams

How to lead songs and how to follow new songs

How to find melodies, fake solos, sing harmony

Ear skills taught and emphasized, as in real bluegrass

Reading skills not needed or used

Group and individualized instruction on backup skills

Understanding, low-pressure, time-tested teaching

9am to 11am - Conference Room G

Phil Nusbaum - Approach to Banjo Playing
In this banjo workshop, you should be ready to learn about and discuss banjo playing, and then put ideas onto the banjo. We’ll talk about three areas: Playing Scruggs-style leads, playing backup to other singers and instrumentalists, and playing slow songs. After the leader introduces an area of playing, those participating will break out to work on playing. Then players will reassemble to share their playing and why they went in the directions chosen. Players of all levels will benefit from instruction and dialog. The workshop is led by Phil Nusbaum, banjo veteran of over 50 years, who plays with the Double Down Daredevils and the Eclectics, and who has recorded several CDs. There will be handouts.

10am to 11:30am - Conference Room D

Danish Fiddle Tunes with Dwight Lamb and the Dakota Boys

1pm to 3pm - Conference Room B

Mark Anderson Wrangling Waves: Understanding Sound for Recording and Reinforcement
Mark has been a working musician for 45 years and has been providing live sound and recording services for most of that time. This session will focus on understanding the interactions between sound waves and the equipment we use to capture and reproduce it. Plan on information that will be easy enough for the absolute beginner and enlightening enough for the experience pro.

1pm to 2:30pm - Conference Room C

Jon Garon -  How To Be a Better Guitar Player without Having to Learn Too Much! 
Prior to his retirement last year, Jon and his wife Sharon owned “My Favorite Guitars” the largest Authorized Martin Dealership selling only Martin Guitars. As you can tell from the title, Jon’s workshops are always light hearted and fun. Behind the fun though, there are some real nuggets to help you improve your playing and performance. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed!

1:30pm to 3pm - Conference Room D

Old-Time Fiddle Tunes with Spencer and Rains

1pm to 3pm - Conference Room E

Back Up and Bowing, Fiddle Workshop with Lisa Fuglie
The pentatonic scale is your friend! We'll use it to build "pads" and moveable chords, add flourishes in fills and licks. And do you ever wonder why some notes seem to rhythmically jump out at you? I'll share with you a few bowing patterns that I use. (And anything else you want to talk about)

Fiddlers at any level, from beginner to seasoned performers will not want to miss this workshop! A full 2 hours so there will be plenty of time for questions too!

Lisa is a veteran performer.  Along with her husband she plays fiddle, mandolin and vocals in the well known and loved band Monroe Crossing.  

3pm to 4pm - Conference Room C

Inside Bluegrass with “The Eclectics”
This presentation tells first of the roles of the different instruments in a bluegrass band. From that basis, the Eclectics tell about inspirations for breaks and solos. They’ll address such things as introductions, instrumental solos (breaks) within a song or tune, and composing tunes. They’ll address how musicians work together to craft song arrangements that raise the level of performance of a song, and going out-of-idiom to bring songs that are not bluegrass songs into bluegrass.

The Eclectics are three experienced bluegrass players; Nick Martin, fiddle; Phil Nusbaum, banjo; John Bergquist, bass.