SUNY Plattsburgh to Host Bluegrass Jam Session

The SUNY Plattsburgh Bluegrass Club and Bluegrass for the Next Generation are hosting a bluegrass jam session Sunday, April 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Angell College Center.

The event is free and open to the public. College and community members are welcome to listen or play along with their own instruments. 

The Bluegrass Club was founded last spring with help from Bluegrass for the Next Generation, a program created in 2012 through an endowment to the Plattsburgh College Foundation by an anonymous donor. Bluegrass for the Next Generation supports the bluegrass music class at SUNY Plattsburgh and awards scholarships to WARP student disc jockeys who commit to playing bluegrass music, to music majors and minors enrolled in the bluegrass course, and for students in participating high schools who enroll at SUNY Plattsburgh and take the bluegrass music course.

Bluegrass was born in the 1940s. Similar to country music, it is distinguished by jazz elements, fast tempos and improvisational breakdowns. Common bluegrass instruments include guitars, banjos, fiddles, mandolins and the acoustic bass. Bluegrass for the Next Generation describes bluegrass as “a homegrown blend of American history and toe-tapping music.”

The club and Bluegrass for the Next Generation welcome musicians and fans of all ages and abilities to attend Sunday’s event.