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Even I don’t go all the way back to the beginning of the Westman Jams, although I have been around for a while. Sometimes it’s a pleasant break to look back at how it all began and how we have progressed through the years. A lot of folks have come and gone through our doors, some of whom you may have never met.
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This section contains links to many Photo Albums of events, long since past. Some are specific events, while others are more miscellaneous. I hope that you will enjoy looking over these pictures and getting familiar with some of the faces that have graced our Jam in the past and may no longer attend as regularly as they once did.
To go to a specific photo album, click on the appropriate, clickable, link banner.
The Westman Jams Christmas Shows
In Shilo and Sprucewoods, Manitoba
Right from the outset of the Westman Jams, we have put on Christmas Shows at the end of every year. These events raised money for good causes and gave us a chance to put on a big show for the folks of the local area. The link banner below will take you to the Westman Jams annual Christmas Show page which has various links to photo albums of different Westman Jams Christmas Shows. Click on the banner below to go to this page now.
The Grand Valley Weekend Campout Jam
at the Grand Valley Campgrounds, North-east of Brandon, Manitoba
Below is a banner link that will take you to a photo gallery of pictures taken at the, now defunct, Grand Valley Campground Jams that were put on by the Westman Jams Organization some years back. To go to this page simply click on the banner below.
Westman Jams: Month-end Sunday Jam
in Sprucewoods, Manitoba
Below is a link to the Photo Album Library page for Westman Jams held at the community center in Sprucewoods Manitoba. Click on the banner below to go to a listing of the photo albums of the Sprucewoods Jams as sorted by photo album number and year.
The Army, Navy, Air Force Veterans Sunday Jam.
in Brandon, Manitoba
This, now defunct, Jam occurred on a monthly basis for a few years and was put on, in Brandon Manitoba, by the Westman Jams. It has since ceased but below is a banner-link to a gallery of photos taken at that jam over that period.
Satellite or Remote Jams.
Musical events throughout South-Western Manitoba, with which Westman Jams have been associated.
Here is a page of Jams that we held in small towns throughout South-Western Manitoba. Click the banner below to go to this page.
The Northern Lights Bluegrass & Old Tyme Music Festival
at Ness Creek / Big River Saskatchean
During the Summer break of 2008 a contingent of Westman Jammers loaded up their campers and tents and trekked up to Northern Saskatchewan to attend the Northern Lights Bluegrass & Old Tyme Music Festival. The journey took three days to complete, stopping in various RV Camp Grounds along the way to catch some shut eye.
Click on the banner link below to peruse the photo album page of this event and the journey there and back.
Music in the Park
in Brandon, Manitoba
Over the Summer of 2008 some of our members performed in a series of musical events, held in the parks throughout the city, called ‘Music in the Park’. These are free concerts for folks in the city to attend throughout the summer months. I don’t know if the musicians get paid anything for preforming there or not but I do know that they get a heck of a big thrill out of it.
…………………………………..(from the Westman Jams Photo Album #7)
I don’t have many photos of this event so I decided not to make a photo page for this event but to display them right here. Click any photo below to see that image in it’s full size.
Things are happening at the Westman Jams
The things that folks have done for us.
Every year, folks volunteer labor, & donate money and stuff to help make our jam more successful. In the end, you can’t have a jam without such generous folks. Westman Jams cup has always run over when it comes to folks like these. let me illustrate just some examples of this and how it makes our jam work.
Click on the banner link below to go to this photo album.Front Porch Pickin
at Jake and Carrol Gerbrand’s place.
Jake and Carrol Gerbrand did something that I’d love to do if I had a place to do it. They held a weekend, outdoor jam and invited everybody to come and play 
lots of music. And lots of people showed up and we had an wonderful weekend. I was there so I ought to know. I also took some pictures and I thought I’d post them in this photo gallery. To go to ‘Jake and Carol’s Front Porch Pickin’ gallery page Click on the banner to the right.
Westman Jams Music Workshop
at the Comunity Hall in Sprucewoods, Manitoba
On one evening a month, we used to sit down with beginner level musicians and offer up tips, exercises and strategies to help these folks move up to a higher skill level in their music. These meetings were free for any musician to attend and where for all ages.
I think that we ought to get back to this kind of thing and have even floated the idea of me volunteering as a guitar teacher but there seemed to be very little interest from any possible attendees so, either I’m the wrong person to teach these classes or nobody feels the need to learn anything new.
Click on the banner below to learn more about Westman Jams Music Workshop.Blah
Killarney’s South Western Manitoba Jam closes its doors.
At the last Coffee House Jam on October 11th Arvid Dalzell announced that the South-West Manitoba Jam, held in Killarney Manitoba will cease to operate, due to poor attendance from the local area. This is very disheartening news, not only because every jam is an opportunity for musicians to get together and play music, but also because it shows another town simply would not support it’s own jam.
I would like to take this moment to say something about jams in general and the Westman Jam in specific. Jams are a great boon for small towns and cities, especially retirement towns. They are, not only, a central location for local musicians to experience the pleasure of playing with other musicians and for audiences to hear free and local music, but they are a great social activity as well. Retirement towns, need these social gatherings to get retirees to leave the confines of their home and get out to visit with their friends and neighbors.
A lot of times, after someone leaves the work place, he or she starts to loose interest in doing anything. This is especially true for those who have lost a husband or wife or is suffering from health issues. It suddenly becomes easier to simple settle down on the couch and watch T.V. and simply avoid the outside world. This is very unhealthy for not only the body, but the mind as well. Even prodding from concerned family members, often, has only limited effect in trying to get these folks to get out and visit friends and neighbors. What is needed is a fun and interesting activity for retirees to enjoy or even participate in. This is something that jams can be very helpful with. It’s a whole lot easier to nudge folks into going out to see a jam than just getting them to take a walk or visit friends.
In part, a jam is a service to a town and, I believe, every town should have one on a fairly regular basis. If you keep your elders healthy in body, mind and spirit, they will be able to stay in their homes longer, maintain their independence, and continue to pay their taxes, thus remaining a supporter of their town instead of becoming a burden on the economy of the town. Nobody wants to end up in hospital or health care center any sooner that they have to so if a jam, now and then, can delay that outcome, surely that in itself justifies the town supporting such an event.
Here is the point of all of this. Killarney’s town did not make the effort to encourage it’s jam, even as they had one to support. The town couldn’t be bothered to offer a free venue to hold it in, the town’s people could not be bothered to come out to experience and support the event and the local musicians didn’t participate in any numbers to help make it work as a jam. In other words, there wasn’t enough interest on anybody’s part to make it a going proposition. That’s just sad because I know that a lot of good things can come out of a regular jam. Arvid and the other folks, who put on the South-West Jam, did a bang up job organizing it getting it running but in the end it takes interest from the locals folks to keep these things going. Without the local support, a jam is bound to fade out.
Before you Westman Jammers shake your head and waggle your fingers keep this in mind! This can happen to our jam too. All it takes is for the locals to lose interest in it or forget what it does for the community and pretty soon there won’t be anybody coming to our jams either. Too few musicians and audience members and we’ll have to close our doors to. Remember this, we didn’t create the concept of an open mic jam. There have been lots of jams before ours, even in this area. Where are they now? Gone. Why? Because folks lost interest in them. Just because we’re big, don’t delude yourself into thinking that this thing will maintain it self. We must all ways promote the jam and encourage new folks to join us, both as audience members and participants in the music. I have always said that we ought to broaden our base by encouraging folks of other musical traditions to participate and why not poets as well? Maybe folks could bring some of their own art work to display also. Why not? The broader the appeal the stronger the support base.
Well, these are just some ideas, but don’t just look to me to come up with new ideas. I’m sure a few have crossed your mind as well. Speak up. Share your ideas with the group. We need everybody. Westman Jams has always been supportive of all these local, small town jams because every musician, in the Provence, is precious.
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Westman Jams 