Two Decades of Bluegrass Harmony
the Lyons Colorado Oskar Blues Bluegrass Jam 

Author: Michael Jackson, Lyons CO. 

Nestled into the foothills just north of Boulder is the town of Lyons, which is not only home to music festivals such as Rocky Grass and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, but to a host of local music venues and musicians of all abilities.  For nearly a quarter of a century, the sandstone walls of Lyons echoed with the driving sound of banjos, the strum of guitars, and the soulful harmonies of bluegrass music. At the heart of this musical tradition lies the Oskar Blues Bluegrass Jam, a gathering that has become a cornerstone of the local community and a must visit jam for bluegrass enthusiasts and touring musicians from the front range and beyond. 

The exact start of the Lyons Jam is a bit hard to pin down. Local lore has it originating at the old Stone Cup location in the early 2000’s, where Moxie Bread Company is now.  Pickers would gather every Sunday including founding members KC Groves, Jason Hicks, Jefferson Hamer, Tony Greif, and Gene Libbea.  David McIntyre-- a local Lyons DJ, long time booking agent at Oskar Blues, and the inspiration behind the Colorado Blues Society-- felt the jam needed a more permanent home.  He approached Oskar Blues Brewery founder Dale Katechis who agreed to sponsor the jam.  Dave originally asked members of the Boulder jamgrass band Shanti Groove to be the jam hosts.  As it happens the band got busy and KC Groves, a highly respected bluegrass musician, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Lyons took over the hosting responsibilities.  KC was soon joined by Eric Thorin-- a highly accomplished bassist, composer, and educator from Lyons-- to hold down the low end on the bass.   This powerhouse duo is hosting the chop and the bass for the jam to this day. 

The Oskar Blues Jam started out on the back patio but as cold temperatures set in, the music moved upstairs to the bar area.  Quickly the Oskar’s Jam became an integral of the Front Range jamming scene and a gathering place for many high-level players who have gone on to play in popular bands such as the Blue Canyon Boys, the Rail Splitters, Jake Leg, FY5, and TAARKA to name a few. 

On any Tuesday night it was not unusual to have two to three levels of picking circles in the bar and split off groups in every other corner including the waitress stations.  When Oskar’s renovated the space downstairs, the jam found its long-term space where musicians gather to have a beer, eat, jam, improvise, and collaborate on their favorite bluegrass songs.  As many bluegrass jams have come and gone along the front range, the enduring legacy of the Lyons jam is that it has created a weekly and sustaining sense of community and musical camaraderie that is hard to find elsewhere on the front range. 

I started going to the Oskar jam about 2010.  I had just graduated from one of Pete Wernick’s jam camps as a novice banjo player and had been playing regularly with friends from Longmont.  The Oskar’s jam had a reputation as the place where all the great local players congregated and I was really apprehensive about going.  But go I did, and I stood in the outside of the circle trying not to make too much noise or get noticed.  This strategy lasted a couple of weeks until one night it was time for someone to do a song and John J. Wood, a force of nature in the jam scene at the time who has since passed away, turned around and pointed at me and said “it’s your turn”.  I was mortified and I almost pulled a muscle swinging my head back and forth to say no.  John was not a “no” kind of guy and he grabbed my banjo, which by nature of the strap was connected to me, and pulled us both up to the front of the circle. 

I pretty much blanked out but think I did something like Little Cabin Home on the Hill then quickly made my way back to the outer circle.   I remember two things really clearly from those days, first the speed, tone and timing of the players and second the deep musical friendships that were developed over many years of jamming together at Oskar’s each week.  After I did my first song, I wanted more of both.  Over the years my confidence and skill improved, mainly due to the kindness and patience of fellow jammers like Kane Hollins showing me how to capo without retuning, Ned Alderman showing me his breaks to fiddle tunes, and Michael Drazsnzak who let me kick off Southern Flavor at a painfully slow pace before the rest of the group would rip into it.

In March of 2020 a lot of things changed for the music community due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Oskar’s closed for safety reasons, but after a few weeks the jam relocated to Sandstone Park just across the street from the brewery.  A smaller, masked, and socially distanced group gathered there until colder temperatures forced the jam to eventually take a short pause.  In the spring of 2021, as venues were beginning to open up, the jam started up again thanks to Eric Keen at the Main Stage Brewery and in the fall of 2021, Oskar’s was ready for the jam to come back home. 

In my conversations about the history of the jam with KC Groves, she said that as things were opening up post-pandemic and it was unclear if jam would have a long-term home, she considered that maybe the Lyons Jam had run its course.  Maybe it was time to was time to step aside and see what else might evolve in its place.  Fortunately for us, KC and Eric realized what a unique musical and community incubator they had created and that the music community was hungrier than ever to gather, sing, and play.