TrailJams is a really interesting group in the Portland, Oregon area. They started during COVID playing old time and have branched out into Irish, which seems to be their main emphasis now. They have several slow jams and sessions around, plus some tech-y resources.
The most interesting old time resource is the list of — in their opinion — the top 50 tunes, listed in three tiers. You’ll get a kick out of reading it, and you may get some ideas of tunes to learn.
- Tier 1 — Absolutely Core (Top 1–15)
- If you know these solidly, you will never be left out anywhere in the U.S.
- Tier 2 — National Standards (16–38)
- Extremely common; ranking order varies by region, but they are played throughout the US.
- Tier 3 — Widely Known, Regionally Weighted (39–50)
- Common nationally, but more dependent on local taste, jam size, or dance context.
There are no tunes on the site but there are links to other resources. I especially liked the Parlor Pickers Society site; I’ll feature them in a future email.
