Vol. 1 — No. 14Weekend Episode · Thu–Sun, Sep 17–20, 2026 · South Knoxville, TN★ soknoear.com
Vol. 1 — No. 14 · Sep 17–20★ soknoear.com
The South Knoxville Ear — We Hear Things.
Wanna party in the Dirty South?
★ Tonight's plan: happy hours → music → karaoke →
Ijams ParkSun

The third-Sunday bluegrass jam is free, and you don't have to play

Three hours of open acoustic jamming at Ijams Park with the East Tennessee Bluegrass Association. Any skill level, no cover, and chairs already set out for the people who only came to listen.

Third Sunday, every month

The East Tennessee Bluegrass Association and Ijams Park have run a community jam on the third Sunday of the month for a few years now, and this Sunday is the third Sunday. Two to five, free, open to anyone. All skill levels are welcome, which in a jam circle is a real statement rather than a polite one.

When
Sun Sep 20 · 2–5 PM
Where
Ijams Park Visitor Center · 2915 Island Home Ave
Cost
Free and open to the public
Bring
Any acoustic bluegrass instrument — no harmonicas or spoons
Skill level
All of them
Just listening?
Chairs are set out; that counts as attending
How often
Every third Sunday

The rules, such as they are

Bring any acoustic bluegrass instrument. The one stated exception is harmonicas and spoons, which are not currently part of it. And if you do not play anything at all, come anyway — the association sets chairs out and says so directly. An afternoon of live string-band music for nothing is a decent way to close a weekend.

In colder months the jam moves inside the Visitor Center. In September it is still the good version. More about the association, including how to get on their list, is at ETNBA.org.

Original Dirty South Map Found

Click to see the original map of Knoxville’s Dirty South that was recently unearthed for the public to see.

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