Trance Blues Festival

“We play in the trance blues style … anyone can play”
—Otis

Learn

Learn from the Visiting Artists in small interactive workshops. The focus is less on technical prowess and more on playing and creating music together in a group setting.

Play

The workshops and opening Friday night jam are designed for everyone to play. It’s a chorus of musical instruments. The Saturday night jam will feature the Visiting Artists and selected participants.

Listen

Friday and during the second set on Saturday, the Visiting Artists will perform in a jam setting. Some workshop participants will be invited to the main stage.

Want to play with a legend? Join international blues artist Otis Taylor in his hometown of Boulder, Colorado—the city nestled between the mountains and reality—for the extraordinary Trance Blues Jam Festival. Unlike traditional music festivals where the audience is mostly passive, you are the rock star at the Trance Blues Jam Festival (TBJF). TBJF encourages and inspires people to be active participants. The point is to create music together. Led by Taylor’s infectious mastery, fed by his band’s passion, and wed with your musical expression, the trance jam is where you get to live your musical dreams.

The TBJF is designed for players of all types, all ages, and all ability levels to join in. It’s all about creating music together, not someone showing how well they can shred the guitar. It doesn’t matter what you play. Last year’s festival included vocalists, guitars, harmonicas, oboes, banjos, flutes, cellos, drums, violins, recorders, tambourines, maracas, mandolins and more.

The festival kicks off with a professional jam on Saturday, November 7, 2015, with workshops during the day leading up to the Grand Jam in the evening. Fans and spectators are welcome at all events (with the purchase of a ticket, of course!).

Check out a jam session from the first Jam Festival