jams 2026-08 funkiest week from Thursday thru Monday
Generally, BYO axe or sticks, house set first hour, full backline. Sites like gloryjams or jamthebay can help you find exact addresses and genres.
This week, check out some of the funkiest jams I've attended:
- Mondays at Tupelo, Grant x Vallejo, arrive 9pm, keys are backlined, inspiration lists here. This week is neosoul-adjacent and next week is soul/yacht-adjacent, but both weeks' house bands can hang on either a Steely Dan or a D'Angelo tune.
- Thursdays at Starry Plough, in East Bay by a subway station, keys, 9pm *(exception: house set pretty long and pretty spectacular)
- Sundays at Swig Bar, Geary x Taylor, no keys, 8pm, as jazzy or as funky as you want to call it
the under 21-friendly
- Sundays at Pier 23 Restaurant, Embarcadero x Greenwich, 4pm, upright piano against the wall, blues only (plus some jamgrass and JJ Cale on 5th Sundays, definitely going for that)
- Sundays at Artichoke Pizzeria Oakland, 8:30pm, keys, billed as live band karaoke, all RnB/jazz/funk-capable musicians
- Wednesdays at Ocean Ale House, 7pm, Grand piano, straight ahead jazz only
There are 20 other open jams happening in SF, Oakland, and Berkeley during this time. https://photos.app.goo.gl/2qY2z9X6dsf2419M9 might give you some inspiration.
I did not find all the above details on the internet. Go outside.
Locals
I don't publish my jam list online, but some of you have screenshots or lithographs of an old edition. We're not all looking for the same things at a jam, so tell me exactly what you're looking for and I'll send you the top 3 recs.
1) find a jam you might dig on gloryjams.com or jamthebay.com
2) practice two songs by yourself with some kind of jammable app like iReal or band in a box... Doesn't matter what the apps are, just as long as you don't practice on humans (the house bands) first.
3) watch a full set and watch the house set before you attempt to get in the queue.
4) identify the person who is running the queue and introduce yourself to them, tell them what you play, and tell them if you're comfortable with the house genre (answer is yes because you did steps 2 and 3)
5) during your songs: make eye contact a couple bars before each A part or B part is ending. (Yes, I've let my nerves get in the way and forgotten to look up about a dozen times this week - once or twice in front of Yohannes Tona!) And figure out how to get the rhythm section's attention at the right time, if they're not watching you.
Concerts and Soundtracks and Song Shares:
More funk: Let's go watch Greyboy Allstars in the Castro 8/28 . A few jammy friends from the funk band Mangobus are already going!
VG music: for SJ folks who can come to the city one Sunday a month: find me for an invite to the VGJ jam chat. The jammers are mostly South Bay and host a dozen anime/soundtrack/VGJ events in South Bay.
Songwriters: talk to me about the informal Tuesday session in a closed studio off Geary. We get 1.5 takes and ~30 min from start to finish to cut a real song. The time pressure helps us let go and stop fighting our primal instincts. Bring a song with at least one verse and chorus, and put it in the group's hands. Tommy mixes and cuts a track on the spot.
More?
Make sure that I have your email address so I can give you the full updated list next month. Please tell me if you can stay up late on weeknights in Oakland and Berkeley, which will open up about half the list for you.