Back in Business
Well folks, we are a quarter of the way through the year and BUMS jams have taken off extremely well.
We had four jams in two weeks in early December and showed what we could do. Sadly, our usual BIG end of year jams were not possible. At Coorparoo, we had a “Not-JingleBUMS” jam. The Northside Christmas Extravaganza was split into two jams at Ferny Grove and Wavell Heights.
January took the wind out of our sails when we were forced to cancel Westside and Ferny Grove jams because of the short Greater Brisbane COVID lockdown. But since then, we’ve been flying high. Each of our jams has a different style and format. We welcome BUMS financial members, all ukulele players and spectators.
Cooparoo
The jams in February and March were booked solid, with maximum capacity of 50 spectators and 10 performers/crew.
There is a bar but no food at the Bowls Club but you are welcome to bring your own food. The jam has three sets of songs each run by a different leader/band. Usually, the first set contains well known songs with straightforward chords. The second two sets will include more challenging songs. We encourage open mic performers to strut their stuff too. If you would like to lead a set or do an open mic contact Max Borchardt on ">
Westside (Sinnamon Park)
The jam has a capacity of 45 players and five crew and has been fully booked in February and March. Moves are afoot to increase the maximum capacity.
It’s our only daytime jam at present and attracts an older audience. There is a café at the Rosemount Community Centre where coffee, snacks and delicious cakes are served. The whole jam is led by Sue and Peter Sercombe. They have a gradually expanding repertoire of about 150 songs which they rotate over a six-month period. They take requests for new songs and welcome open mic performers. You can contact Sue and Peter on ">
Ferny Grove
The jam has a capacity of 50 players plus crew and was full in February and March.
There is a bistro at the Ferny Grove Bowls and Sport and Community Club which serves evening meals, coffee and snacks and there is a full-service bar. The whole jam is led by Linda Gough and Paul Morris who have a vast repertoire of well-known songs that most players will enjoy. They welcome open mic performers. You can contact Linda on ">
Northside (Wavell Heights)
The jam has a capacity of 60 plus crew and was fully booked in February and March.
There is a bar but no food at the Northern Suburbs Bowls Club (Wavell Heights) but you are welcome to bring your own food. The jam has three sets of songs each run by a different leader/band. Usually, the first set contains well known songs with straightforward chords. The second two sets will include more challenging songs. We have occasional open mic performers too. The jam is run by Andrew Hunt and Peter Grace. If you would like to lead a set or do an open mic contact Peter on ">
For more details of our jams see the BUMS website at News and Events/Jams About Town.
Booking process
Our experience with our COVID-safe jams is that most people make their bookings on Trybooking within hours of the invitation email landing in their in-box. We operate a waiting list for people who didn’t get a ticket in the initial allocation. We encourage people who book a ticket and then can’t come to let us know so that all seats get filled on the night.
New players
It’s great to see familiar faces at each jam and we welcome newcomers to our BUMS community. Sue reported that one new member turned up at the Westside Jam, and after it was over, he told her, he’d be blocking out this time in his calendar from now on, as he had so much fun.
So, there you have it – BUMS bounces back in business. We set out initially to offer at least one jam a week to our members and would-be-members. And that is what we have achieved. We are also conscious that we need different levels of songs, and we are encouraging set leaders to include playable titles. Even so, it is nice to stretch our abilities. A big thanks to the jam coordinators Peter and Sue Sercombe, Linda Gough and Paul Morris, Peter Grace and Andrew Hunt, and Max Borchardt.
