Imagine spending four hours on a Sunday afternoon just fiddling, picking, and singing with people who share your love of bluegrass and old-time music.

The Capital Area Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association — CABOMA — brings you those afternoons.

We gather twice a month from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., on each second and fourth Sunday, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Virginia, 4444 Arlington Boulevard, 22204. Enter the church at the top level and head downstairs. Nonmembers are welcome to give us a try. We hope you will want to join.

• 2-3 pm slow jam* (large room)
• 2-6 pm all speeds (library, small room, and large room after 3 pm)

*Slow jam is open to players and singers at all levels. It’s great for beginners, but it’s also for anyone to warm up, play at a comfortable speed, try out new licks, and explore new approaches to songs normally played faster. We also share news, answer questions, and offer pointers on playing and singing in a group. It’s led by experienced musicians and jammers who can help acclimate you to playing around others.  

Musicians of all levels — from beginner to accomplished amateur to pro — come to CABOMA jams. They play the classics, including ones you may not know, new tunes, and new takes on old ones, in a range of styles. The church gives us 3 rooms so we can break up into smaller groups to focus on bluegrass or old-time music, and mingle.

A nonprofit, we have been dedicated since 1978 to promoting and preserving bluegrass and old-time music—music that has a unique and special history in the Washington–Baltimore corridor just as it does along the Crooked Road of Southwest Virginia.

If you want to know more about the music, come and listen. If you already play, come to our jams. We hope you have a good time and decide to join for more bluegrass and old-time jamming.