A bit of info about us. 

OPBSC is about getting people together to play music and create a vibrant musical community in Seattle and the PNW in general. We currently have about 150 paying members with an average age of about 37. We have a split of about 75% male 25% female. 

The membership is musically diverse - bluegrass is the heavy favorite, but we also support Irish traditional music, traditional folk music, gypsy jazz, and pretty much anything else you can sit around a table and play. Here's a link to some of the basics https://www.outlandersbluegrass.org/our-mission.

To accomplish our goals, we do a few things:

1. Sponsoring and hosting weekly jams. 

We currently host 4 weekly open bluegrass jams for anyone who's interested on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. On average we get about 10 - 15 participants per jam playing and a good audience listening. These jams range in skill level (more on that here https://www.outlandersbluegrass.org/jam-guidelines) with a goal of having a jam for everyone - from beginners through advanced players. 

We have 1 monthly all female jam open to female identifying performers. This is new, but we're hoping to see this grow more. Given that bluegrass jams are often primarily male performers - we see this as an important push to help level out the field a bit. We've gotten A LOT of interest, so I'm really hoping this goes to a weekly event. The first one will be coming up next week - so I may have more details on that. 

We're also working with other local areas (Tacoma, Bellingham, Everett, North Bend) that do not have a local organization to help them get started. We're hoping to launch these "satellite" jams next year. 

2. Education

Last year was our membership push as we just incorporated in January 2024. This year, the prime focus is on education.

First, we're launching an "introduction to bluegrass jamming" course. This will be a paid course with a 15 - 20 person cap (depending on the space availability). We're working with Dusty Strings (local music shop) as well - which hopefully will help in more sponsorships from them. The course is targeting folks that can play a bit but aren't "ready" for a public jam - essentially encourage them and give them tools to participate better.  The plan is to use this money to help create an ongoing revenue source for the group while bringing in new players. 

Second, we're starting to reach out to the local colleges (UW primarily) as well as high schools (via our high school members) to sponsor school jams and shows. This involves an instrument donation / lending program, helping book shows, and "band coaching". Students also get discounted or free memberships to help encourage them to join and participate. 

3. Working with local organizations

We're currently involved at some level with many similar local-ish organizations. This includes Wintergrass, Darrington Bluegrass Festival, North Cascade Bluegrass Festival, Oregon Bluegrass Association, Cascade Bluegrass Association, California Bluegrass Association, and others. The main purpose in working with these organizations is to promote "band exchanges" (i.e. if a band from CA wanted to come to WA, we can help book the show and provide an opener etc) and help our respective members find bluegrass jams and shows when traveling. 

At the festivals we also host "instrument petting zoos" that allow kids and adults to try instruments with an instructor nearby to help answer questions. We also put on the Outlanders Outpost where we host workshops (either led by performing bands or Outlanders members), jams, free / donation based pancake breakfasts and dinners to foster community. 

4. Quarterly Variety Shows

We have a quarterly Outlander Opry which is essentially a variety show. We host 4 or 5 bands, workshops, and jams for one evening a quarter. These are free for anyone, but donations are of course welcome. The purpose of these is to showcase local / regional bands as well as bring some national talent in to help connect our scene to the larger scene. We generally have about 100 - 200 people at these events. 

That's a good overview of what we do today, but there's a lot more we have planned.