Create the community you want

When you live in Salem, playing in an old time jam or Irish session means getting in the car and driving 30-45 minutes. Every other Thursday, I carpool to Tim Rowell's jam at the Real School of Music. Once, when sharing the car with three other old time enthusiasts from the North Shore, I suggested that we should just start our own jam at home.

And so every other Monday from 6:00 to 8:00 we sit by the new ship ribs on Derby Wharf and play music as sunny afternoons turn to dusk. Tourists and local dog walkers pass by, occasionally pausing to listen, but it feels as if we are in our own world, a bubble separating us from the people and passing time of the world outside. The "Salem Jamlet," as one of the founding members calls it, has met four times so far, and Scratch Kitchen down the road has offered to host us when the weather gets too cold for playing outside. If you live on the North Shore, come by with your instrument and play along two weeks from today!

When I moved to Salem four years ago, I would often walk down this very wharf alone and wish for community. It is amazing to see what comes from the seeds we plant in our hearts.