The Great 48 Jam

SAVE THE DATE! January 15-18, 2026
Room reservations for CBA Members will open on September 1, 2025

The Great 48 Bluegrass Jam is returning to the Bakersfield Marriott hotel Thursday, January 15 through Sunday, January 18. This four-day event is packed with hosted and free-form jams, instructional workshops, open mic opportunities and performances.

Room reservations will open on September 1 for CBA members (as well as current members of other represented bluegrass associations), and September 15 for the general public. You will find the code for the discounted CBA room rate on this page.  Mark your calendar now, since rooms typically sell out quickly.

ALL ACCESS PASS

In past years, the Great 48 jam has been a free event, with CBA paying the bills through sponsorships and donations.  But with significant increases in the costs for facilities and insurance, and also considering our commitment to support performers and instructors fairly, we’ll be asking attendees to purchase an “all access pass” wristband. The cost for the full event is $20 for members and $25 for non-members.  This will entitle you to attend ALL the hosted jams, an open mic show, performances, master class sessions and other activities.  This small fee will allow the CBA to continue producing this very popular event. The pass will be available on-line starting September 1, and on-site at the event.  This page will be updated as the full event schedule is finalized.

JAM CLASSES RETURN

Gail and Mike Thomas will be returning with their very popular Wernick multi-benefit “how to jam” classes.  The Wernick Method classes provide students with the knowledge on how jamming is done, with hands-on practice playing bluegrass with other people.  This is a three-hour class, and will be offered at four separate times between Thursday and Saturday. Class size is restricted to a maximum of 12 participants per session. Tuition is $60 for the class, and can be purchased online in advance, or at the event (unless it’s sold out).  The registration link will be posted here on September 1.

“Our Great 48 team is busy putting the Workshop and Classes schedules together. Please visit this page after September 1 for the updated details.”

Take the Jam Train
Jam with your friends ridin’ on the San Joaquins from points North to Bakersfield!
We’ll post the specific “jam” train routes as soon as they are available.
2025 AMTRAK SAN JOAQUINS SCHEDULE   (This link points to routes currently in service which typically don’t change much.  However, the official January 2026 AMTRAK schedule is not yet available on Amtrak).