I met Ryan Carney for the first time on a chilly January evening at Flagship on the Fox in St. Charles. For a Monday night, the bar was rather busy — football fans were trickling in, gearing up for the National Championship game between Michigan and Washington.

But we weren’t there to watch sports. We were there to talk music.

It was music that initially connected the two of us, in fact. My Tri-Cities Central newsletter highlights every live music performance that happens in the Tri-Cities, while Ryan promotes open mics and jam sessions across the Fox Valley — attracting many of the same performers at the same venues we showcase in the newsletter every week.

Ryan’s idea for Fox Valley Jammers Club, a Facebook group that unites local musicians and aspiring performers around in-person open mics and jam sessions, originated as the world emerged from the initial COVID wave back in 2021.

People were itching to get out of the house, get together with friends and meet new people. As a local Realtor and passionate musician himself, Ryan felt it too — and eventually saw this collective feeling as an opportunity.

“A lot of people learned new talents during COVID. They improved their skills on their instruments. And they wanted to get out to showcase that,” Ryan said.

During those early-pandemic isolation days, he found himself putting his master's degree in classical string bass performance to use — spending a lot of time in his music studio, developing his ear training to cultivate his cello skills and improvise over anything.

Fox Valley Jammers Club is born

The old saying “timing is everything” may be cliché, but it certainly seems to apply in this case.

“It was kind of a perfect storm,” Ryan said. “I noticed that open mics and open jams were happening all over the place, but nobody really knew when or where they were. The schedules were often changing and each hosting venue was very siloed.”

For Carney, it was time to break those siloes. He noticed that a master list of weekly open jams didn’t exist, so he made one (initially for personal use). He started printing them and handing them out at the events he attended regularly.

Once that sparked a positive reception, he eventually evolved the list into a Facebook group to keep everyone updated and connected as the schedule was modified. That’s when the club took off.

“You’ve got to meet people where they’re at,” Ryan said. “It's a cool group where like-minded musicians can collaborate, support each other, share ideas, and give each other some confidence. It’s a very positive playground. I've met some absolutely amazing talent as well as newer musicians and people who are just picking up a guitar or drumsticks again after putting their instruments down for decades in some cases.”

Since Carney launched the group in March 2023, momentum has only continued to build. Much of Fox Valley Jammers Club’s success can be attributed to Ryan’s dedication — there are a lot of moving parts to keep track of, but in his telling, it’s a labor of love well worth the time and effort.

“I will let you in on a secret,” Ryan said. “I reach out to every single person who requests to join Fox Valley Jammers Club, personally through Messenger to say ‘Hey, I just wanted to personally welcome you, I appreciate you joining the group.’ I like to get a conversation going about what they came here to get, which is often the value of understanding what music exists around here and how they can fit into that.”

The community aspect is important. Whether a member is a seasoned performer or a young, aspiring musician looking to improve their craft, Ryan wants to ensure the vibe is welcoming, supportive and honest — without shying away from gentle, constructive criticism.

“I’d rather have the 650 people we have that are focused and really into it, versus 10,000 uninvolved people that water down the group and are not contributing or receiving value from the group,” Ryan said. “I just feel like the 650 members we have are absolutely on board, and it’s working great.”

The anatomy of an open jam

I’ll be honest; I’m a huge fan of live music and have attended countless shows, but I’m not super familiar with the open jam scene. That being said, the way Ryan describes them makes me want to start attending some sessions.

In organizing and managing these sessions, one of the critical functions that open mic and open jam hosts provide is making sure the session runs smoothly.

“There’s so much that goes into it,” Ryan said. “Anybody can be a weekend highlight. But if you want to create a legitimate open jam, and contribute value to the scene, it takes specific experience and skills to cultivate the right environment. Some venues aren’t naturally equipped for that.”

The way Carney explains it, for establishments that are new to the concept of hosting open mics and jams, it can be easy to underestimate the elements that contribute to growing a successful event, week after week.

“Every once in a while, we see them pop up and then discontinue after a short while — sometimes after only a couple months. It’s vitally important to have the right hosts with the right experience and the right gear,” Ryan said. “They have to know how to operate their sound systems well and how to manage people's expectations.”

Venues often define success by their ability to leverage these events to attract new and repeat patrons on an ongoing basis.

Ryan cited Pollyanna Brewing in St. Charles among others as an example of a venue that has the open jam thing down — but emphasized that every spot brings something unique to the table.

“All of the open jams are different. They all have their own life. They all have their own vibe,” Ryan said. “Some of them are small, silent listening rooms, and others get crazy and people have a good time…like there's hooting and hollering, and that's okay, too, because that's the vibe there.”

‘State of the union’ and what’s next

Speaking of Pollyanna, Ryan has partnered with the brewery and music venue to organize a special event for the Fox Valley Jammers community on Monday, February 5 alongside event co-host, Izzy Kucera, who operates the open jam at Bar Evolution in Batavia.

Think of it like a dinner party, but casual with a food truck…you know, brewery-style.

“We want to use this as an opportunity to set the table and get everyone’s expectations on the same page,” Ryan said. “It’s like a State of the Union. We’re calling it the State of the Open Jam.”

The purpose of the event is to give thanks and appreciation to all open jam venue operators and hosts across the Fox Valley who make the open jam scene possible.

Event details below:

Even with its rapid growth, Ryan made it clear that Fox Valley Jammers Club is focused on quality over quantity. The group’s rising popularity is a testament to the value it delivers to members, but much of that value is derived from its focus on community and the contributions of folks who are truly passionate and engaged.

“Musicians are improving. Friendships are blooming. Businesses are booming. And we're just getting started!” He said.

As a local Realtor, Carney’s professional life and role as the leader of the Fox Valley Jammers Club are two sides of the same coin — they’re both passions, and they’re both priorities.

“I love what I do, man. I really do,” Ryan said. “With real estate, I'm helping people move from where they're at to where they want to be. And not just physically but in their lives.”

Whether it’s through helping locals find and secure their perfect living situation or fostering a vibrant, welcoming music scene in the Fox Valley, investing in the community is clearly top of mind for Ryan, day in and day out.

I’m looking forward to seeing how that investment continues to grow and evolve.

📖 Thanks for reading

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