Kim Alexander, Jamvangelist
Since 2015, Kim Alexander has led the Strawberry Music Festival “Learn to Jam!” workshop, sharing tips and leading songs to help Strawberrians engage in the jamming experience.
Raised in a musical family, Kim grew up on hootenannies and folk music. In 2005, Kim began leading music jams at bars and taprooms in the Sacramento area. She attended her first Strawberry in 2008, where her appreciation of jamming was greatly expanded through participating in legendary, all-night camp jams.
She realized that while many people love to sing and know how to make music, others refrain from doing so out of shyness, fear and uncertainty. After developing some jamming tips and workshop ideas, she reached out to Pete Seeger for guidance.
Her jamvangelism is inspired from a 2014 letter she received from Pete, which arrived in her mailbox the day after he died, urging her to “stay well and keep on” and suggesting she turn her jamming tips into a pamphlet to share with others. With help from artists and graphic designers, she developed the “Learn to Jam” pamphlet and corresponding workshop.
Knowing that making music is one of the most joyous and connective activities humans can engage in, Kim’s workshop helps players gain the skills needed to participate in music jams, explaining the subtle but important cues and “jamiquette” that help music jams flow and sound good.
Kim is also a KVMR-FM volunteer broadcaster and produces the early Saturday morning “Radio Jam” show every four weeks, featuring songs people play in jams and sharing keys and chords on the air and her show playlists, online at www.kvmr.org/show/radio-jam.
