Arlington resident John O’Malley, 65, sings under a spotlight during a weekly jam session Jan. 29 at the F6 Art Lounge. The jam sessions began in 2024 and are held every Thursday.
Thursday nights at F6 Art Lounge have a beating heart.
Each week, a small crowd gathers in the softly-lit studio space inside the gallery to play music together. These jam sessions are fluid and open. Genres switch from one song to the next, and anyone is welcome to join.
The night starts slow, with melodies thrown around to warm up. As people begin showing up, the rhythm picks up. Someone might be listening one second, then up on stage the next.
“People come walking in and everybody says, ‘Well, can you sing?’” said Mike Smith, owner of F6 Art Lounge. “‘You want to jump up here? What do you play?’ And then next thing you know say, ‘Well, let’s try it.’”
As a flow sets in, people feel more comfortable being a part of the jam. There are various handheld instruments, such as tambourines and maracas, for a more subtle way to join.
“Definitely like adrenaline rush at first, and then it settles as you kind of get to the groove of it,” said Dallas resident Olivia Hughes, who got up and sang Feb. 5.
As Hughes sang “Come Together” by The Beatles, others at the session joined in with their own instruments, including drums, guitar and piano.
Owner Mike Smith, 68, plays a bass guitar during the Jan. 29 jam session at F6 Art Lounge in Arlington. Smith said he’s been in the printing business and has played music throughout his life.
Thursday night jam sessions became a staple for F6 Art Lounge in 2024. Since then, the events have attracted individuals of all ages, from 18 to 80 years old.
“We have three generations that come in and hang out together and express themselves through music and really collaborate,” Smith said.
Music education senior Jorge Covarrubias has been coming to jam sessions frequently since the lounge’s inception. The community built on Thursday nights isn’t just limited to music majors, as Covarrubias said he sees business, science and other majors attend as well.
“It’s just like a big revolving door,” he said. “Sometimes you see a familiar face for one or two weeks, they drop for two weeks, and then they come back. Or you just see new people come in and out, so it’s pretty awesome.”
Local musicians perform during a weekly jam session Jan. 29 at the F6 Art Lounge in Arlington. Mike Smith, a staple of the local community, established the gallery in 2007.
Kayli Nauls, sustainable urban design major, played the piano Feb. 5. Nauls discovered the jam sessions in the fall while walking around downtown Arlington with her organization, Walkable Arlington. She said it’s something she looks forward to each week as long as she’s not busy with homework.
“Having a place to play music and practice, and also having that community,” she said. “It’s not work, it’s not home, it’s not school. It’s something different.”
Jazz studies major Bre Hardin said she has been attending jam sessions since close to when they started. Hardin was able to get a job at the gallery and now plays in the gallery’s house band, Echos on West Main.
“There’s not a whole lot of spaces left or seen as much that you can find a 60-year-old, 70-year-old white guy playing with a 20-year-old Black girl,” she said. “That’s basically me and Mike’s relationship together. We play that music together, and it’s really fun.”
Paintings of family members by artist Connie Hall are displayed on the walls of the F6 Art Lounge on Jan. 29. Hall’s artwork at the gallery is from their “Lawn Chair” series.
The crowd is supportive and engaged as the jam session continues. The energy can shift from singing along to a classic song like “American Pie” by Don McLean to listening to an alternative cover of “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye.
“This is a very collaborative effort,” said Charles Kennedy, a painter featured at the gallery who frequents jam sessions. “People all seem to feed off of one another, musically.”
Smith makes an effort to include anyone who attends a jam session. He said people have gotten up on the stage with an instrument they’ve never played, and he gave them the space to try it out.
“That person just had an experience,” Smith said. “A big experience and you don’t even realize the big experience. They sat on a stage, never played music, and they’re on a stage with an instrument making noise come out.”
Smith said music is a universal language that brings people together in a space where mistakes are OK. He said there are no parameters on what kind of musician can perform, from the weakest to the strongest.
“There’s nothing perfect about a Thursday night,” he said. “But there are moments that are wonderful.”
@hud4qureshi