Jammin’ at Starbucks Tuesday Jams Moves from Jazzman’s to Starbucks

Tuesday Jams, the weekly event held in the Johnson Center’s Jazzman’s Café, has a new home this semester.

On Jan. 19, Mason senior Vincent Lacsamana became the first musician to play Tuesday Jams at the Starbucks in Northern Neck, where it will now be hosted on a regular basis outside of the popular coffee outlet.

Addison Brown, a sophomore administration of justice major and chair of the George Mason Concert Committee, said the decision to transfer the event was made last fall in response to the increased student focus on Starbucks, which detracted from patronage at Jazzman’s.

“We all decided it was for the best,” Brown said of the committee. “Tuesday Jams wasn’t well represented or well known. We wanted to make it more visible, so we put it somewhere with higher traffic where a greater number of students will have the opportunity to enjoy it.”

Brown came up with the idea last semester, when he noticed how many students were frequenting the newly opened Starbucks.“Starbucks has just opened up,” Brown said. “And in my experience, Jazzman’s does not get a lot of foot traffic.

With Northern Neck housing being right there by Starbucks, more people are present. I thought I’d have to jump through a lot of hoops to get Tuesday Jams moved, but it was really easy. The Starbucks people liked it, and the performers are excited because more people get to see them.”

Rona Loscano, who has been the manager of Northern Neck’s Starbucks since it opened last August, echoed Brown’s enthusiasm.“We’re always eager to get different campus organizations involved with Starbucks,” Loscano said. “Whether it’s fundraising, donating coffee to [the] Catholic Campus Ministry or doing other things. The company is very much into community, and musical nights are already a part of the Starbucks culture.”

Loscano predicted that the transfer of Tuesday Jams will increase the number of students who come to Starbucks, something she believed her team could capitalize on.“Some of the people coming for Tuesday Jams might not be regular Starbucks customers,” she said. “So we might try more interactive marketing, [like] sending out employees with free samples and things like that.”

In cases of inclement weather, Tuesday Jams will be held in Jazzman’s.
Mason students should not count Jazzman’s out just yet, though; two new locations opened on campus at the start of the spring semester, one in the School of Art Building and the other in Fenwick Library.

“We’re hoping it will prove to be popular and convenient,” said Associate University Librarian Craig Gibson. “It’s a nice feature, and many libraries have coffee shops these days.”

As for competition from Starbucks, Gibson is not worried. “Coffee is coffee,” he said. “If people are studying, this is good for them. It’s something we’ve wanted for a while.” Students interested in performing at Tuesday Jams can contact Program Board at pbmusic@gmu.edu.