Just got back from attending Fred Sokolow's Acoustic Blues Jam at McCabe's, and I'm so excited - I had a great time!
I was the only uke there tonight - there were 2 harmonicas, a banjo, and several guitars. We played a number of blues tunes in mostly uke-friendly keys - C, D, and A mostly, with a couple songs in E. No chord charts or sheet music was involved; for each song, Fred would walk us through the progression once or twice and after that, it was a matter of relying on memory, playing by ear, or - in my case - a little of both :)
It was really fun and not intimidating at all, and a real change from the more intricate ensemble pieces that we usually play. I had been worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up, but I did just fine. I might even be brave enough to solo the next time... that is, as long as the song isn't in E :)
This group meets Wednesdays, 8-9:30pm, and you can pay on a per-sesson basis ($25) - no need to sign up for the whole series. The next meeting is not until 6/5 (and I think there are 3 more meetings after that). I'm planning to go, and I'd encourage any ensemble players who want to break away from their stack of sheet music to attend.