Welcome to 5^th Saturdays at the Two Way Street Coffee House!  Saturdays are special!  An extra Saturday in a month comes around only a few times a year, so we decided to commemorate each one with a special event.  5^th Saturdays in 2026 occur in January, May, August and November.

For our January  event, Two Way Street Coffee House, in partnership with the Plank Road Folk Music Society, is pleased to present a guitar workshop with Jim Bizer on  January 31, 2026 from 11am-1pm.

This event will be in-person only.  The admission price for each workshop is $25 per participant and will be limited to 25 in-person attendees.

The registration deadline is January 26, 2026.  

Jim Bizer’s Guitar Quirkshop

January 31, 2026  – 11am to 1pm

Join Jim as he shares some simple techniques and ideas to spice up your playing.  The guitar is an amazing instrument, capable of so many things – melody, harmony, chords, counterpoint, percussion – just to name a few.  We’ll explore bits of these things and how to use them to add a little “quirk” to your guitaring.

Jim Bizer is a lifelong musician, working professionally since age 14.  He’s an award-winning songwriter, but he’s also spent years as a cover musician performing almost every style imaginable (which has been quite an education).  He’s an in-demand session musician, producer and arranger, he’s composed music for TV and radio.  He LOVES to play the guitar.

ABOUT JIM BIZER

Gigging since age 14 and a career musician all of his adult life, Jim’s been around the musical block. He’s an accomplished musician, with a comfortable, deep groove and a restless imagination. His songs are a unique blend of humor, catchy melodies, and his own personal view of the essential craziness of being human.

Growing up in Detroit, Jim was exposed to (and fascinated by) a widely varied spectrum of music. Educated on French horn, self-taught on guitar and piano, he studied music theory at the University of Michigan before embarking on an equally varied music career:­ “cover” musician, session player, composer for radio spots and a weekly television series. A songwriter since his early teens, it took some time before Jim made this his primary focus – once he did, his songs quickly earned accolades: he’s been a winner or finalist in numerous national songwriting competitions.

Jim recently released his third solo recording, About Time; a collection of some brand-new songs and some tunes that Jim has waited some time to record – simultaneously a look back and a journey forward.  It’s had an enthusiastic reception from fans, radio DJs, and fellow musicians.  About Time joins his earlier classic releases: Closer To The Surface, twelve songs of love, life, insanity and natural disasters; and Connected, with another dozen of Jim’s remarkable songs, including the award-winning “We Are All Connected”.

In addition to his solo career, Jim creates and performs with his longtime friend and collaborator, Jan Krist. Together, they have produced two recordings: “Influence”and “Too”. Both Jim & Jan are part of The Yellow Room Gang, a songwriters’ collective featuring several well-known Michigan performers. Four Yellow Room Gang CDs, with songs from all the members, are now available.

And he doesn’t stop there – Jim, Jan and Jan’s husband Alan have joined forces with the popular roots duo Annie & Rod Capps to form the powerhouse band Diamonds in the Rust.  Jim has also been a pivotal member of the rollicking folk/roots-rock/slightly bluegrassy/party gospel band Floyd King & the Bushwackers. And he’s a sideman for various other Detroit area musical aggregations. In addition to his performing career, he leads songwriting and guitar workshops and hosts MAMA’s Coffeehouse, a monthly acoustic music concert series in suburban Detroit.

After you register and purchase your tickets, you will receive a receipt from Paypal.  A reminder email with any pertinent details or materials will go out a day or two before the workshop.  Email questions to twowaystreetcoffeehouse@gmail.com. Register at www.twowaystreet.org.