Every week, the Sand Dollar Lounge turns its stage over to the Blues Society Jam, a late-night gathering hosted by the local nonprofit that's been keeping Southern Nevada's blues scene alive for more than three decades. Musicians of all stripes wander in with their guitars and harmonicas, trading verses and solos in the kind of loose, unscripted format that jams are built for — one song bleeding into the next as players rotate through the lineup.

The Sand Dollar itself sets the mood before a single note is played. This is the bar where Muddy Waters and B.B. King once performed, and the room still carries that lived-in, smoky-lounge feel that makes blues sound the way it's supposed to. With no cover charge and doors open past midnight, it's an easy spot to post up with a drink and let the twelve-bar shuffle carry the night, whether you came to play or just to listen.