The Stage presents Jam Fest

Four days, $5, 10 bands. Need any more reasons to check out The Stage’s Jam Fest?

The Stage Miami, a live music venue in Midtown, will be holding its first annual Jam Fest, a four-day concert showcasing local bands and some from across the country.

Sophomore Bennet Blachar said The Stage, where he last saw The Heavy Pets, is his favorite place in Miami to watch shows. Other headliners at the venue have included Stokeswood and Bright Lights Social Hour.

“The feel and atmosphere are both awesome,” Blachar said.

Saturday attendees will get a taste of jam band music of the northeast. The genre involves improvisation and is rooted in rock music.

Hailing from Ithaca, N.Y., Jimkata is another band that will take the stage as part of their eight-week national tour. Lead singer Evan Friedell described Jimkata’s sound as electro-rock with elements of hip-hop.

“We try to bring a dance party every night,” Friedell said.

Aside from Jimkata, the festival is packed with local talent.

The Deerfield Beach-based band The Resolvers, which boasts a full-horn section, will kick off the festival on Thursday night.

“We call ourselves ‘big-band reggae’ with elements of Jamaican reggae and New Orleans big band,” vocalist and guitarist Ron Eisner said. “We’re trying to create a unique style of upbeat, crazy, party reggae.”

South Florida jam band Aquaphonics will play Saturday. What started as jam sessions and open mic nights, “just really clicked,” drummer and vocalist Jessiah Weston said.

Aquaphonics offers an unusual musical blend that Weston described as “jamtronica – a combination of electronica and jam band sound.”

Weston said that their performances are all about finding a connection with the audience.

“It’s not the same everyday show,” Weston said. “We are definitely an energy-based band.”

The festival will end Sunday with a free performance by Electric Piquete. They are known for improvising, in the tradition of jam band music.

“We are ideal for Jam Fest because our songs very much came from jam music and are heavily based on improvisation,” Electric Piquete’s Michael Mut said.

Mut called performances at The Stage “refreshing and unconventional” because the venue is focused on the music and the art scene.

“You’re not just the background entertainment,” he said.

If You Go

What: JamFest

Where: The Stage, 170 NE 38th St., Miami

When: Thursday – Sunday

Cost: $5

For more information about the schedule and line-up, visit thestagemiami.com.