Not every coffee house allows its customers to step foot on the main stage, let alone jam alongside the band performing, but Java Joe’s encourages it.

“If they play an instrument or sing, they can come in,” says Phyllis Leaverston, director of the Des Moines Community Jazz Center, which performs at Java Joe’s on the first Sunday of each month.

The jazz jam sessions are a good way to relax and have fun, she says.

“The nice thing about this is when students are competing all the time in their schools, this is a nice thing to come in and be with their peers and cheer each other on,” she says. “It’s just a good chance for them to be able to get together and just play for fun.”

The coffee shop, which is located at 214 4th St. in Des Moines, offers a variety of musical events including jazz, big band and Irish jam sessions, open mic nights and local and national acts.

Cyndy Coppola, co-owner of Java Joe’s, says the Irish jam nights are her favorite.

“Musicians are welcome to join in and usually they’ll sit in a circle and play all kinds of Irish music,” she says. “It’s truly acoustic because they don’t have any PA.”

The ongoing jam nights are nothing new – the Community Jazz Center has been performing at Java Joe’s for 11 years and Irish jam night has been a mainstay even longer.

“They have been doing it for over 13 years and we just make sure we don’t book anything else that night,” Coppola says.

The event attracts all kinds of people, including music teachers, students and those who just want to jam for fun, Coppola says.

State Rep. Ed Fallon is a regular at the Irish jam nights.

“I’ve been doing that for about 10 years, I guess,” he says. “Not every week, but when I’m not running around the state campaigning for governor I try to get there.”

Fallon plays an impressive collection of instruments, including the Irish whistle, Irish drum, accordion, piano, church organ and classical and folk guitars. His interest in this genre of music comes from his Irish grandparents, he says.

Fallon says the jam sessions at Java Joe’s are open to everyone and tend to be composed of about six people each month.

“Other than the fact that musicians don’t get to drink free like they do in Ireland, it’s very much like a traditional Irish jam session,” he says. “I guess one of the reasons I like playing there is I’m the least bald of most of the men playing.”

Other than the jam nights, Java Joe’s hosts local and national acts nearly every Friday and Saturday night.

Ranging from Americana folk and electric fusion to klezmer music and acoustic pop-rock, Coppola says Java Joe’s tends to fill up more when there is a local act.

“We find that we get better response to the local acts because they have friends and family and people know about them,” she says. “When Sheryl Crow came here – it was before she won her Grammy – and the place was only half full. No one knew who she was.”

Coppola says a very popular local band right now is Des Moines-based Little Mojo.

“They just have a lot of friends and family, and when they come, we staff an extra person,” she says.

Josh Sinclair, front man for Little Mojo, says he and his brother Nick got their start at Java Joe’s in 1998. At one point, the band was playing the coffee house about once a month, but with its latest touring schedule, he says it’s about once every three months.

“It’s always been a cool venue and a great place for people to catch bands or just hang,” he says. “Plus, it’s right downtown.”

Sinclair says one of the best qualities about Java Joe’s is the intimacy of the venue.

“We’ve always dug that about Java Joe’s, and we make sure to let the crowd know that it’s all good if they get nice and close to the front – especially the ladies,” he says.

Sinclair says Little Mojo keeps coming back to Java Joe’s for a couple of reasons.

“It’s a beautiful place – the crowds are awesome, the staff has always been great to us and it’s always a sweet venue to perform in when we’re back in our hometown,” he says. “Places like Java Joe’s have given us the opportunity to hone our songwriting and performance skills in a very intimate setting.”