diff --git a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby.rb b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby.rb
index 141cff16b..76d2e8e02 100755
--- a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby.rb
+++ b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby.rb
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@ require "jam_ruby/lib/s3_util"
 require "jam_ruby/lib/s3_manager"
 require "jam_ruby/lib/profanity"
 require "jam_ruby/lib/json_validator"
-require "jam_ruby/lib/em_helper.rb"
-require "jam_ruby/lib/nav.rb"
+require "jam_ruby/lib/em_helper"
+require "jam_ruby/lib/nav"
 require "jam_ruby/resque/audiomixer"
 require "jam_ruby/resque/icecast_config_writer"
 require "jam_ruby/resque/resque_hooks"
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ require "jam_ruby/app/uploaders/mix_uploader"
 require "jam_ruby/app/uploaders/music_notation_uploader"
 require "jam_ruby/lib/desk_multipass"
 require "jam_ruby/amqp/amqp_connection_manager"
+require "jam_ruby/database"
 require "jam_ruby/message_factory"
 require "jam_ruby/models/feedback"
 require "jam_ruby/models/feedback_observer"
diff --git a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/constants/validation_messages.rb b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/constants/validation_messages.rb
index 20edf028d..724eb5680 100644
--- a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/constants/validation_messages.rb
+++ b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/constants/validation_messages.rb
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ module ValidationMessages
   # music sessions
   MUST_BE_A_MUSICIAN = "must be a musician"
   CLAIMED_RECORDING_ALREADY_IN_PROGRESS = "already started by someone else"
+  MUST_BE_KNOWN_TIMEZONE = "not valid"
 
   # notification
   DIFFERENT_SOURCE_TARGET = 'can\'t be same as the sender'
diff --git a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/database.rb b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/database.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..25f7098bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/database.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+module JamRuby
+  # creates messages (implementation: protocol buffer) objects cleanly
+  class Database
+
+
+    #def self.db_timezone
+    #  @@db_timezone ||= TZInfo::Timezone.get(fetch_db_timezone)
+    #end
+
+    def self.db_timezone
+      @@db_timezone ||= ActiveSupport::TimeZone.new(fetch_db_timezone)
+    end
+
+    def self.fetch_db_timezone
+      result = ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute('show timezone')
+      tz = result.getvalue(0, 0)
+      result.clear
+      tz
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/music_session.rb b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/music_session.rb
index ae4fcdec6..a2b57874c 100644
--- a/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/music_session.rb
+++ b/ruby/lib/jam_ruby/models/music_session.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ module JamRuby
 
     RECURRING_MODES = [NO_RECURRING, RECURRING_WEEKLY]
 
-    attr_accessor :legal_terms, :language_description, :scheduled_start_time, :access_description
+    attr_accessor :legal_terms, :language_description, :access_description
 
     attr_accessor :approved_rsvps, :open_slots, :pending_invitations
 
@@ -49,10 +49,15 @@ module JamRuby
     validates :is_unstructured_rsvp, :inclusion => {:in => [true, false]}
     validates :legal_terms, :inclusion => {:in => [true]}, :on => :create
     validates :creator, :presence => true
+    validates :timezone, presence: true, if: Proc.new { |session| session.scheduled_start }
+    validates :scheduled_duration, presence: true, if: Proc.new { |session| session.scheduled_start }
+
     validate :creator_is_musician
+    validate :validate_timezone
 
     before_create :generate_share_token
     before_create :add_to_feed
+    #before_save   :update_scheduled_start
 
     SHARE_TOKEN_LENGTH = 8
 
@@ -63,6 +68,15 @@ module JamRuby
       feed.music_session = self
     end
 
+
+    def update_scheduled_start
+
+      # it's very important that this only run if timezone changes, or scheduled_start changes
+      if self.scheduled_start && (self.scheduled_start_changed? || self.timezone_changed?)
+        self.scheduled_start = MusicSession.parse_scheduled_start(self.scheduled_start, self.timezone)
+      end
+    end
+
     def comment_count
       self.comments.size
     end
@@ -246,7 +260,7 @@ module JamRuby
                                 where rr.user_id = '#{user.id}'
                               )
                             )}
-                        )
+                        ).order(:scheduled_start)
     end
 
     def self.create user, options
@@ -270,8 +284,7 @@ module JamRuby
       ms.open_rsvps         = options[:open_rsvps] if options[:open_rsvps]
       ms.creator            = user
       ms.is_unstructured_rsvp = options[:isUnstructuredRsvp] if options[:isUnstructuredRsvp]
-      ms.scheduled_start    = options[:start]
-      ms.scheduled_start    = parse_scheduled_start(ms.scheduled_start, ms.timezone)
+      ms.scheduled_start    = parse_scheduled_start(options[:start], options[:timezone]) if options[:start] && options[:timezone]
 
       ms.save
 
@@ -439,14 +452,6 @@ module JamRuby
       tz
     end
 
-    def scheduled_start_time
-      unless self.scheduled_start.nil?
-        self.scheduled_start.utc.strftime "%a %e %B %Y"
-      else
-        ""
-      end
-    end
-
     def scheduled_end_time
       
     end
@@ -708,7 +713,7 @@ module JamRuby
       [music_sessions, user_scores]
     end
 
-    # converts the passed scheduled_start into the UTC using the specified timezone offset.
+    # converts the passed scheduled_start into the database timezone using the specified timezone offset.
     # timezone comes in as TIMEZONE DISPLAY, TIMEZONE ID
     def self.parse_scheduled_start(scheduled_start, timezone_param)
 
@@ -718,14 +723,94 @@ module JamRuby
         index = timezone_param.rindex(',')
         if index
           tz_identifier = timezone_param[(index + 1)..-1]
-          timezone = TZInfo::Timezone.get(tz_identifier)
-          result = timezone.local_to_utc(scheduled_start, true)
+          begin
+            timezone = ActiveSupport::TimeZone.new(tz_identifier)
+          rescue Exception => e
+            @@log.error("unable to find timezone=#{tz_identifier}, e=#{e}")
+          end
+
+          if timezone
+            begin
+              # first convert the time provided, and convert to the specified timezone (local_to_utc)
+              # then, convert that to the system timezone, under the ASSUMPTION that the database is configured to use the system timezone
+              # you can get into trouble if your dev database is not using the system timezone of the web machine
+
+              result = timezone.parse(scheduled_start)
+            rescue Exception => e
+              @@log.error("unable to convert #{scheduled_start} to #{timezone}, e=#{e}")
+              puts "unable to convert #{scheduled_start} to #{timezone}, e=#{e}"
+            end
+          end
         end
       end
 
       result
     end
 
+    def scheduled_start_time
+      if scheduled_start
+        scheduled_start.utc.strftime "%a %e %B %Y"
+      else
+        ""
+      end
+    end
+
+    # should create a timestamp like:
+    #
+    # with_timezone = TRUE
+    # Tuesday, April 29, 8:00-9:00 PM TIMEZONE (where TIMEZONE is the TIMEZONE defined in the MusicSession when it was created)
+    #
+    # with_timezone = FALSE
+    # Thursday, July 10 - 10:00pm
+    # this should be in a helper
+    def pretty_scheduled_start(with_timezone)
+      if scheduled_start &&
+        start_time = scheduled_start
+        timezone_display = 'UTC'
+        index = timezone.rindex(',')
+        if index
+          tz_display = timezone[0, index]
+          tz_identifier = timezone[(index + 1)..-1]
+          begin
+            tz = TZInfo::Timezone.get(tz_identifier)
+          rescue Exception => e
+            @@log.error("unable to find timezone=#{tz_identifier}, e=#{e}")
+          end
+
+          if tz
+            begin
+              start_time = tz.utc_to_local(scheduled_start.utc)
+              timezone_display = tz_display
+            rescue Exception => e
+              @@log.error("unable to convert #{scheduled_start} to #{tz}, e=#{e}")
+              puts "unable to convert #{e}"
+            end
+          end
+        end
+        duration = scheduled_duration
+        # you can put seconds into the scheduled_duration field, but once stored, it comes back out as a string
+        if scheduled_duration.class == String
+          begin
+            bits = scheduled_duration.split(':')
+            duration = bits[0].to_i.hours + bits[1].to_i.minutes + bits[2].to_i.seconds
+          rescue Exception => e
+            duration = 1.hours
+            @@log.error("unable to parse duration #{scheduled_duration}")
+          end
+        end
+        end_time = start_time + duration
+        if with_timezone
+        "#{start_time.strftime("%A, %B %e")}, #{start_time.strftime("%l:%M").strip}-#{end_time.strftime("%l:%M %p").strip} #{timezone_display}"
+        else
+        "#{start_time.strftime("%A, %B %e")} - #{start_time.strftime("%l:%M%P").strip}"
+        end
+
+      else
+        "Date and time TBD"
+      end
+
+    end
+
     private
     def generate_share_token
 
@@ -747,5 +832,19 @@ module JamRuby
       end
     end
 
+    def validate_timezone
+      if timezone
+        index = timezone.rindex(',')
+        if index
+          tz_identifier = timezone[(index + 1)..-1]
+          begin
+            TZInfo::Timezone.get(tz_identifier)
+          rescue Exception => e
+            @@log.error("unable to find timezone=#{tz_identifier}, e=#{e}")
+            errors.add(:timezone, ValidationMessages::MUST_BE_KNOWN_TIMEZONE)
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/ruby/spec/factories.rb b/ruby/spec/factories.rb
index 2241ff7df..7cf0753bb 100644
--- a/ruby/spec/factories.rb
+++ b/ruby/spec/factories.rb
@@ -89,13 +89,14 @@ FactoryGirl.define do
     musician_access true
     legal_terms true
     language 'eng'
-    timezone 'utc'
+    timezone 'UTC,Etc/UTC'
     legal_policy 'standard'
     recurring_mode 'once'
     genre JamRuby::Genre.first
     association :creator, :factory => :user
     open_rsvps true
     scheduled_start Time.now
+    scheduled_duration 3600
 
     factory :recurring_music_session_weekly do
       recurring_mode 'weekly'
diff --git a/ruby/spec/jam_ruby/models/music_session_spec.rb b/ruby/spec/jam_ruby/models/music_session_spec.rb
index a14db9f57..c3d155148 100644
--- a/ruby/spec/jam_ruby/models/music_session_spec.rb
+++ b/ruby/spec/jam_ruby/models/music_session_spec.rb
@@ -48,28 +48,70 @@ describe MusicSession do
   end
 
   describe "create" do
-    it "scheduled session" do
-      session = MusicSession.create(creator, {
-        name: "session 1",
-        description: "my session",
-        genres: ['ambient'],
-        musician_access: true,
-        fan_access: true,
-        approval_required: true,
-        fan_chat: true,
-        legal_policy: 'Standard',
-        language: 'eng',
-        start: "Thu Jul 10 2014 10:00 PM",
-        timezone: "Central Time (US & Canada),America/Chicago",
-        open_rsvps: true,
-        legal_terms: true,
-        recurring_mode: 'once',
-        isUnstructuredRsvp: true,
-        rsvp_slots: [{ instrument_id: "other", proficiency_level: 1, approve: true}]
-      })
+
+    let(:open_params) {
+      {
+          name: "session 1",
+          description: "my session",
+          genres: ['ambient'],
+          musician_access: true,
+          fan_access: true,
+          approval_required: true,
+          fan_chat: true,
+          legal_policy: 'Standard',
+          language: 'eng',
+          start: "Thu Jul 10 2014 10:00 PM",
+          duration: 30,
+          timezone: "Central Time (US & Canada),America/Chicago",
+          open_rsvps: true,
+          legal_terms: true,
+          recurring_mode: 'once',
+          isUnstructuredRsvp: true,
+          rsvp_slots: [{ instrument_id: "other", proficiency_level: 1, approve: true}]
+      }
+    }
+
+    it "wide open scheduled session" do
+      session = MusicSession.create(creator, open_params)
       session.valid?.should be_true
       # verify that scheduled_start is now 5 hours ahead of what was specified (CST during summer is -5 offset)
       session.scheduled_start.utc.should == DateTime.new(2014,07,11,3,00,0)
+
+      # verify that the update_scheduled_start does not disturb scheduled_start
+      session.save!
+      session.scheduled_start.utc.should == DateTime.new(2014,07,11,3,00,0)
+    end
+
+    it "works with UTC timezone" do
+      open_params[:timezone] = 'UTC,Etc/UTC'
+      session = MusicSession.create(creator, open_params)
+      session.valid?.should be_true
+      # verify that scheduled_start is now 5 hours ahead of what was specified (CST during summer is -5 offset)
+      session.scheduled_start.should == DateTime.new(2014,07,10,22,00,0)
+    end
+
+    it "no scheduled_start" do
+      open_params[:timezone] = nil
+      open_params[:scheduled_start] = nil
+      open_params[:scheduled_duration] = nil
+      session = MusicSession.create(creator, open_params)
+      session.valid?.should be_true
+      session.scheduled_start.should be_nil
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "pretty_scheduled_start" do
+    it "displays central time correctly" do
+      time = MusicSession.parse_scheduled_start("Thu Jul 10 2014 10:00 PM", "Central Time (US & Canada),America/Chicago")
+      music_session = FactoryGirl.create(:music_session, scheduled_start: time, timezone: "Central Time (US & Canada),America/Chicago")
+      music_session.pretty_scheduled_start(true).should == 'Thursday, July 10, 10:00-11:00 PM Central Time (US & Canada)'
+      music_session.pretty_scheduled_start(false).should == 'Thursday, July 10 - 10:00pm'
+    end
+
+    it "displays default correctly" do
+      music_session = FactoryGirl.create(:music_session, scheduled_start: nil)
+      music_session.pretty_scheduled_start(true).should == 'Date and time TBD'
+      music_session.pretty_scheduled_start(false).should == 'Date and time TBD'
     end
   end
 
@@ -258,8 +300,6 @@ describe MusicSession do
       creators_slot.proficiency_level = nil
       creators_slot.save!
 
-      puts RsvpSlot.all.inspect
-
       music_session = MusicSession.find(music_session1.id)
       approved_rsvps = music_session.approved_rsvps
       approved_rsvps.length.should == 1
@@ -278,7 +318,7 @@ describe MusicSession do
       approved_rsvps.length.should == 2
 
       # find the user who made the request for 2 rsvp slots in the approved_users array
-      approved_some_user = approved_rsvps.find {|s| puts s.inspect; s.id == some_user.id}
+      approved_some_user = approved_rsvps.find {|s| s.id == some_user.id}
 
       instrument_ids = JSON.parse(approved_some_user[:instrument_ids])
       instrument_ids.should =~ rsvp_request.rsvp_slots.map {|slot| slot.instrument_id }
@@ -294,17 +334,29 @@ describe MusicSession do
 
   describe "parse_scheduled_start" do
 
-    it "converts correctly" do
+    it "converts central time correctly" do
 
       # CST has -5 offset in summery
-      time = DateTime.new(2004,10,15,1,30,0)
+      time = DateTime.new(2004,10,15,1,30,0).strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
       converted = MusicSession.parse_scheduled_start(time, 'Central Time (US & Canada),America/Chicago')
-      converted.should == DateTime.new(2004,10,15,6,30,0)
+      converted.should == DateTime.new(2004,10,15,6,30,0, '+0')
 
       # CST has -6 offset in winter
-      time = DateTime.new(2004,11,15,1,30,0)
+      time = DateTime.new(2004,11,15,1,30,0).strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
       converted = MusicSession.parse_scheduled_start(time, 'Central Time (US & Canada),America/Chicago')
-      converted.should == DateTime.new(2004,11,15,7,30,0)
+      converted.should == DateTime.new(2004,11,15,7,30,0, '+0')
+    end
+
+    it "converts UTC correctly" do
+      # should not shift
+      time = DateTime.new(2004,10,15,1,30,0, '+0').strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
+      converted = MusicSession.parse_scheduled_start(time, 'UTC,Etc/UTC')
+      converted.should == DateTime.new(2004,10,15,1,30,0, '+0')
+
+      # should not shift
+      time = DateTime.new(2004,11,15,1,30,0).strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
+      converted = MusicSession.parse_scheduled_start(time, 'UTC,Etc/UTC')
+      converted.should == DateTime.new(2004,11,15,1,30,0, '+0')
     end
 
   end
diff --git a/web/app/assets/javascripts/scheduled_session.js b/web/app/assets/javascripts/scheduled_session.js
index 1369a60ea..efba4ce61 100644
--- a/web/app/assets/javascripts/scheduled_session.js
+++ b/web/app/assets/javascripts/scheduled_session.js
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@
           var options = {
             id: session.id,
             name: session.name,
-            scheduled_start: session.scheduled_start
+            scheduled_start: session.pretty_scheduled_start_short
           };
           var txt = $(context._.template($('#template-scheduled-session').html(), options, { variable: 'data' }));
           $scheduledSessions.append(txt);
diff --git a/web/app/controllers/api_music_sessions_controller.rb b/web/app/controllers/api_music_sessions_controller.rb
index ad7df710c..ca84595f0 100644
--- a/web/app/controllers/api_music_sessions_controller.rb
+++ b/web/app/controllers/api_music_sessions_controller.rb
@@ -194,23 +194,22 @@ class ApiMusicSessionsController < ApiController
     begin
       @music_session = MusicSession.find(params[:id])
       if @music_session.creator == current_user
-        band = Band.find(options[:band]) unless params[:band_id].nil?
 
-        @music_session.name = params[:name] unless params[:name].nil?
-        @music_session.description = params[:description] unless params[:description].nil?
-        @music_session.musician_access = params[:musician_access] unless params[:musician_access].nil?
-        @music_session.approval_required = params[:approval_required] unless params[:approval_required].nil?
-        @music_session.fan_chat = params[:fan_chat] unless params[:fan_chat].nil?
-        @music_session.fan_access = params[:fan_access] unless params[:fan_access].nil?
-        @music_session.genre = Genre.find_by_id(params[:genres][0]) if params[:genres] && params[:genres].length > 0
-        @music_session.legal_policy = params[:legal_policy] unless params[:legal_policy].nil?
-        @music_session.language = params[:language] unless params[:language].nil?
-        @music_session.scheduled_start = params[:start] unless params[:start].nil?
-        @music_session.scheduled_duration = params[:duration] + ' minutes' if params[:duration]
-        @music_session.timezone = params[:timezone] unless params[:timezone].nil?
-        @music_session.recurring_mode = params[:reoccurrence] unless params[:reoccurrence].nil?
-        @music_session.open_rsvps = params[:open_rsvps] ? true : false
-        @music_session.band = band unless band.nil?
+        @music_session.name = params[:name] if params.include? :name
+        @music_session.description = params[:description] if params.include? :description
+        @music_session.musician_access = params[:musician_access] if params.include? :musician_access
+        @music_session.approval_required = params[:approval_required] if params.include? :approval_required
+        @music_session.fan_chat = params[:fan_chat] if params.include? :fan_chat
+        @music_session.fan_access = params[:fan_access] if params.include? :fan_access
+        @music_session.genre = Genre.find_by_id(params[:genres][0]) if params.include?(:genres) && params[:genres] && params[:genres].length > 0
+        @music_session.legal_policy = params[:legal_policy] if params.include? :legal_policy
+        @music_session.language = params[:language] if params.include? :language
+        @music_session.scheduled_start = MusicSession.parse_scheduled_start(params[:start], params[:timezone]) if params.include?(:start) && params.include?(:timezone)
+        @music_session.scheduled_duration = params[:duration] + ' minutes' if params.include? :duration
+        @music_session.timezone = params[:timezone] if params.include? :timezone
+        @music_session.recurring_mode = params[:reoccurrence] if params.include? :reoccurrence
+        @music_session.open_rsvps = params[:open_rsvps] if params.include? :open_rsvps
+        @music_session.band =  (params[:band] ? Band.find(params[:band]) : nil) if params.include? :band
         @music_session.save
 
         params[:music_notations].each do |notation_id|
@@ -219,7 +218,7 @@ class ApiMusicSessionsController < ApiController
           notation.save
 
           ms.music_notations << notation
-        end if params[:music_notations]
+        end if params.include? :music_notations
 
         if @music_session.errors.any?
           response.status = :unprocessable_entity
diff --git a/web/app/helpers/music_session_helper.rb b/web/app/helpers/music_session_helper.rb
index 8fa30836f..e556b01c5 100644
--- a/web/app/helpers/music_session_helper.rb
+++ b/web/app/helpers/music_session_helper.rb
@@ -62,4 +62,12 @@ module MusicSessionHelper
   def timezone_list
 
   end
+
+  def scheduled_start_time(music_session)
+    music_session.scheduled_start_time
+  end
+
+  def pretty_scheduled_start(music_session, with_timezone)
+    music_session.pretty_scheduled_start(with_timezone)
+  end
 end
diff --git a/web/app/views/api_music_sessions/show_history.rabl b/web/app/views/api_music_sessions/show_history.rabl
index 6ee368d9a..50d64fb07 100644
--- a/web/app/views/api_music_sessions/show_history.rabl
+++ b/web/app/views/api_music_sessions/show_history.rabl
@@ -31,10 +31,24 @@ else
     [item.genre.description] # XXX: need to return single genre; not array
   end
 
+  node :scheduled_start_time do |session|
+    scheduled_start_time(session)
+  end
+
   node :scheduled_start do |history|
     history.scheduled_start.utc.strftime("%a %e %B %Y %H:%M:%S") if history.scheduled_start
   end
 
+  node :pretty_scheduled_start_with_timezone do |session|
+    pretty_scheduled_start(session, true)
+  end
+
+  node :pretty_scheduled_start_short do|session|
+    pretty_scheduled_start(session, false)
+  end
+
+
+
   child(:creator => :creator) {
     attributes :id, :name, :photo_url
   }
diff --git a/web/spec/factories.rb b/web/spec/factories.rb
index c8244c948..f6e44a967 100644
--- a/web/spec/factories.rb
+++ b/web/spec/factories.rb
@@ -114,7 +114,8 @@ FactoryGirl.define do
     open_rsvps true
     scheduled_start Time.now
     recurring_mode 'once'
-    scheduled_duration "30 minutes"
+    scheduled_duration 3600
+    timezone "UTC,Etc/UTC"
 
 
     factory :recurring_music_session_weekly do
diff --git a/web/spec/requests/active_music_sessions_api_spec.rb b/web/spec/requests/active_music_sessions_api_spec.rb
index a7821bd4e..de4fae3ed 100755
--- a/web/spec/requests/active_music_sessions_api_spec.rb
+++ b/web/spec/requests/active_music_sessions_api_spec.rb
@@ -27,7 +27,8 @@ describe "Active Music Session API ", :type => :api do
                       :genres => ["classical"], :musician_access => true, :approval_required => false,
                       :fan_chat => true, :fan_access => true,
                       :legal_policy => true, :language => 'eng',
-                      :timezone => "utc",
+                      :timezone => "UTC,Etc/UTC",
+                      :duration => "60",
                       :rsvp_slots => [{proficiency_level: 1, instrument_id: 'other', approve:true}]
                     } }
 
diff --git a/web/spec/requests/music_sessions_api_spec.rb b/web/spec/requests/music_sessions_api_spec.rb
index 2ef66969c..7a4f59c85 100644
--- a/web/spec/requests/music_sessions_api_spec.rb
+++ b/web/spec/requests/music_sessions_api_spec.rb
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@ describe "Scheduled Music Session API ", :type => :api do
                       :genres => ["classical"], :musician_access => true, :approval_required => false,
                       :fan_chat => true, :fan_access => true,
                       :legal_policy => true, :language => 'eng',
-                      :timezone => "utc",
+                      :timezone => "UTC,Etc/UTC",
+                      :duration => "60",
                       :rsvp_slots => [{proficiency_level: 1, instrument_id: 'other', approve:true}] } }
 
     before(:all) do