Well, the title asks it all. I will be in DC for almost a week. Any places there that I just HAVE to go to one night for a session or any good music stores (CD’s or Instruments)
Forget about sessions. We have enough flute players here already. The place you need to be during the week you are in DC is down on the Mall (the big grassy area between the Capitol and the Washington Monument), where the Smithsonian Folklife Festival will be happening. This year one of the featured areas is Scotland. Here’s just a partial list of performers who will be there: Johnny and Phil Cunningham, Alisdair Fraser, Fiddler’s Bid (an eight-member band from Shetland), the Wrigley Sisters, Billy Jackson, Dougie MacLean, even Fiona Ritchie who does the Thistle and Shamrock radio show will be there. If you get tired of Scots stuff, the other featured areas are Appalachia and Mali, with equally good stuff there. The schedule for each day is usually conveniently printed in that day’s Washington Post, and may also be available beforehand on the Smithsonian’s web site (http://www.folklife.si.edu/CFCH/festival2003/2003_festival.htm).
Now, seriously, about the sessions. We do have a lot of flute players here, but you would still be welcome at sessions (and even moreso if you can actually play). The two main sessions in Washington are on Sunday from 4-8 pm at Sin E in Pentagon Row (Pentagon City Metro stop), and Monday night from 9:00 til late at Nanny O’Brien’s on Connecticut Avenue just north of the zoo (Cleveland Park Metro stop).
The only place for buying CDs in DC is from Philippe Varlet’s Celtic Grooves Imports. He lives here, and thus you can avoid the mail-order shipping charges when you buy from him. Instruments can be got from the House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park.
Hi. If you’re going to pick one thing, pick the Monday session at Nanny’s!
Heather M.
Thanks for all the replies regarding sessions and places to go while in D.C. I will be on me honeymoon, and therefore I will be considerate of my new wife and all but Im sure that there will be time for stopping by some places, and most definately Nanny’s
thanks!