Ireland/UK trip -- sessions?

Whistle
1

My wife and I are going to the UK and Ireland on a little tour starting Monday,
and I was wondering if there were any sessions I could listen in on
(or maybe even sit in, but I doubt it).

It’s a pretty structured tour, but we have some afternoon/evening free time in:
London, May 4 and 5 (Tues and Wed)
Dublin, May 10 and 11 (Mon. and Tues.)
Edinburgh, May 13 and 14 (Thurs and Fri)

thesession.org suggested a few things for Dublin and Edinburgh.
Gogarty’s on Fleet St, Dublin looks like my best bet, as it is supposed to be every day.
But are there really people there playing from 2:30pm-2am EVERY DAY?
Twelve hours of daily ITM would be heaven… I may never leave.

Anyway, if anybody has any info, I’d appreciate it.

2

No one, eh? Curses.

I may just have to go around knockin’ on pub doors until I find someone playing a tune. :wink:

3

sorry if this is a bit vague! i’m not sure exactly where there are sessions in london but the guys in the hobgoblin music store definitely play in them. the store is just off oxford st (closest tube is tottenham court road)- check out www.hobgoblin.com for an address.

i can recommend some stuff to do in london if you like..it’s a fantastic city

also, manchester is a MAJOR itm city (mike mcgoldrick, flook!, desi wilkinson etc) the city itself isn’t up to much though (IMHO)

bonne chance!

tim

4

Try sandy bells in edinburgh there’s music pretty much every night and they will tell you where the rest of the sessions are, I haven’t been for a while so I don’t know where the rest are.

5

Gogarty’s very touristy (but as you are touring that makes sense) :slight_smile: . The music is generally of a good standard. Nice session in the bar until around 5pm and then upstairs later until the small hours. On a Monday in Dublin I prefer The Dame Tavern (on Dame Lane opposite the Stag’s Head) from 9.30 or 10pm until around midnight. Much more intimate setting.

6

Belive it or not, the Musical](http://www.discoverdublin.ie/musicalpubcrawl.html%22%3EMusical) Pub Crawl in Dublin was a blast. Great musicians taking you around to different pubs talking about and playing music.

Afterwards, talk to the guides and ask who’s in town and where’s the best play to go listen.

Eddie

7

I second the idea of the Musical Pub Crawl. I thought it would be corney, but it was fun. The group was small enough to feel homey, not touristy. Plus, there was a chance to play! There’s a rotating group of musicians that do the Crawl (I got a banjo and guitar player–both excellent musicians and VERY funny) and I think for at least SOME of them, they routinely ask at the end if anyone has any music to contribute. In the TRUE spirit of a session, they want it to be community-oriented, collaborative. They were very encourgaing and wanted people to do anything–just get up and sing a song, even if you couldn’t sing well. Very informal.

Of course, I had my whistle with me but it was my first night in Ireland and I was beyond shy about my playing. Especially as I was such a beginner compared to the musicians, and as well, I only know a couple of ITrad tunes (some waltzes). But afterwards, I went up to buy their CD and mentioned I play the whistle and they were like, “What the hell? Why didn’t you play? That would have been GREAT!”

I got the feeling they would have joined in and it would have been cool even if I’d only been able to poorly fake my way thru Amazing Grace. And I am usually the type of person to DO IT, whenever there’s a choice, because I hate having regrets. Between regrets and embarassment, I’ll take embarssment–usually. But this time I was too shy…and I DO regret it! Since I don’t play ITRAD, I know I’ll never be in a session and so I missed out on maybe the ONE beginner-friendly opportunity I had to play my whistle in Ireland with other musicians.

So, do the Crawl and if they invite people to play, DO IT!!

I did play my whistle, solo, later, all over Ireland–for my family, whom I was traveling with, and who liked it even though I wasn’t very good. To them, it was beautiful mood music at Ladies View or Kylemore Abbey or whatever.

Whatever you do, Ireland and England are AWESOME places to visit and you will have a wonderful time.

8

I am sooo jealous! :cry: (imagine it green … with envy, that is…)

I wanna go on the Pub Crawl too!

9

:slight_smile: I am also jealous. Maybe Chiff and Fipple should stage a “Whistle Stop” tour of Ireland! We could have a session on the plane! :party: Can you just imagine getting all those metal whistle though airpost security!

10

I can recommend a really nice session for a listener on a Tuesday night upstairs in the Palace Bar on Fleet Street in Dublin. Great musicians. Great tunes.