If you haven’t yet reached the speed of playing reels at 120bps, then the session at On the Rise Bakery in Richmond is the one for you. The atmosphere is relaxed, the players are welcoming and the session was designed for all players who just want to share a tune or two.
Whether you’re new to the session scene or you’re an experienced session-er, this is a great place to meet new people and play some tunes at a slightly slower pace.
This session emerged from an Irish Session Repertoire class taught by Button Accordionist, Hilari Farrington and Piper, Benedict Koehler, at the Summit School of Traditional Music in Montpelier. The session founders wanted a place to share the tunes they learned in class and explore new ones while also offering a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for those not in the class.
Although different sessions have a different set of core tunes that are frequently played, the fun part of a session is playing a tune and just letting the next one float off your instrument without any planning. However, some of us late learners are not that crafty yet so we plan ahead and practice tune-sets. Here a list of some of the tunes that you might hear at this session. The tune-sets will not, of course, be played in this order and might not even be played at all but at least you get the idea. And if you know any of these tunes you can rest assured that if you start one of them someone else will play along.
- Glen Allen (Kilmaney)/The Old Copperplate
- Cronin’s/Murphy’s
- The Road to Lisdoonvarna/Imelda Rowland’s
- The Lilting Banshee/The Old Favourite
- Dunphy’s/Chief O’Neill’s
- The Wise Maid/Toss the Feathers
- I Buried My Wife and Danced On Her Grave/Will You Come Home With Me?
- Little Fair Canavans/A Fig for a Kiss
- Ballydesmond Polkas
- The Goat On the Green/The Pipe On the Hob/Johnny McGreevy’s
- O’Connell’s Trip to Parliament/The Torn Jacket
- Cooley’s/The Earl’s Chair
- The Hare’s Paw/Knocknagow (Scotch Mary)/Templehouse
Typically the session takes place on the last Thursday of every month though the last couple of months have been a bit mixed. This month’s session is on Monday, December 7th at 7:30pm. Check www.ontherisebakery.net for a full music schedule.
Also, you should know that the bakery will not be serving dinner on Monday. They serve dinner Tues-Sat so eat before you come. You can still enjoy the libations though.
Hope to see you there!
Session Obsession 
Is there a good book where I can find the music for most of these tunes that are listed? The Fiddler’s Fakebook and some other books that I have only list a few.
A good book to have is O’Neill’s Music of Ireland. But mostly I would suggest just going to sessions and recording the tunes. Most of this music is passed down by ear.
Thanks Katrina!
My pleasure. Happy playing!
Hear ye, Hear ye, There are two new sessions starting in Middlebury Vt. Jan 28th at 51 main and Feb 11th at Waybury inn, 8 to 10 pm. All welcome, please come and help these get going.
Are these going to be weekly sessions, monthly, etc. Feel free to email me using the form on this page: https://sessionobsession.org/vt-irish-musicians/ with all the details so I can post it to this site. Thanks!