The following is written by Brian Kessler, Flute player and session host: “Every session has a lifecycle.” These words of wisdom were bestowed upon us by Benedict Koehler and Hilari Farrington in the autumn of 2008 during an Irish session repertoire class at the Summit School of Traditional Music & Culture in Montpelier, VT. At … More Every Irish session has a lifecycle
I recently adopted this rescue dog named Bloo. He’s only a year old and already knows how to sit, shake and come when he’s called. But like all rescue dogs, and dogs in general, it takes time to teach them to behave like you want them to so they can live a happy and healthy life.
When I was first taking fiddle lessons I said to my teacher at the time, “I want to play fast.” She said “start listening to Liz Carroll.” So I did. And I fell in love with her music. It’s not the speed of Liz’s playing that makes her such a brilliant player though, it’s the preciseness … More Liz Carroll Returns to Vermont
Today we lost a great American actor and comedian, Robin Williams. Obviously, I didn’t know him personally, but he’s one of those actors that you just feel like you know. He’s handsome, warm, and funny as all hell. He was the type of guy you just want to come to your family reunion. He’s the … More Good Night Robin Williams
Renowned Irish musicians Mick Conneely (fiddle/bouzouki) and David Munnelly (accordion/melodeon) will be performing at the 3 Bean Cafe, 22 Pleasant St in Randolph, VT this Saturday, August 9 at 7:30pm. These are two of Ireland’s great musicians! Don’t miss this opportunity to hear them in an intimate setting.
I never liked history. Maybe it’s because I never really had a good history teacher or maybe it’s because learning about history seemed more like a lesson in memorization than anything else. As a music minor in college, I had to take a music history class, and as you can imagine, I was less than … More What history books don’t teach you about music
Every year when Father’s Day rolled around my sister and I had the brilliant idea to buy my dad mustache wax and Old Spice. As you can see from this picture, he did sport a mustache growing up. So naturally mustache wax was a given. And the Old Spice well, who doesn’t wear Old Spice? As we grew older … More Irish Music and Father’s Day
June is one of my favorite months in Vermont. Mostly because it’s the start of summer. The grass has turned green, flowers have bloomed, caterpillars have turned to butterflies and I can finally leave the house without a warm jacket. It’s also my favorite time of year because it’s the start of festival season. A time … More Upcoming traditional music events
To all the great mother’s out there, and you’re all great! … More In honor of Mother’s Day
Music isn’t just about learning the notes, memorizing tunes or putting together set lists for performances. It’s about relationships. Relationships between musicians, relationships between the band and the audience or dancers, the relationship between you and your instrument, and the relationships between the notes. I was reminded of this the other day during rehearsal as we … More How music is more about relationships than notes
Session Obsession 