Irish Session near Durham NC?

[Narayan Kersak]

I'll be doing some traveling this Summer out towards Durham, NC.
Are there any notable, talented, yet enjoyable Irish sessions out that way?

By notable I mean players think to themselves, "That's a great session. When I'm in town I really want to try and make that."

By talented I mean players think, "These musicians are good and sound great."

By enjoyable I mean, "There are no secret pecking orders and the musicians don't say its an open session when really it means, its just for our friends we see a lot."

Yes?

[JeffD]

Mannnnn you want everything.

One thing I try and do, when I am traveling and become aware of different jams out near my destination, is see if I can find the jam leader, or organizer, or fiddle rustler, and introduce myself by email or telephone and make known my interesting in attending, and try and get a feeling about what kind of jam, what kind of folks, what kind of music etc. It has worked well in some cases where the jam leader even introduced me to everyone when I showed up. And it has worked well in other cases where I learned just by the email that it wasn't going to be a jam I was going to enjoy. (I went anyway, and yea, it wasn't.)

But realistically, its always a risk. Its like asking: "I am traveling to XYZ, and thought I would stop into a few pubs. Can you recommend bars where the other patrons are fun, friendly, and welcoming." I mean half the excitement is not knowing what kind of a buzz saw you might be walking into.

That said, the only info I have is this: http://www.folkjam.org/local/map?geo...36.023/-78.893

Good luck.

[Randi Gormley]

Fiddler of my acquaintance is from around that area, or knows people who are (iirc) i'll see if she knows of a good session.

[Narayan Kersak]

I know. I know. I too have had good and bad experiences like yours.

But most people who've gone to a session have a sense of what its like, which is why I was asking first. ; ) In case anyone knew of these right off the top of their head! It's possible yes?

Of course I would go and make my own assessments. I just didn't want to show up to a session called an open session to learn it was really just unpaid band practice for the local irish band! (which may have happened to you before too?)

Thanks for the link. Looks like most of those are old time or bluegrass.

I suppose that's what Yelp is for for bars... to find out what kind of place that is. We need a Yelp for irish trad sessions!? There's an idea.

[foldedpath]

Maybe someone else here on the Cafe will jump in with better local knowledge of the scene, but meanwhile you could try the session locator page on thesession.org (type in North Carolina, not Durham which leads to some defunct sessions):

https://thesession.org/sessions

Looks like the closest one is in Raleigh. Call the venue first to make sure it's still active, since these listings aren't always up-to-date.

[Narayan Kersak]

Fiddler of my acquaintance is from around that area, or knows people who are (iirc) i'll see if she knows of a good session.

Thanks Randi. Appreciate it.

Thank you FoldedPath, looks like there are a few on that link I can check in on.

Someone did just tell me about the Hibernian... but there is no phone number on their website. I called a local music store and they mentioned Tir Na Nog in Raleigh, which I'll check on too.

(PS- just in case, I don't want this to turn into a thread on session ettiquette etc., just curious what kinds of sessions are in the area, and if others would also find them notable, talented, yet enjoyable per my above definitions! ; ) )

[Charles E.]

There are two in Raleigh every Sunday, with some players going between them. Good players and beginners attend. Everyone is welcome as far as I can tell.

The main one is here.......

https://www.facebook.com/TNNRaleigh/

There is also a session in Pittsboro I believe but don't know the details.

I forgot to mention Pinecone, the traditional music org here in the Triangle.......

https://pinecone.org/content/about-p...music-sessions

[Randi Gormley]

Here ya go: Trail in Morrisville, NC http://www.traliirishpub.com/#about Call for which Saturday is session saturday
Tir Na Nog in Raleigh https://www.facebook.com/TNNRaleigh/
Steele String Cafe in Carrboro, NC http://steelstringbrewery.com

The Tuesday session at NC State is done for the summer, resumes aug 19-ish

They are all pretty convenient to Durham. Just down the road a piece...

[Narayan Kersak]

Thanks everyone for your guidance. The Summer is nearly over, and I've since visited some of the sessions that were listed in this thread. My experiences are shared here...

https://ashevillemandolin.wordpress....rish-sessions/

It was a great Summer and met a lot of good players and people who I will intend to consider musical friends in "the Triangle".