For the last 4 months almost every Thursday night I have been a guest of a nice traditional pub Carlovian. Of course it wasn’t only a nice room and furniture or a tasty Guinness or Bulmers (I like this cider very much), but a traditional Irish music session. I am not sure how it is called, but one of my Irish friends calls it The Jig.

Every Thursday a party of amateur or professional musicians together with audience also allowed to play or sing is gathering in this nice small pub and having fun. The tunes are brilliant and sound familiar to me, but the most impressing song I have heard so far was signed by a girl from audience. She sang it “a capella” (without support of any instrument) and it was song “Siul a run” that I know in a Clannad version.

As I wrote it before I have been listening to Irish and Scottish music for a very long time and what I can say is that Irish and Scottish traditional/Celtic music is very similar, or maybe Scottish music has a lot of Irish influences. Nevertheless I knew all the tunes and Celtic scales (if I can say something like that) that appeared during the sessions because I had listen to them in Scotland before I ever came to Ireland. Of course music is not 100% the same, but the difference is hard to describe. Again I will compare it to difference in taste of Irish and Scottish whiskies. I think that western parts of Scottland are much closer to Ireland, especially Western Isles – Outer Hebrides. Here is the difference. In Carlow I can listen to live traditional music on every Thursday, but in Scotland I did it only once, on Outer Hebrides. During my many visits in Scotland and time I spent there I couldn’t find a pub with a Celtic music sessions. In Ireland I can find them in almost every town I have visited so far.

I am still not familiar with Irish bands, except Clannad, Planxty or Chieftains. Next week in Carlow there is a Kila in concert, but unfortunately I will be in Poland at this time.

If you are interested how Scots play Celtic music I would recommend you some good bands (in my opinion of course): Capercillie and Wolfstone.

Here is some photos from one of the Thursday sessions at Carlovian:

Click to enlarge