Musician
Here's a little info about the session that you've come across. We've been a regular session since 2024 and recently moved from our homes to the Yankee Doodle Tap Room for a monthly music happening. The session is run by myself, Beth Meyers (whose website you're on) and it's modeled after most traditional pub sessions in Ireland. Here's a little more on that model in the next paragraph.
Our session is made of a core group of local Princeton musicians. We have a running list of over 60 tunes that we add to every month and that list is available here.
My goal is to bring the traditional Irish session to Princeton as an authentic American/Irish musical experience. In a typical fast session, the regular players follow the tunes called by the leader. If there are outside players who decided to show up and join the music, they first listen (sometimes for a full session and more common would be for them to attend multiple sessions to learn the tune list of that session). Since this session only meets monthly I'm offering our tune list (above) so you can do your homework ahead of time. There is also a slow learn file here for you to practice along with.
Here are two other resources for learning more about a traditional Irish session. First, McNeela's Music is a wonderful music shop in Dublin and they have this to say about the traditional Irish session:
https://blog.mcneelamusic.com/the-irish-trad-session-explained/
And for general and specific information about all things Irish trad:
If you have any questions at all, please email me directly at bethanybeach18@gmail.com or come to the Yankee Doodle Tap Room and say hello!
