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                                              Bands, Seisiuns and Classes

 

  Irish Breakfast Band






                
 

Alexandria,Virginia base band featuring 8 to 12 or more musicians drawn from Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia. They perform extensively in the Washington metropolitan area for community groups and at local festivals.  To contact the band, email to Sean "AT" Irishbreakfastband.com.( "AT" = @ in order to confuse spanners.) or phone at 703-385-3095.   www.irishbreakfastband.com. 
 

 

 

  Sior-Og
(Pronounced Shear Og)








 
Sior-Og, whose name means "Forever Young" in Irish Gaelic has been performing traditional Irish music since 2002.  Sior-Og uses traditional instruments such as the uilleann pipes, fiddle, bodhran, guitar and a variety of Irish whistles.  The Sior-Og dancers perform classic dance tunes such as jigs, reels, slip jigs, and hornpipes.  The group is also known for haunting slow airs that are the hallmark of Irish music.  Sior-Og's songs tell, in both Irish Gaelic and English, of the enduring themes in the Irish experience such as the legendary beauty and love of the land, famine, emigration and rebellion; as well as universal themes such as the tender love of a mother for her child and of a young man's love for his sweetheart.      Contact Howard Rhile at (703)-591-4058. Fax: (703)591-5494.      Sior_Og99@compuserve.com

 

 

  Karen Ashbrook at
 McGinty's Public House
  911 Ellsworth Ave.
 Silver Spring, MD  20910

                 
 
Children's Irish music session was on the first Tuesday of every month.6:30 until 7:45 pm.   Denis Botzer and Patrick Kavanaugh lead and adult session beginning at 8 pm.
See http://karenashbrook.com/monthly_session.html for tune book used in sessions.
  mail@karenashbrook.com.   

 

 

  Mitch Fanning and Matt Shortridge
 at Royal Mile Pub





 
The Royal Mile Pub in Wheaton MD hosts a children's session on the 4th Sunday of every month from 5-6:30 p.m.  Lead by Mitch Fanning.  Great food and great craic among children and parents.  Karen Ashbrook's "Children's Session Book" is the source for a substantial number of tunes played at the session.  A lively adult session follows  from 7-10:30 p.m. lead by Matt Shortridge.  Royal Mile Pub, 2407 Price Avenue, Wheaton, MD 20902 . 301-946-4511.  Mitch Fanning's email is jmitchellf at yahoo.com.No session on Christmas Day.
 
Betsy O'Malley and Jim Wade at

 
O'Faolain's Irish Pub and Restaurant






 
Weekly traditional Irish music sessiun, open to all musicians able to play at an advanced .- beginner to intermediate level. One free drink to each participating musician.  Co-led by uilleann piper Jim Wade and banjoist Betsy O'Malley, Sunday evenings, 6 - 9:30 PM at O'Faolain's Irish Pub and Restaurant, 20921 Davenport Drive, Sterling VA
(Regal Shopping Plaza) 703-444-9796.  For more information, or driving directions, email Betsy at 
betsy.omalley   at   verizon.net

 
  The Bog Wanderers Ceili Band



 
Plays at the monthly CCE Ceili every second Saturday, 7:30 - 11:00 PM, Sept. - May.  Green Acres Center, 4401 Sideburn Road,  Fairfax, VA 22030.  A premier Washington DC area Irish dance band.  Available for Ceilis, Irish Step Dancing, Contra dances, weddings, and other events or parties.  Contact Jesse Winch at jessewinch at  hotmail.com
 
  Rosie Shipley

 
Fiddler (Irish and Cape Breton styles). Available with or without a band for weddings, parties, and other occasions. 410-206-8280, rosie_shipley at yahoo.com
www.shipwhistle.com
 

 
Philippe Varlet and Rob Greenway







 

Two sessions a week (Wednesday nights, 7-11pm in the small pub; Sunday afternoons, 3-7pm in the restaurant) at Ri-Ra, located in the heart of Bethesda MD. While the sessions are open to all players, the majority of players frequenting the session at this time are advanced. Ri-Ra is located at 4931 Elm Street, Bethesda, MD, off Wisconsin Avenue, just a few blocks from the Bethesda Metro stop (Red Line). 301-657-1122. For more information, contact Philippe  philvar at erols.com.


 

  The Shebeens



 
 The group plays monthly at the Auld Shebeen Irish Restaurant and Pub  located on 3971 Chain Bridge Road (Rte 123), corner of North Street (Rte 236),  in Fairfax City, Virginia.. They invite everyone for a night of of jigs, reels, hornpipes and songs on Sunday,  June 4, July 16, & August 20 at 6:30pm.
 
  Nova Seisun Players:
    Adult and Childrens' Sessions




















 

An informal group of musicians that meet to play traditional Irish  music.  This session is specifically intended for beginners and  intermediate players who need to build their session skills.  The  session currently meets at Auld Shebeen's, 3971 Chainbridge Road,  (Rte. 123), corner of North Street, (Rte 236), Fairfax City,  Virginia, on Saturday afternoon's from 12 until 3, except on the  first Saturday of the month. 

On the first Saturday, the session  meets from 10 until noon at Green Acres Center, 4401 Sideburn Road,  Fairfax City.(22030).  However, there will be no meetings at Green Acres during the summer.  The group will meet every Saturday from 12 until 3 pm at the at the Auld Shebeen.  More information is on the website:  www.novasession.org
 
The CCE session group will be hosting a kids' session this year on the fourth Saturday of the month from 11-12 at the Auld Shebeen, Fairfax, VA. The first session is coming up on Sept. 23rd. They're always happy to get new players, so please pass this information along to any kids
who might be interested.

They're also happy to welcome adults to the session if they would like the opportunity to play some tunes at a nice slow pace,
 
 There's a tune book available there for download as well as information about our mailing list and so on. Email any questions to Scott Turner at at srt@aero.org.
 

 

  Traditional Irish Music Session,
  Ireland's Four Provinces of
   Falls Church VA





 

Monday Nights, 9-11pm. All musicians and instruments are welcome:
  Guitars, Fiddles Mandolins,Whistles,Bodhrans,Banjos, Flutes
          Relaxed atmosphere - Beginners, intermediate, advanced - come together,
                     learn together, have a chat and a bit of craic.
                 
 THIS IS AN OPEN SESSION - ALL ARE WELCOME
    If interested (or know someone) call or text Alan on 202-294-8956

 

  Fairfax Deputy Sheriff's Coalition
 Pipes and Drums

 
A pipe and drum band organized by members of the Fairfax County sheriff's Department.  For additional information,  contact carlmhuntIII@gmail.com

 

  Baltimore Irish Arts Center Periodically offers classes in Irish music.
 For more information go to www.baltimoreirisharts.com, or call 443-629-8699.   Also,  Laura Byrne www. charmcityhomesearch.com.
  www.laurabyrne.com

 

  DP Music Springfield, Virginia  resident Dominic Preston has a web site where you can get information on
guitar lessons and obtain CDs . www.dpmusicservices.com.
 His email address is dpmusicservices@verizon.net and phone number: 703-980-0705

 

  A Karen Ashbrook Recommendation  for   Session Practice This is a cool site for practicing some standard session tunes with some great musicians.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/folk/sessions/     http://karenashbrook.com