Beers enjoyed to the sound of penny whistle and fiddle is the norm on Sundays at Saltbox Brewery, as local Celtic musicians serenade patrons.
Eilidh Buchanan facilitates the session at the brewery that attracts more than a dozen musicians, even on a rainy Father’s Day weekend.
A session is a tradition of musicians gathering informally, often in a pub, to play Irish music. On any given Sunday you might see folks playing fiddles, various types of flutes, bodhrán and other traditional instruments. Their leader, Eilidh, is a beloved musician and teacher around Mahone Bay.
Will Heron has been attending these sessions for a long time and comes to watch his brother play snare.
“They wrote a song for me because they have a song for my brother,” says Heron. “There’s a reel called Frank’s Reel. That’s what his name is. So I asked them, ‘Why can’t you make one for me, but call it Will’s Not Reel?’ So they did.”
The musicians proceeded to share “Will’s Nae Reel” with the fathers and families who were out enjoying the tunes despite the dreary weather.
Musicians of any age are welcome to join the session on Sunday afternoons from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. For the less musically inclined, I suggest grabbing a drink and sitting out on the patio to enjoy the talents of our neighbours.
Heron sums up why he chooses to come most weeks: “It’s the most pleasant way I know to spend a Sunday afternoon when it’s nice out.”