We had our 7th monthly session on Sunday 8th May. It should have been our eighth, but January’s was cancelled because of an upsurge in Covid numbers. We had fewer players than usual, but I am pleased about the way it went.
The music festival in Athens is turning into a three-day event. We should be playing a session on the final day. I spoke to one of our fiddlers about the possibility of holding a workshop for kids, possibly on Saturday 28th. As things stand, three of us will travel down on the Friday while another four or five will travel down on the final day, 29th May.
I have established contact with players in Turkey plus one player in Zagreb. I have an idea – albeit an inchoate one – in my mind. More about that in the coming months. This poster https://thesession.org/discussions/47086 claims the Balkans is a desert as far as Irish music is concerned, and he’s right. As I have pointed out elsewhere, there are more sessions in Reykjavik than there are in Greece, Bulgaria and North Macedonia combined!
Finally, a couple of treats. Here is We Banjo 3 giving the Soldier’s Joy the treatment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvr68qRbBck&list=RDrvr68qRbBck&start_radio=1
And from the Shetland Islands a jig and a reel. There seems to be great confusion about their names. I have used the titles used in Aly Bain’s 50 Fiddle Solos, so the jig is the NEW Rigged Ship and the reel the FULL Rigged Ship in my collection. Here the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc call them the FULL Rigged Ship and the Rigged Ship respectively: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZEhaNNP9VI
Looking forward to your visit here in Athens!