Hello all!
I'm presently planning a trip to the fair land of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in the last two weeks of August. Can any of you lovely and knowledgeable people direct me to any worthwhile musical pursuits such as concerts, ceilidhs and jam sessions that would welcome a 'come-from-away' such as myself? Thanks to all in advance,
Katy
Not particularly helpful, this, but maybe just a good story: My wife and I went to Nova Scotia on our honeymoon. Didn't really plan ahead much -- getting the wedding organized took about all of our energy and focus -- but did talk to a few people, who advised that we would have the best luck finding music and sessions via house parties and similar gatherings.
We aimlessly made our way to Cape Breton on the fourth of our six days there, and stayed over at a B&B. We still hadn't found any music, but in all honesty we weren't looking too hard, either. (We did go to the Gaelic College, by the way, but there was nothing going on because it was late August.)
The next morning, we're carrying our luggage to the car, including our instruments. Our hosts remarked, "Oh, you're musicians!" and the inevitable follow-up questions ensued.
When we mentioned that we really liked the Irish-Scots-Celtic stuff, and had hoped to find a session or two, they said, "Well, Kinnon Beaton's an acquaintance of ours -- if we'd known you played music, we probably could've called him to see if anything was going on."
Ah well. We _did_ at least meet a nice musician (albeit of the contemporary singer-songwriter variety) on the ferry back...
I have a very fond memory of Cape Breton.
I was hitchhiking ari-ound in the late seventies, naive as naive can be, and playing my mandolin like it was a rock guitar, and somehow, I do not know how< i was asked to "open' the Capebreton Folk Festival" which to this day i have no idea where it was or how I got there (well, at least i recall it was on the east coast of the island, about 1/3 the way up)
anyway.. I played one song, It starts:
When I woke up, there was nothing to eat...
Except an old carrot in a brown paper bag and a moldy piece of cheesse...
I can't blame no-one, it's just that I don't have responsibi-li-ty...
This HUGE audience that I neither solicited or deserved gave me a hoot and a holler of applause! I, veronica, kicked off the concert! Holy Feckin feck..
Unfortunatly that wee experience has set me on a lifelong quest to achieve equal notoriety.
This is generic advice and prolly won't help, but it might be reassuring. I was there prolly about 6 years ago and it was impossible to not find the music. Stuff is quite plentiful as you could probably imagine. Take reassurance in the fact that you'll likely have no problem finding stuff, but I guess if you're like me, a little research doesn't hurt.
jason, I think that's what happened to me when I was there. I think i was swept along in this magical cloud. I think if a person wanted to connect with the musicscene there, theyshould just open up on any street corner and play a bit. It is so friendly and open, and the CapeBretoners are so proud of their musical heritage that you will attract love and attention, and probably a place to stay, connections, pot luck dinners, etc.etc.. its not like a big city,
(hmm or actually I think the big cities can produce that kind of humanity too, but you just have to be a little more experienced and hardened)
Traveller's Guide to Cape Breton
Traveller's Guide to Cape Breton
Hello all!
I'm presently planning a trip to the fair land of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in the last two weeks of August. Can any of you lovely and knowledgeable people direct me to any worthwhile musical pursuits such as concerts, ceilidhs and jam sessions that would welcome a 'come-from-away' such as myself? Thanks to all in advance,
Katy
# Posted on July 5th 2004 by KDJ
Re: Traveller's Guide to Cape Breton
I really envy you, Katy: I really would like to go there some day. A very similar topic came up around a month ago, and it seems quite helpful: http://thesession.org/discussions/display.php/3678
# Posted on July 5th 2004 by slainte
Re: Traveller's Guide to Cape Breton
Not particularly helpful, this, but maybe just a good story: My wife and I went to Nova Scotia on our honeymoon. Didn't really plan ahead much -- getting the wedding organized took about all of our energy and focus -- but did talk to a few people, who advised that we would have the best luck finding music and sessions via house parties and similar gatherings.
We aimlessly made our way to Cape Breton on the fourth of our six days there, and stayed over at a B&B. We still hadn't found any music, but in all honesty we weren't looking too hard, either. (We did go to the Gaelic College, by the way, but there was nothing going on because it was late August.)
The next morning, we're carrying our luggage to the car, including our instruments. Our hosts remarked, "Oh, you're musicians!" and the inevitable follow-up questions ensued.
When we mentioned that we really liked the Irish-Scots-Celtic stuff, and had hoped to find a session or two, they said, "Well, Kinnon Beaton's an acquaintance of ours -- if we'd known you played music, we probably could've called him to see if anything was going on."
Ah well. We _did_ at least meet a nice musician (albeit of the contemporary singer-songwriter variety) on the ferry back...
# Posted on July 5th 2004 by sts
Re: Traveller's Guide to Cape Breton
I have a very fond memory of Cape Breton.
I was hitchhiking ari-ound in the late seventies, naive as naive can be, and playing my mandolin like it was a rock guitar, and somehow, I do not know how< i was asked to "open' the Capebreton Folk Festival" which to this day i have no idea where it was or how I got there (well, at least i recall it was on the east coast of the island, about 1/3 the way up)
anyway.. I played one song, It starts:
When I woke up, there was nothing to eat...
Except an old carrot in a brown paper bag and a moldy piece of cheesse...
I can't blame no-one, it's just that I don't have responsibi-li-ty...
This HUGE audience that I neither solicited or deserved gave me a hoot and a holler of applause! I, veronica, kicked off the concert! Holy Feckin feck..
Unfortunatly that wee experience has set me on a lifelong quest to achieve equal notoriety.
# Posted on July 5th 2004 by vboyd100
Re: Traveller's Guide to Cape Breton
This is generic advice and prolly won't help, but it might be reassuring. I was there prolly about 6 years ago and it was impossible to not find the music. Stuff is quite plentiful as you could probably imagine. Take reassurance in the fact that you'll likely have no problem finding stuff, but I guess if you're like me, a little research doesn't hurt.
# Posted on July 5th 2004 by Jason G
Re: Traveller's Guide to Cape Breton
jason, I think that's what happened to me when I was there. I think i was swept along in this magical cloud. I think if a person wanted to connect with the musicscene there, theyshould just open up on any street corner and play a bit. It is so friendly and open, and the CapeBretoners are so proud of their musical heritage that you will attract love and attention, and probably a place to stay, connections, pot luck dinners, etc.etc.. its not like a big city,
(hmm or actually I think the big cities can produce that kind of humanity too, but you just have to be a little more experienced and hardened)
# Posted on July 5th 2004 by vboyd100