Been at Ennis Trad Fest this weekend. Was really looking forward to it but haven’t had a very good time. The music has been great but I haven’t been able to get a seat in a session at all this weekend. Is this a normal experience at festivals?
I have no experience of festivals in Ireland, but in Sweden and Finland, they’re usually jam-packed. One inner circle/table with earlycomers, an outer (semi-)circle for those who those who arrived 15 minutes late, then ANOTHER (semi-)circle with those who came one hour late, but are still desperate to participate.
I was there too. Yes, extremely crowded pub sessions and very hot as well. Standing room only if you were even lucky for that. My first time going to a trad fest. Not sure about going again.
How many sessions did you try ?
I don’t know if it’s been anyone’s experience anywhere else, but it feels like over the last six weeks or so people have been coming out the woodwork. I was at a session last week with thirty-odd participants, and lots of new faces, and it seems to be happening repeatedly. All those people who took up an instrument during lockdown, maybe…
Probably par for the course at festivals although regulars will probably have sussed out the best places to go.
“Here in Scotland”, it’s much the same but I have noticed that this year some festival sessions have become even busier than usual. There have actually been fewer musicians but the venues have changed to some extent in how accomodating they are too. Also, the players have got out of their usual habits to a certain extent.
I’ve not been too that many festivals this year. Maybe around eight, but I have noticed a difference. I think it’s just a case of things having to settle again.
I don’t know the fetsival to which the OP refers but, in normal times, musicians will usually find nice quiet “corners”. It’s just a case of “being in the know” most of the time.
I have not been to this particular festival. I don’t know how many session venues are available – perhaps fewer than before the pandemic. But the summer festivals are perhaps a bit easier in that, at least some of the time, outdoor sessions are possible – and the non-players can comfortably drink and socialise outside – so there is not as much pressure on the indoor sessions to accommodate everyone.
That said, it is normal on the busier nights (usually Friday and weekends), for sessions to be filled to capacity. At the Willie Clancy Week, if you don’t grab a seat early on one of those evenings, your only hope of getting a seat in a session is to head 3 miles or more out of Milltown to one of the neighbouring villages – and even there, the pubs are often full to bursting.
That was often my experience at Willy Clancy week, even many years ago.
Ennis was brilliant - again! Photos - https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAeWEd
Yes, it was busy. It’s naive to expect to rock up to any and all venues, grab a stool and play along. Many venues too small to accommodate many musicians - or even people wishing to listen. But that is in the nature of such weekends. Muggles always have to give way (rightly!) for the paid-musicians anchoring the session to play. So that’s 4-6 seats gone in the inner round. Some venues are always going to be terribly restricted. Others offer some more possibilities.
Sometimes it’s just as much fun to listen as to play.
One tip I might offer… Friday (night) and Saturday (all day) are mental busy. It isn’t going to happen (unless you’re awfully lucky). Monday in Ennis was really nice - and lots of opportunities. Our best fun session was on Sunday night by which time a lot of people had thinned out. Same goes for Wednesday/Thursday - before things get manic. There are smaller groups of musicians around. Lots of opportunities for more comfortable sessions.
I’ve even known “punters” complaining about musicians joining a session and “obscuring their view” of the other players!
Of course, prospective players shouldn’t just barge in either but it’s not a concert.
(I also posted the above on the Fleadh thread but it’s maybe more relevant to this one)
I was going to the Ennis Trad Festival from about 2001 up to 2019, but have not been again since the pandemic started. It has always been busy around the town centre on the Friday night, Saturday and Sunday afternoon – festival crowd mixing with your usual weekend revellers. It was ok when just listening – you could move from venue to venue quite easily. But for playing, you can expect to have to be in a seat early for the town centre venues, although there is a certain amount of turnover among the musicians. At the weekend, we always went to those venues further out and could usually find somewhere comfortable. It’s worth remembering that the venues are generally not special festival venues, often simply bars that usually have sessions anyway, often with limited space.
I did a quick check of number of sessions in 2022, per the festival web site. There were a total of 102 in 2022 (118 in 2019) and as an example of a single day, 32 on Saturday (37 in 2019).
We go for the week – Tuesday to Tuesday – and find there are quieter sessions outside of the Friday night to Sunday afternoon period. May be best to go along with what the festival offers rather than expect to get what you want. There is at least the opportunity to enjoy some great players in smaller, relaxed settings.