Good Introductory Irish Music

"Hey Tony, I just stumbled onto your blog and you ramble on a lot about this thing called traditional Irish music. I'm not sure if I like Irish music. Is it Riverdance? What should I listen to in order to find out if I like this stuff?"

Welcome newcomer, your questions are very enlightened and from them I can tell you are intelligent indeed. Your kind is most welcome in this world.

Exploring Irish music is probably the most rewarding journey you will embark on in this lifetime. I envy you the things you will experience for the first time: the thrill of hearing Planxty, The Chieftains, The Bothy Band. The serenity that comes from Joanie Madden's whistle or the excitement of Mary Bergin's. The awe you will feel when you hear Paddy Keenan, Seamus Ennis, Robbie Hannan, Leo Rowsome, and Liam O' Flynn play the most amazing instrument on the planet: the uilleann pipes. The chill you'll get when you hear Matt Molloy play The Mason's Apron on the flute. Ahh, you're in for a fun time.

Oh, and Irish music isn't Riverdance. Riverdance is a show written to showcase music from many cultures, not just Ireland, although Ireland does figure in prominently. In many traditional Irish music circles Riverdance isn't cool.

So, where should you start? I recommend starting with bands, as opposed to just one player on one instrument, because they offer a lot of variety and you get to hear many instruments at the same time. This gives you a good feel for the music and how the myriad variety of instruments that play Irish music sound. This is how I discovered I loved the pipes. The first time I heard Liam O' Flynn (the piper in Planxty) play I was hooked. Listening to bands also provides a feel for how an Irish music session sounds, albeit a bit more rehearsed.

A session is an informal gathering of players that get together to play traditional Irish music. The session has, and continues to be, the focal point of Irish music and remains the primary way for musicians of this music to interact and pass on what they know. They usually occur in pubs, but they are also known as kitchen music because the session can also be held in someone's house. Actually they can occur wherever two or more musicians get together: the parking lot, the back of a truck, a campground, the lobby of a hotel, the bathroom (I don't think I want to know how this would come about), anywhere. Participating in a session is the single most fun a person can have with their clothes on (attending a session with your clothes off is generally frowned upon, unless you're a member of a band called The Corrs, then it totally acceptable, and even encouraged).

Start with these albums:

Planxty
Planxty: The Well Below The Valley
Planxty: After the Break
The Bothy Band: After Hours (Recorded Live In Paris)
Na Connerys: Celtic Sessions
De Danann Collection
Lunasa

Also, read this book: Last Night's Fun: In and Out of Time With Irish Music, By Ciaran Carson.

This book is a collection of essays written by an Irish musician. Excellent reading and conveys a lot of the spirit of what it's like to play (and listen to) this music.

There's a lot of great music out there, but for someone who just wants to find out if they like it, these are some of the best places to start. I'll post more about specific instruments, like the pipes, flute and whistle later.