Pub Sessions in Durham, Northeastern England
Irish music, English tunes, Northumbrian pipes & new compositions
Aug 2, 2009
They say that English folk song is disappearing from English pubs, but in northeastern England, folk music is what’s happening.
Ireland and Irish Music in Durham
Durham has a special relationship with the Irish: after London, Manchester and Liverpool, it received the fourth largest immigration of Irish escaping the potato famine in the mid-1800s. Many of the new residents worked in connection with the major northeastern industry of the time — coal mining — though rarely in the pits, since Ireland had no coal mining tradition. Some immigrants maintain links with old Eire, while others constitute a substantial audience for Irish music in Durham, whether played by Irish descendants or (more often) by others.
Researchers at Durham University have taken up the Irish theme: Jeremy Dibble and colleagues won an AHRC grant in 2007 to investigate Irish classical composers. The project culminates in July 2010 with the "First International Conference on Irish Music and Musicians".
But it is the Irish folk tradition that dominates in Durham and environs. Several Durham pubs host “sessions” of traditional music, with Irish instrumental tunes generally at the core. Aside from in Ireland itself, such sessions occur throughout the British Isles and indeed around the world.
In England’s Northeast, though, Irish music is generally mixed with local tunes as well. Even many of the musicians cannot distinguish these traditions musically, but others place great emphasis on including and acknowledging their local Northumbrian music.
The prestigious Sage arts centre, in Gateshead between Durham and Newcastle, is home to Folkworks, an organisation devoted to teaching performance of British folk music, especially that of the Northeast, but with a healthy dollop of Irish as well. Such renowned local musicians as Alastair Anderson and Kathryn Tickell are central to its activities, which since 2001 include an undergraduate degree programme in Folk and Traditional Music in collaboration with Newcastle University. Many of the Durham pub musicians have been involved with Folkworks.
Durham Pub Sessions
Major Durham pub sessions seem to have begun in the early 1970s. Today, at least four pubs host such sessions.
The Elm Tree has two: on Monday nights for the more professionally-minded performers, and on Tuesday nights for us mere mortals who like to jam, like regulars Tim on fiddle and Pete on bouzouki (a now accepted “Irish” instrument). Monday features many original compositions by Paul Archer, who plays fiddle, mandolin and guitar among others and is even a maker of such instruments.
On Wednesday nights, the Shakespeare has open jam sessions, while the Court Inn hosts the Durham University Folk Society in term. At the Dun Cow, sessions were mainly Irish and Scottish when started around 2001, but then largely retracted to English and particularly Northumbrian with some excursions to Scandanavia; hear them on Thursdays, and expect to hear Northumbrian pipes. Several regular musicians at these sessions also travel out to Middlestone, County Durham, to play at the Ship Inn on the first Sunday evening of every month.
Events across the Northeast are listed at Folk and Roots or Folk Venues, including ceilidhs, festivals, folk clubs, concerts and gigs for a variety of folk and acoustic music. Significantly, few of these Durham sessions are mentioned on such sites: though welcoming of newcomers, the musicians are happy with their current vibe and feel no need to advertise.
Why do pubs allow musicians to take over a regular corner every week? Beer, and more beer! The players, their friends and others drawn by the music are constantly replenishing their glasses, to the financial delight of the publicans.
Folk Instruments and Song
Many session musicians are multi-talented, picking up different instruments for different tunes as a matter of course. Joe plays accordion and spoons (oh, to be able to replicate his clear clackety clack….), Ian plays fiddle and guitar, but they, and others, may pick up yet other instruments.
Other common instruments are concertina (a particular favourite for northeastern tunes), mandolin, penny whistle, and Irish flute. Bagpipes pop up occasionally — mostly the Irish uillean pipes or the distinctively local Northumbrian pipes (try the Dun Cow for these). A string bass is even rarer. Solo instrumentals are uncommon, since all join in as soon as they recognise the melody or begin to grasp it as it is repeated. Mistakes are allowed!
Those expecting songs might be disappointed. “Session” music is almost entirely instrumental with at most a song or two. In contrast, the terms “folk club” and “singaround” imply plenty of song. For those wanting to sing, they should head for a folk song club; for those who just want to play, join in at one of the many sessions happening in a nearby neighbourhood!
Reference
Keegan-Phipps, Simon (2003) “ ‘Folk music’ and the pub session in Durham.” MA thesis, Dept. of Music, Durham University.
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