Main Street Ceili, October 2012

While getting ready to welcome Rose and Gene Clancy back to Edgartown for my big Labor Day 2016 Irish session, I was reminiscing over the weekend a few years back when the Clancys, along with Stu Peak, were last on the Island together during a really lively night on Main Street during which no fewer than three separate groups from a nearby Irish wedding (coincidentally) walked in off the street to join us for the music and the craic - and it was mighty, to say the least, with songs, stories, jokes, and dancing galore.



Rose, Stu, and Gene - playing at a wedding at Edgartown Lighthouse earlier in the day; a wedding that I photographed, and the impetus to pre-plan a session for that evening.





Stu, Jon, and Rose. We even got some of the Boston and Rhode Island contingent over here for the event. I can see from the near-empty bookshelves and bare walls that I had not even fully moved in at this point.


Gene and random walk-ins. What can I say - they see the flag, they hear the music, and the ones who know what's going on walk right in. And that's just the way I like it.


Rose and Levi.










Cecelia and Gene.





Bob, Susie, Ken, and Stu.


Paul - a most unforgettable and very funny character from Co. Down, whose oft-repeated line of the night was "Up, Down!"

Porch Session, July 30, 2016

The best part of life on the Vineyard in the summer are the people here on vacation who randomly turn up at our Main Street sessions. Last week it was Richard, a friend of a friend visiting from Nashville, who knocked on my door and ended up sitting in with me and Colin in an impromptu Wednesday night session. This past Saturday night featured two visitors: Isaiah, a fiddler and frequent Chappy summer visitor from Sonoma County; and Colin, a piper from Southeast Massachusetts. Though the weather was borderline for playing on the porch - the mist had started to roll in - we did settle in out there for a pleasant evening of music and interchange with passersby - half the fun of playing out there, of course. Always fun, too, is the swapping of tunes - the fact that half a dozen musicians, one of them a total unknown from 3,000 miles away; the other, someone whose name I knew but had never actually played with, are able to enjoy an evening of common tunes and camaraderie is what I love about this music. A great evening of craic and ceol here on Main Street. Thanks, everyone. Cheers!


Irene and Isaiah.


Colin K., Bob, Irene, and Isaiah.


Isaiah and Mary


Colin E.


Isaiah, Mary, Colin E., and Colin K.


Mary and Colin E. And a few from the phone: