Having the Craic
When you're in Ireland, you'll want to be having the "craic."
Craic - pronounced crack - is a term for news, gossip, fun, entertainment, and enjoyable conversation. It is often used with the definite article – the, for example - "What's the craic?"
Here are the different levels of craic.
Good craic: A fairly ok night out, fun but nothing too amazing.
Mighty craic: Better than good craic, not quite at the highest level,
someone did some crazy stuff maybe.
Savage craic: Almost there, great night all together, everyone on top
form, Guinness flowing, great jokes.
Deadly craic: A step above savage but not quite the Everest moment.
The craic was ninety: The nirvana of craic, everything was amazing,
incredible, everyone hooked up, the pints were great.
For us, craic will most likely consist of great music, good conversation and the lively atmosphere of a favorite "local."
Here are a few of our favorites:
Come for the trad and stay for the amazing array of music in Westport.
From jazz to folk to rock to blues to bluegrass, you'll find music to be a revered aspect of everyday life in this heritage town.
Many pubs will have live music, but there are some pubs that you just won't want to miss.
McGings on High Street, Cobblers on the Octagon, and Matt Molloys on Bridge Street are where you'll hear the widest variety and highest quality music on a consistent basis.
Following are some sample tracks from our favorite venues and groups. These videos are, sadly, a pale rendition of this music live. But maybe you'll get a bit of the feel...
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| McGings crew. Just terrific. 3rd from the right.... Danger. |
The Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival holds a special place in our hearts.
In 2010, on our first visit to Westport, on our first night in the town, Darren Madden, the proprietor of the Clew Bay Hotel invited us to come over to the hotel for the first night of that year's festival.
We had rented an apartment in the Old Mill Apartments, adjacent to the hotel and owned by Darren and his wife, Maria Ruddy. As Darren was showing us around the apartment, he invited us to come over to the hotel that night - "come over, you'll enjoy it, I'll buy you a pint..." A fine offer.
I was intrigued. Bluegrass in Ireland? But, of course, it made sense. Bluegrass roots lie in traditional Scots/Irish music. And Scottish/Irish immigrants to the Appalachian region brought their music with them. Over time, a few new rhythms were added, a few novel instruments. But the heart and soul of bluegrass lies in the Scottish Highlands and the hills and valleys of rural Ireland. So, of course, the music would strike a chord in Irish hearts and performing the music would only require an easy and comfortable adaptation for Irish musicians.
And that night we witnessed one of those adaptations.
A local traditional Irish music group, the Mac Evillys, anchored by brother and sister Hubie and Sarah Mac Evilly and fleshed out by a wonderful guitar/mandolin player, a fine fiddler, and an incredibly gifted bass guitarist. morphed into the "Rocky Top String Band" for the festival.
I wrote about this experience on the blog that year.. I was gobsmacked (a popular Irish phrase) by the band's introductory valedictory, delivered by Hubie - "it's our music that went to the States and came back to us; the songs and their themes so reflect our own history; it's just plain fun..." The story wasn't gobsmacking; the delivery was. Here's Hubie, telling his story in a gorgeous west-of-Ireland-accented baritone, only to start their first song - well, of course, Rocky Top, Tennessee - and perform the song in perfect mimicry of the nasal tones and lazy drawl of some hard-bitten old Tennessee hand right out of the "holler." I was hooked.
Truth be told, I've always enjoyed bluegrass when I've stumbled upon it, but had never sought it out. The festival changed that. I look forward to the festival each year, and often look for opportunities to see bands here in the States. We saw the Steep Canyon Rangers and The Steeldrivers last spring during their Florida tours.
The WF&BF opens on a Friday at noon (at the Clew Bay Hotel -respect must be paid...). and continues through Sunday with a gospel session at the beautiful Trinity Church in the morning and the "Tim Rogers and Friends" bluegrass jam at Blousers Pub, starting mid-afternoon. In the day, the jam might go on for eight- ten hours, with Tim anchoring and both professional bluegrass musicians and hobbyists sitting in to show their stuff. A terrific high energy session.
Always the second weekend in June, it's a local event worthy of planning a trip around..
