In Tune with Tradition - Perspectives on Session Etiquette in Irish Traditional Music podcast

Episode 23: 'Irish Music Sessions Are Strange Social Experiments'

Guest: Jacqui Martin

Released: 1st September 2026

In this episode of In Tune with Tradition, Tara Connaghan speaks with fiddle player and music teacher Jacqui Martin about the friendships, nerves, habits and small social signals that shape Irish music sessions.

Jacqui grew up around music and sessions, but she also knows what it is to fall away from playing and come back through listening, encouragement and friendship. That gives this conversation a very grounded view of what helps people stay with the music.

The episode moves through childhood Comhaltas memories, teenage confidence, the importance of having a session buddy, adult learners, slow sessions, the Balaclavas in the Cobblestone, seating, rhythm, songs, mic’d-up tourist sessions and why a session can sometimes feel like a strange social experiment.

There is a strong theme running through the whole conversation: people keep playing when they have somewhere safe to go, somebody to sit beside and enough confidence to find their place.

Jacqui is not interested in turning sessions into rule books. But she is clear that sessions are still social spaces. You would not walk into someone else’s conversation and start roaring about a different subject, so why would you do the musical version of that with an instrument in your hand?

This conversation is especially useful for adult learners, returning musicians, teachers, session organisers and anyone trying to understand why a session can feel comfortable one night and impossible the next.

Transcript below.