Wellington Irish Sessions

Covid-19 Precautions

New Zealand is at Alert Level 2. More information on Alert Level 2

We can have sessions again but we have to work within the constraints of the Alert Level. We'll update this advice as things change. We'd love to have you play with us but please get in touch either via our Facebook page or via email to work out the safest way to do that.

Two sessions happen on Tuesday nights starting at 7:30 pm at the Welsh Dragon Bar, 10/12 Cambridge Terrace, Wellington 6011, New Zealand. Players of traditional Irish music are welcome. The evening is split into two parts with a slow session early on for those who are relatively new to Irish session music and a regular session for experienced players who are familiar with playing this music at a high standard.

Slow Session - 7:30 to 8:30

The slow session is an opportunity for players who are starting out with Irish traditional music and want an opportunity to play tunes that they’re learning or have already learnt with others in a supportive environment. We don’t teach tunes directly in this session but it’s a great chance to practice playing with others. There’s some scope for accompaniment but the focus is on the melody instruments. See our page for more information.

Slow tune of the week
Salamanca
D reel

Regular Session - 8:45 to late

The regular session is a different beast from the slow session that happens earlier in the evening. We want this to be an excellent Irish session with a very strong focus on the traditional melody instruments playing traditional tunes. This means that accompaniment from rhythm instruments will be limited so that the melody can shine. See our page for more information.

Regular tune of the week
The Holly Bush
Gmaj jig

Tunes Archive

Many of the tunes that get played at the sessions, including those we’ve been learning in the slow session, are in our page. We add new tunes reasonably often - you can check those out in our page.

Charlie Montgomery is a traditional fiddle player from Co Fermanagh who has lived in Auckland, New Zealand for over 60 years. He has been an inspiration for many years to people in New Zealand who have had the privilege of hearing him play. We’ve got a page where you can hear him playing his own compositions as well as some old favourites.

Other NZ Sessions

There are a number of Irish Music sessions around New Zealand but the number of musicians is relatively small. It’s a long, long way from Clare to here. See our page for more information.