Ottawa Cape Breton Session

Sessions | Events

Fri. Apr 25- Come out to The Royal Oak Neighbourhood Pub and Restaurant at 800 Hunt Club Rd. at Uplands for a fun, Inverness County style Cape Breton square dance.  This event will feature local musicians and will start at 8pm with a walkthrough of the dance. There is NO COVER for this event, but donations to help cover expenses and to help fund upcoming Cape Breton square dances in Ottawa will be graciously accepted by e-transfer to CapeBretonInOttawa@gmail.com

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Sun. May 4 - Pub Session - 2pm to 5pm - May the Fourth be with you! Put on your Star Wars T-Shirt and join us for an open jam session featuring Cape Breton jigs, reels, strathspeys and marches at the Barley Mow Merivale (1541 Merivale Rd.)! We'd love to have you clap along with our East Coast Kitchen Party, or bring an instrument and join in the fun. Check the Tunes pages for the dots of tunes we'll be playing.

Sun. May 18 - Pub Session - 2pm to 5pm -  National Fiddle Day celebration. Open jam session featuring Cape Breton jigs, reels, strathspeys and marches. Join us at the Barley Mow Merivale (1541 Merivale Rd.)! We'd love to have you clap along with our East Coast Kitchen Party, or bring an instrument and join in the fun. We'll be playing Canada's National Fiddling Day Two-Step. aka Fiddle Bill. 

“I envisioned National Fiddling Day to be a whole day of celebration where fiddlers share their talent, lifting spirits and making people happy. Like Canada, it [fiddling] embraces and accommodates many different styles and traditions, allowing each to thrive and flourish — even while we create an entirely new sound.”

                                             — Senator Elizabeth Hubley May 18 2016 

Sun. June 1 - Pub Session - 2pm to 5pm - Open jam session featuring Cape Breton jigs, reels, strathspeys and marches. Join us at the Barley Mow Merivale (1541 Merivale Rd.)! We'd love to have you clap along with our East Coast Kitchen Party, or bring an instrument and join in the fun.

Sessions, sessions, sessions - there are lots of Celtic sessions going on in the National Capital Area that include a nice mix of Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton and French Canadian tunes. Check out our Google calendar below  for dates and locations. 

Connect

Join our Facebook community to find links to online videos, music resources and other Cape Breton goodness. We also share news via Twitter. To see videos from past sessions check out our YouTube channel. 

Sign up to receive occasional notices about Ottawa Cape Breton Session events, as well as other events involving Cape Breton music and culture in the National Capital. A newsletter goes out approximately once a month, more often if there are last minute events, or a significant change to a planned event.  Past newsletters are here if you want to get an idea of what to expect or catch up on what you missed.

We NEVER share our list with other groups, we may occasionally pass along relevant information from another local group but rest assured that we won't give your email address to anyone else!

Concert | Workshop | Dance

Dara Smith-MacDonald and Adam Young will be bringing Cape Breton to Ottawa in May! A very accomplished fiddler, her style is vibrant and traditional. Dara has played from Cape Breton to Ontario and the US. as well as in Scotland at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. She has been a long-time fiddle instructor at The Gaelic College and has students throughout the world through Skype. Dara frequently performs with pianist Adam Young with whom she collaborated on two albums both of which earned nominations for Music Nova Scotia’s Traditional Roots Recording of the Year.

Fri May 9 - 7pm - House concert in Kanata, ON. Jam session to follow. BYOB. Light snacks provided. Bring some to share if you’d like.  Suggested donation of $25 p/p payable in advance by e-transfer. Seating is limited and must be reserved at KanataHouseConcerts@gmail.com.

Sat. May 10 - Workshops and jam session in Kanata. Read more...

Fri. May 16 - Cape Breton Square Dance - Montgomery Legion 330 Kent Street, Ottawa, ON (lower level – there is an elevator) 7:30 doors open, Dance from 8:00 – 10:00 $20 p/p, Children (12 and under) free with a parent. You can prepay your ticket via e-transfer to KanataHouseConcerts@gmail.com. Cash only at the door. Cash bar. No better way to celebrate Canada's National Fiddling Day than to immerse yourself in the fiddle traditions of Cape Breton Island!

Tunes

Cape Breton fiddle music is best learned by ear. Although detailed sheet music and sound files are provided here for learning the basics of a tune , be aware that the tune may sound different when played live. The best way to really learn these tunes is to come out and play along with us at either a house or pub session. You would be more than welcome! The Tunes page contains tunes and sets you are likely to hear at one of our sessions. 

Scenes from some of our past pub sessions - always a great time!

Pub Sessions

Sunday afternoon pub sessions are generally at a pretty fast pace. It is mostly group/session playing with occasional songs or solos.  Everyone is welcome to join, with fiddle, guitar, mandolin, accordion or even a cello! Sessions  are led by Aylene, or sometimes other folks. Let her, or the pianist Ellen know if you have something special to share with the group.   

If you don't play, but love to hear Maritime and Cape Breton music live you're more than welcome to come down to the pub sessions and have some fun. It's always a big and friendly group of folks, a great place to meet old friends and make new ones too. You'll meet lots of other Maritimers in the crowd. Jam ouverte avec concentration sur le pieces de l’ile du Cap Breton, de l’Écosse et de Glengarry. Apportez un instrument ou venez partager une chanson avec nous. Ou, venez savourez la musique et notre plaisir. On ne sait jamais qui s’y présentera, mais c’est certainement toujours un groupe avec un accueil amical avec qui passer l’après-midi.

House Sessions  **Looking for hosts for house sessions**

House sessions are are great way to learn new tunes and meet new people and get familiar with the Cape Breton repertoire. House sessions occur on a second or fourth Sunday from 2-5pm . The pace at house sessions varies, new tunes are learned mostly from sheet music. Players take turns hosting house sessions, or sometimes they are hosted by folks who just love to hear the music. The schedule is a bit erratic, when a house session is scheduled it will be posted on the website. Session à vitesse moyennement accéléré où apprender de nouveau ‘sets’ de pieces, généralement  à partir de feuilles de musique mais aussi ‘à l’oreil’. Lieu idéal pour faire l’essaie d’une  nouvelle chanson, ou pratiquer de nouvelles pieces avant de les jouer à la session au pub. C’est aussi un bon temps pour faire du ‘social’ avec des gens forts sympatiques et pour savourer des grignotines délicieuses.

Host a House Session or Slow Jam

Hosts provide space and chairs (without arms) for anywhere from 6 to 20 fiddlers, and some space for socializing during the break. Session lead,  and all other arrangements are through Cape Breton Session. Please do not contact session hosts directly. To get on the email list for slow jams, or if you want to host a slow jam send an email to cbsession@cbsession.com.  Hosts can be fiddlers/pianists or just folks who don't mind listening to the same tune played over and over again. Ideally hosts provide an in-tune piano (or keyboard), but we can usually arrange to bring a keyboard and/or some extra chairs if needed.  Sessions are BYOB, and players bring along snacks for the break,  but usually the hosts provide tea or coffee, or other non-alcoholic beverages (depending on the weather). Slow jams will always require advance sign up, the host locations have varying capacities. If you have not received a registration confirmation you are not signed up - and should not show up.  More about slow jams...