furledleader

I'll be traveling to Ireland with a friend who is an accomplished guitarist. During the week we are there he would love to join in with musicians in the pubs. First... is this even feasible, or does custom frown on him even asking? Second... if it's possible to do this, he would plan on picking up a good, reasonable guitar in Dublin when we land rather than travel overseas with one of his regular guitars. Any music shops or pawn shops in Dublin that you would recommend?

furledleader

I'll be traveling to Scotland with a friend who is an accomplished guitarist. During the week we are there he would love to join in with musicians in the pubs. First... is this even feasible, or does custom frown on him even asking? Second... if it's possible to do this, he would plan on picking up a good, reasonable guitar in Edinburgh when we land rather than travel overseas with one of his regular guitars. Any music shops or pawn shops in Edinburgh that you would recommend?

lavandula

Hello furledleader, I don't have an answer for your question, but I would encourage you to put country tags on your questions as people who are looking for posts about your countries will find them if they drop off the end of the page. I also notice you have 2 very similar posts albeit different countries ... wondering if perhaps they should not be merged...? (which you can do by hitting the orange triangle and asking for help). Good luck, may you get the right responses!

Lavandula

Moderator1

We have merged your two threads

Southam

Five years ago in Cork I came across a couple of music sessions in pubs. I was given to understand that these took place early in the week rather than weekends. Clearly they were not sing-alongs or open-mike. The musicians played as friends meeting regularly and not for show. Outsiders were tolerated as spectators. No requests, please.

I am not a musician (or Irish) so wiser advice might come from the host or staff at your accommodation. Or ask the landlord at a pub what the etiquette is. If the place courts tourists and the music runs from Danny Boy to the Beatles, it's not where you want to look.

annhig

Furledleader, assuming that your trip starts in Edinburgh as you mention buying a guitar there, I found this website about folk in Edinburgh - the Royal Oak looks like the best fit. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/un...-in-edinburgh/

I'm sure that you can search for the same sort of info for your other destinations.

However I'm not sure how current the info is due to covid - I noted that the Edinburgh website is dated 2019 and hasn't been updated which doesn't bode well. You might also want to look up the cover regs in Scotland and wherever else you're going as they pertain to pubs and singing.