Lomond Folk Club - Spring Break 2017

Jared had two things he wanted to do while we were in Scotland - go to a pub to listen to folk music and visit the William Wallace Monument. The William Wallace one was easy because it's a tourist attraction. Just find it on a map, pay the admission fee, and go. Finding a pub where we could go listen to traditional Scottish music was another thing.  A couple of months before our trip he started looking around online for places near where we were staying that might work. I think he searched using the words "traditional music Scottish pubs". That put him on the right track and he started an email correspondence with a nice lady from Lomond Folk Club. She was so helpful letting us know not only when her club met to play, but also other places we could go to listen to traditional music. 

We were grateful that there was a gathering of the Folk Club during our time in Scotland. Monday night we abandoned the girls and Jared and I headed to Corries Restuarant in Balloch to listen to the Lomond Folk Club. Honestly, we had no idea what to expect from the evening beyond what Jared had been told via email which was that they started around eight but that we might want to arrive early because sometimes it was difficult to get a seat. With that in mind, we planned to get there about thirty minutes before eight. 

When we walked in the place was almost empty and I wondered if maybe we weren't in the right pub? Jared confirmed with the bartender that the Folk Club would be meeting there that night, ordered a slice cake and a couple of sodas, and we took a seat in a corner. Over the next half hour, musicians started streaming in until almost every seat was taken. There were guitarists, bagpipers, pianists, drummers, and even accordionists. Everyone there that night was there to make music, with the exception of Jared and I and a woman from France and her son. Without exception, they were all very friendly and welcoming. It was already shaping up to be everything Jared had dreamed and more. 

The first person we met was a bagpiper. He was a huge guy with a Scottish flag hanging from the back of his pipes, tattoos on his arms, a fondness for coarse language, and such a need for his inhaler that I wasn't sure how he was going to have the breath to actually play the bagpipes. I found it hard to follow what he was saying because I was so transfixed by his accent that I was only listening to the sound of his voice and not the actual words that were coming out of his mouth! Across from the bagpipe guy was a friendly guitarist with a binder filled with songs to choose from. We shared our table and the evening with a couple who were members of the Club as well.  The husband played the guitar and the wife sang. We happened to be sitting near the person Jared had been emailing so we had a nice conversation with her and her husband before the music started. 

At this point, all we'd heard was buzzing conversation and instruments being tuned. The session officially began and a sort of plan for the evening was laid out. They would start at one side of the room and go around in a circle with each person, or group of people, playing whatever they felt like when it came to their turn and they'd just keep going in circles until the evening was through. However, it wasn't just soloists or smalls groups performing because anyone who knew the song or was just musical enough to join in was welcome to sing or play along. Not knowing many Scottish folk songs made things a little tricky, but thanks to Google we were able to find the words to most of the songs and joined in as much as we could. We were even given little rice shakers so we had instruments to play. 

While we were welcome to sit and listen, we were strongly encouraged to perform something when it came to our table. We were able to skip that the first round, but by the second round there was to be no more sitting in the corner nursing our Diet Cokes. We'd have to sing for our supper, or for our entertainment anyway. Jared and I chose the most fitting of songs for a couple of kids with West Virginia roots, "Take Me Home, Country Roads". Having no instruments beyond our rice shakers it had to be acapella, but those talented people quickly joined in with accompaniment and even sang along for the chorus. I'm not sure I've ever been more nervous to perform in my life. 

My voice isn't the most amazing ever but it's pretty good.  My voice has changed in ways I don't love as I've gotten older, but I do sing loudly and confidently.  I think it sometimes makes my kids cringe when we're in church and the rest of the congregation is sort of whisper-singing and I'm belting it out. Sorry kids, but I do love to hear myself sing. I don't always sound great but when I do it feels pretty amazing.  I tried to be quiet I really did, but this night was no different from church on Sunday. Once we'd been there for a while the people around us had heard my voice and were encouraging me to sing more. 

After that it felt as if we were officially part of the Club. We sang along to every song, we participated in the Club raffle (and won a giant Easter egg!), we were given finger sandwiches during the break just like the rest of the musicians.  The couple of guitarists that were sitting near us were playing songs by Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and other American songwriters or even songs just about America so that we would know the words and could sing along. It was sweet to have a little bit of America mixed in with the beautiful Scottish music. The final song of the night was "This Land is Your Land" with me singing solo on the verses and everyone joining in on the chorus. 

One thing we did notice, and that was kind of sad to think about, was that all of the musicians were older. Older than us by a good bit and we're not that young anymore. I hope this tradition of making music and singing songs together continues in Scotland and that the younger generation keeps it alive. It was an amazing night and if we lived nearby I am sure we would be back week after week singing along with these beautiful talented people. What a magical experience this was and one we will surely never forget. Music really is a universal language and a love of music has the power to bring people together in ways nothing else can.