For 25 years, musicians of all levels have gathered for the annual St. Louis Tionól — not just to perform traditional Irish music but to bask in the companionship of fellow performers and attendees.
“The heart of Irish music is a social event,” said festival organizer Mike Mullins. “You're there to interact with somebody — not only to have a chat, but also to play a tune — as opposed to sitting in front of an audience and performing.”
Mullins co-founded the festival in 1998 to provide a setting where musicians of all levels can get together, play music and learn from each other. (The Irish word “tionól” means a "gathering with the intent to share.") Mullins said he’s seen St. Louis’ Irish music scene grow substantially in the last quarter-century.
“There were no sessions going on [in the mid-1990s],” he said. “Now, there are two regular sessions in St. Louis [and] there's a group of people playing music on a regular basis. It's much more lively than it was in days gone by.”
He added, “I like to think that the Tionól has been helpful to some degree with that.”
St. Louis’ Irish music scene is what led musician Nick Brown to move to the city in January.
“The thing about the sessions and the social aspect is that you end up making really good friends,” he said. “It's the music, but as they say, it's [also] the friends we made along the way.”
Brown has attended St. Louis Tionól workshops and performances since 2007. “It was wild to realize that I could sit with some really, really, really amazing musicians when I was just a beginner myself.”
He encourages people of all types — not just musicians or folks with Irish heritage — to come out to this weekend’s festival.
“If you want to hear great music, go to the Sheldon [performance]. If you want to learn great music, go to the workshops. If you want to just hang out and watch people play, or join in with people, then go to the sessions,” he said. “Everyone should come.”
Brown and Mullins joined Monday’s St. Louis on the Air to discuss the unique offerings at this year’s St. Louis Tionól. Find this episode of St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher or by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What: St. Louis Tionól
When: April 20-23
Where: Ceili & Sessions at Pat Connolly’s Tavern on Thursday // Concert at Focal Point on Friday (sold out) // Concert at the Sheldon on Saturday, with sessions to follow at O’Connell’s Pub // Workshops for sean-nos dance and traditional Irish music at SLUH on Saturday // Brunch & Sessions at John D. McGurk’s on Sunday
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Avery Rogers is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
