The Ruby Sessions

I went there last tuesday and the session was soooo great! The room is quite small but was totally full and I’ve had the chance to seat just in front of the stage. Artists were litterally one meter beyond me!
What a great experience to listen and watch talented singers and musicians just for 6 € and during 2 hours!
I think this place will become my future tuesday nights’ spot!

Oh my Lord, what a night!
I’ve been wanting to go to the Ruby Sessions for ages and finally made it this Tuesday night. I’d heard it’s good but nothing more and didn’t know what to expect. Especially as it goes quite late on a Tuesday night, was hoping it lived up to its reputation for me to forego an early night before work the next day.
AND, it did. In fact, surpassed my expectations. If you are a huge music fan and want to enjoy original live music even when it’s not coming from the biggest known names in the industry, then Ruby sessions hits the spot to say the least. And with some big names dropping in every once in a while, it’s not hard to understand why. It’s the type of night that has earnt its reputation fair and square where you hear the different acts perform completely mesmerised and you wouldn’t be surprised if a few years down the line those same performer’s names will be on everyone’s lips because they are just brimming with talent oozing out of them.
The fact that they perform original music too and manage to entertain is not to be taken for granted either. There are many talented musicians who don’t manage to compel audiences unless singing covers and many people don’t enjoy listening to songs they’ve never heard. Not a problem at the ruby sessions as every single performer is just amazingly talented at what they do. I left feeling like kicking myself for having taken so long to make it round to this.
The best bit of all, despite the sessions taking place weekly for the past 16 years, the venue remains small, upstairs at Doyle’s, I’d guess about a 50 strong crowd in total, makes you feel like you’ve gone upstairs into a well kept secret that only the privileged few know about and you are rewarded by being entertained by some seriously talented peeps in return. I’ve no doubt this will now become part of at least a semi-​regular routine for me, and just another reason why I feel blessed to live in this fair city of Dublin with it’s hidden underbelly of art & music and talent that even a lot of the bigger cities worldwide just can’t rival!

Fiquei de cara com a qualidade musical. Foi minha primeira noite em Dublin. Tinha acabado de conhecer os estúdios do Windmill Lane e cai no Doyles para minha primeira pit na ilha esmeralda. O pub ficava na porta ao lado do hostel onde estava hospedado. Após ser muito bem atendido, o garçom disse que teria música ao vivo no segundo andar e, claro, fui conferir. Confesso que entrei com o pé atrás, pois tenho preguiça dessa coisa de voz e violão. O ambiente, bem pequeno, estava tomado de pessoas atentas e em silêncio. Foi começar a primeira atração — cada noite, 4 artistas apresentam suas canções/​composições — para eu me apaixonar pelo que estava acontecendo naquele lugar.
Ao final, foi conversar com um dos artistas e combinamos de continuar o papo pois, eu estava na cidade como produtor musical. Também fui falar com o técnico de áudio, pois o som estava maravilhoso. Descobri que ele estudou na Pulse College, mesmo curso que estou fazendo em Áudio, Música e Tecnologia.
Antes de ir embora, reparei gravado na parede, nomes do mainstream médio (foto). Na próxima semana estarei lá.

The Ruby Sessions takes place on Tuesday nights in the attic of Doyle’s. You can find Doyle’s on the corner of College Street near Trinity College. The music is acoustic and sound. It’s a tiny space, so get there early. It’s about the musicians and their talent, so leave your banter and chatting downstairs. You can still order from the bar, but it’s a quiet atmosphere for drinking and listening.

The Ruby Sessions is a very unique and stirring acoustic club held every Tuesday night in the intimate, candle-​lit setting of the upstairs lounge in Doyles pub just across the road from Trinity College. Every Tuesday night four distinctive musicians play an innovative acoustic set for 20 minutes approx each. An assortment of burgeoning new musicians combined with recognized performers that have been in the business a while makes up the program every week. The Ruby Sessions have proudly played host to a number of successful musicians over the years such as
James Blunt, Paulo Nutini, Glen Hansard (Front man for the Irish band The Frames as well as star of the Oscar winning ‘Once’), Damien Dempsey, Paul Noonan (BellX1), Mundy, Gemma Hayes, Steven Fretwell, Liam O’Maonlai, David Kitt, Nizlopi, Cathy Davey, Joshua Radin, Luan Parle and Declan O’Rourke. Admission is 6 Euros and very occasionally you have to queue if a bigger act is scheduled to perform such as Damian Rice who typically garners a big crowd. Otherwise show time is 9pm. The upstairs lounge is the ideal venue for such an intimate gig. The interior boasts traditional wooden paneling and oak beams creating a rural, countrified setting. You would never think that beyond this rustic milieu the hectic streets of Dublin linger. The dimly lit room is snug and very inviting — a perfect ambience to sit back and enjoy a melodic, indie acoustic set with a relaxing pint. Owing to the intimate, candle-​lit setting and small size of the lounge the experience is a very emotive one so don’t be shocked if you are forced to hold back the tears whilst you listen to the haunting, poignant sounds. A memorable night that loiters in your consciousness for some time after.