Sessions
Scottish session at Boyd's Jig & Reel
Boyd's Jig & Reel is a Scottish music and whisky pub at 101 S. Central Street, in Knoxville's Old City. The Scottish session meets on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. The pub's page gives 7:15 pm as the start.
The pub's page asks anyone who would like to join in to email the pub. It also keeps instruments on its wall that guests can borrow. If you are new, listen first and ask before you join in.
Dates can change. Check the pub's Facebook page before you come. More detail is on the pub's sessions page and on the Knoxville Scottish Music Session site.
Sources for this text
- Boyd's Jig & Reel, Sessions
- Old City Knoxville, Scottish Jam listing
- Knoxville Scottish Music Session
- The Session, Boyd's listing (older) (search snippet only, page blocked scripted access)
- Boyd's Jig & Reel
For review:Who leads the session: Boyd's own sessions page, the Old City Knoxville listing and the Knoxville Scottish Music Session site all name David Pickens as host. David Hall's brief says Kelvin is the current leader. These disagree, so no leader is named in the text. Kelvin, how should the session and your part in it be described?
Start time: the pub's page gives 7:15 pm. An older listing on The Session says 7:30 pm.
"Players can bring an instrument and sit in" is on the Knoxville Scottish Music Session site and the Old City listing. The pub's own page says to email the pub to join in, and the text follows the pub.
"All levels welcome" is not stated by the pub for the Scottish session, so it is not claimed. The pub mentions a separate "Celtic Jam for Beginners" with no schedule.
The Old City listing's calendar recurrence appears to include a last-Thursday date that does not match its own wording. The Knoxville Scottish Music Session site calls the session "bi-monthly" but lists two dates a month. The text uses the pub's wording.
A little history
The Knoxville Scottish Music Club formed in the fall of 1998. It no longer meets as a club, and the session at Boyd's has taken its place.
Sources for this text
For review:The club's site had not been updated past June 2026 when it was read.
What a session is
A session is an informal gathering where musicians play traditional tunes together, usually in a pub, mostly for their own enjoyment. There is a longer note on what a session is.
Sources for this text
For review:The image on this page is a pub bar in Edinburgh. It is not Boyd's. "Mostly for their own enjoyment" comes from Irish-session guides, not from a Scottish source.
What to expect
Tunes are played in sets. The circle is for players and singers. Others sit at a nearby table or at the bar.
Sources for this text
For review:Kelvin, or the session host, should confirm how this session runs in practice.
Session etiquette
Listen for a while before you play, and ask before you sit in. Sit at the edge of the circle until you are invited closer.
Bring acoustic instruments, preferably ones played in traditional sessions.
Keep your volume low enough to hear the players around you, and avoid playing idly between sets.
If you start a set, pick a tempo close to the session's usual one. Keep lesser-known tunes or sets to once in the main session.
If you play backing, keep the rhythm simple and steady, and sit out a tune whose chords you do not know.
Silence your phone, and step away from the circle to use it.
Sources for this text
For review:Most general etiquette guides are written for Irish sessions. The Knoxville Scottish Music Session page is the best local source, and these points follow it closely. Unwritten rules vary and the session host decides, so Kelvin and the host should confirm or change them.
Other sessions at Boyd's
The pub's page also lists an Irish session on the first and third Thursday at 7:15 pm, an Old Time jam on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm (strings only), and a bluegrass jam on the first and third Sunday at 3 pm. Check the pub for current details.
Sources for this text
For review:Beyond Boyd's, no other Knoxville sessions have been sourced yet. Add any the players know about, with the host's agreement.