Stepping into Riley’s Pub in south St. Louis on a Wednesday evening feels like walking into a pub in Ireland. Every week, a dozen or so musicians tuck into the front table to play traditional Irish tunes late into the night.
“We started out with just five or six people,” said Larry Pontious. “Since then, the people at Riley’s are much higher-caliber musicians — nothing against all the people that are like me, just trying to do the best they can, but there's some really great musicians in St. Louis.”
Wednesday night at Riley’s is one of many regular sessions in St. Louis. The region has become known for its Irish music scene thanks to several decades of culture and talent building by St. Louisans with a passion for Irish culture and heritage.
“St. Louis punches way above its weight in Irish music,” said Houston, Texas, resident Evan Michaelides, who visits St. Louis regularly. “I was taken aback and amazed when I came to appreciate what's going on there. Hats off to [the] people who have built the institutions to keep it going.”
Founded in the 1970s by Irish immigrants Patrick “PJ” and Helen Gannon, St. Louis Irish Arts began as informal tin whistle and fiddle lessons in their basement. Today, it’s one of the largest Irish music schools in the U.S., with nearly 100 students.
“St. Louis would be a very bleak place if it weren't for all the immigrants that helped to shape it,” said St. Louis Irish Arts Director Eileen Gannon. “I absolutely love everything that immigrants have done for St Louis, including my parents.”
Also in the 1970s, John D. McGurk's Irish Pub and Garden opened its doors. The venue is well known for hosting musicians from Ireland and throughout the U.S. who are drawn to St. Louis to take the spotlight on the pub's iconic front-room stage.
“One of the greatest influences on the growth and the appreciation of Irish traditional music in St Louis has been McGurk's,” said St. Louis attorney Andrew O’Brien, who moved to the U.S. from Dublin in 1990. He chose St. Louis as a launching pad because of the Soulard pub.
“I had a friend in St. Louis and knew McGurk’s, and so this was the place I arrived — not really with the intention of staying, but here I am,” O’Brien said.
Then, in 1998, Mike Mullins co-founded St. Louis Tionól. Nearly 30 years later, the annual four-day festival brings musicians of all levels together to play music and learn from each other in workshops, performances and Irish music sessions and dances. The Irish word “tionól” means “a gathering with the intent to share."
“It really parallels events that we've been to in Ireland,” said renowned fiddle player Liz Knowles of Portland, Maine. She travels to St. Louis every year for the tionól as a performer, teacher and participant.
“There's a density of people [in St. Louis] that are actively trying to support Irish culture and Irish music, and really trying to keep it connected to Ireland,” she said. “It feels like it's a living, breathing culture there. In some places in the country, some of that has gone away, and St. Louis seems to keep the fire burning.”
For Pontious, St. Louis Tionól feels like a big family reunion.
Over the years, he’s formed relationships with people from across the country — kids who’ve grown up and adults who’ve gotten a little grayer. “Combine that with being around the best in the business for Irish traditional music — people from Ireland coming in that are personable, [who] you can talk to, you can take a lesson with them, you can play a tune with them after hours — it's just a great experience,” he said.
“The whole weekend goes by way too fast,” Pontious added.
For more on the St. Louis Tionól and the region’s Irish music scene, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
Related Event
What: St. Louis Tionól
When: April 10-13
Where: For information on times and venues, visit St. Louis Tionól’s schedule page
“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. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
