Irish Session players at Bagitos Bagel and Burrito Café in Montpelier Credit: Courtesy of Vermont School of Irish Traditional Music
In response to Trump-fueled anxiety currently surrounding immigration, Irish musicians from across the country are rallying in support of civil rights on Sunday, March 5. Dubbed “The Sanctuary Sessions,” coordinated gatherings are scheduled in dozens of U.S. cities from Portland, Maine to Portland, Ore., as well as Dublin, Ireland. Proceeds from the events go to support the American Civil Liberties Union. Montepelier’s La Puerta Negra hosts Vermont’s Sanctuary Session this Sunday.

One of the event organizers, Katrina VanTyne, posted an explanation of how the event unfolded on her blog, sessionobession.org: “Given that the Irish themselves found sanctuary in American in times of oppression, starvation and unimaginably poverty, musicians in the Boston Irish community felt it important to add their voices (and music) to those concerned about the trend in the country toward exclusion and prejudice,” she wrote. “They then reached out to the broader community in a nationwide effort to support civil rights for all people. And thus Sanctuary Sessions was born.”

Sanctuary Session: Irish Music for Civil Rights at La Puerta Negra is an open session. Any musicians, singers and dancers who would like to participate are welcome to join.

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Jordan Adams joined Seven Days as music editor in 2016. In 2021, he became an arts and culture staff writer. He's won awards from the Vermont Press Association and the New England Newspaper and Press Association. In 2022, he became a freelance contributor.