It's Open 'Seisun' Every Wednesday at the Kilkenny

The tables are lined with pint glasses and the Yankees are on the TVs above the bar.  It is a little cold outside and a few walk in with fiddles under their arms.  Dust rises from the wooden floorboards as everyone stomps their feet to Irish music.

It must be Wednesday night at the Kilkenny House Restaurant and Pub on 112 South Avenue East.

The weekly tradition begins with about three musicians channelling a couple hundred years of music.

This is an open session (or "seisun," to be historically accurate) for any and all musicians who want to play along.  An hour into the set, the three musicians grow to about eight or more. They crowd into a corner and play their songs, pausing every now and then for a sip of Guinness or wine. 

One musician hosts the session, which runs from 8 to 11 every Wednesday night. The host invites others from the area to join in. 

Tenor banjo player Rich Brautigam started hosting back in April.

"Each week I invite a different musician," Brautigam said. "They come from New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut to come here and play."

The informal nature of the session lends itself well to the spontaneity and excitement of the music. 

Anniemarie Doherty-O'Donnell fills out the ensemble's sound with a lightning-quick accordion.  She grew up in Brooklyn and learned in the Bronx from noted Irish music teacher, Maureen Glynn, eventually competing at the Fleadh Cheoil Festival in Ireland. 

Peggy O'Mahomey and Montclair-based music teacher Amy Baschar joins in on fiddle, and Pete Ford plays the guitar while Larry McCullough switches off between percussion and the whistle. 

When all eight musicians play together, the reels and jigs feed off the festive atmosphere of the evening, putting a smile on those seated close by and providing a live soundtrack for those perched on bar stools watching baseball.

"You come and if you know a song you play along, and if you don't you, sit and have a drink, " said Dave Brahm, a fiddle player.

"They all know more songs than I do so I drink more than they do," he added.

For additional information on the Kilkenny House, go to their Web site www.thekilkennyhouse.com or call them at 908-276-3414.