This one’s gonna be a real party! And we aren’t using “real” as a colloquial modifier here, we mean this is the real thing. And you’re invited to experience it for yourself. This isn’t just a listening experience; it’s an experience in Cape Breton living. Tic & Emily Butler are part of the fabric of the Cape Breton traditional music scene. From the late 1970s through the ‘80s, they provided a haven for female performers from the west side of the island including Raylene and Heather Rankin, and Natalie MacMaster when they needed accommodations while rehearsing for The Rise and Follies of Cape Breton and the Cape Breton Summertime Revue. In the early 1990’s while Irish musician Liz Doherty was conducting research for her PhD, Denis Ryan introduced her to Tic & Emily and yet another gal was taken in. For decades they hosted parties (and travelling folk musicians) at their home in Sydney, and bungalow in Mira—from Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem, the Fureys, and Ryan’s Fancy to Allister MacGillivray, John Allan Cameron, and the Barra MacNeils. Just like at a house party, this afternoon’s session out on the Mira will feature a variety of musicians and singers gathered for some tunes and songs. This isn’t your typical concert where the musicians play a predetermined, rehearsed set of music facing an audience seated neatly in rows of identical chairs. The musicians will be clustered together on the floor, playing for each other as much as for the “audience”, sharing stories and laughs between numbers. This is a true Cape Breton session. You’re welcome to take a seat in one of a variety of chairs and sofas and have a listen, but you can also get up to socialize and grab a cup of tea and a snack if the mood strikes you—although you just might lose your seat, just like at a real house party. Everyone performing today has a connection to these legendary gatherings, whether they were there themselves or they have heard the stories from their musical parents. This is not a concert. It is an experience. It is the closest thing you are going to get to a genuine Cape Breton session unless you are invited into a local musician’s home.