No festival can lay claim to the concept of the informal music or singing session, but Girvan always claims to have some of the best.
The philosophy of the Girvan Festival, right from the start, was to break down ant perceived barriers between performers and audience, and this can best be encapsulated by the atmosphere of a good session, where everyone has to opportunity to join in (or not) according to their wishes. There will always be irresolvable discussions about whether singers and instrumentalists are better together or apart, and over the years the Girvan sessions evolved, with minimal direction from the committee, into those that were one, the other, or mixed.
So what if some visitors go to nothing else – this is the tradition!