A group of varied musicians gather every Thursday for a jam session at Frog Level Brewing Company, and on the first and third Thursday they can be heard playing Celtic classics.

On March 7, about 10 musicians filtered into Frog Level to play some Celtic favorites. Randy Jones of Cullowhee and Christine Mercier of Sylva were the first ones there warming up their fiddles. They've been playing with the group for about a year.

Mercier only started playing the violin five years ago when she moved to the area.

"There's so much music around here," she said. "When I moved here I knew I needed to get in on it and the violin is a real challenge of an instrument."

Robert Lindy of Cullowhee brings the unique sound of the bodhrán, Irish for drum, to the group. He's been playing the instrument for 20 ...