I've been in places all across the US billing themselves as Irish pubs, and this is corroborated by my experience particularly in Ohio and Houston. (Yes, I know

I've been in places all across the US billing themselves as Irish pubs, and this is corroborated by my experience particularly in Ohio and Houston. (Yes, I know I went from a state to a city.) I've literally been at sessions where left leaning doctors, devout Christians, gun shop owners, republican judges, wiccan radicals, Discordian internet hipsters, polyamorous librarians, liberal engineers, and libertarian programmers can all bond over a love of music and even be friends. The level of actual Irish Pub authenticity can vary. The actual communication from different points of the socioeconomic ladder and political spectrum is real. What's more, it seems to work better in red states than in blue. In Red states, there's enough left leaning in the music communities, such that a left-right balance of power occurs in such places. In Blue states, there's an overwhelming left lean, so sometimes people far enough on the right are shunned. (And the center-left is labeled "right.")