Irish Trad Music Blog

ONCE again the Carlingford Community Development in association with Saint Oliver's Primary School and the Carlingford Lough Youth Peace Project has organised the excellent Ceol Chairlinn Traditional Music Learning Festival in Carlingford from 3rd February until February 5, 2012. This year's line up of tutors maintains the high standards the organisers have set for themselves since the festival was established in 2006. These include; Fiddle: Gerry O'connor. Accordion: Martin Quinn. Uilleann Pipes: Pádraig Mcgovern. Song: Len Graham. Banjo: Brona Graham. Flute/whistle: Catherine Mcevoy. Sean Nós and Set Dance: Micheál and Kathleen Mcglynn. As in previous years, the Club Cheoil will be in Mckevitt's Village Hotel and the now established tutor and student session in St Oliver's Primary School. Village tunes in for Ceol Chairlinn - Local Notes - Argus.ie Related articles Celtic Connections lights up January in Scotland (irishtradmusic.blogspot.com) Masters in ...

The Pogues and Kristy MacColl’s “Fairy Tale of New York” is officially the most played Christmas song of the 21st century. Music body PPL totals up every public airing of the song in Britain. Its calculations include plays on the radio, TV, and as background music in shops, bars, gyms, and restaurants. They began their calculations in 2000. The song, released in 1987, never reached number one in the charts in Britain, but is played around the world every Christmas. It has also been featured in the UK’s top 20 chart on seven occasions. Jonathan Morrish, spokesman with PPL, said “Fairytale of New York is a timeless classic which everyone knows and rightfully deserves its place at the top spot”. Writing in the Irish Times, Joe Cleary, a lecturer in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, said that the song told the story of the reality of Irish emigration and what lay behind the “American Dream”. He wrote, “With the exception of Joyce's ‘The Dead’ or Patrick Kavanag...

Storyteller Tomáseen Foley and his ensemble of dancers, singers and musicians bring to life earlier times in Western Ireland, where the spirit of Christmas drew families and neighbors together for evenings of lighthearted, jovial fun. "A Celtic Christmas" recreates such a night before Christmas in a thatched farmhouse in Teampall an Ghleanntáin, where the rafters ring with Irish songs, traditional music and dance and stories of life in the distant parish, also Foley's birthplace. ian.org "I play the man of the house in the show," Foley says. "The singers, musicians, dancers and audience play the neighbors. We engage our audiences, and there's a lot of spontaneous laughter." "A Celtic Christmas" will be presented at 3 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater, 23 S. Central Ave., Medford. New songs, dances and stories fill this season's production, mixed with material from previous ones. "The...

Image via Wikipedia I am not sure what made 2011 such a prolific and significant year for books being published on Irish traditional music, but there have been several more that I thought were worthy of recommending to those with a serious bent on the music. At this time of year they do make wonderful gifts for those on your list. While they appear expensive and not likely to be found discounted at Amazon.com, they will be appreciated for many years to come and provide valuable and authoritative insights into Irish music. It has been 12 years since Armagh native and musician/journalist Fintan Vallely published his first Companion to Irish Tradition Music in 1999 which in 478 pages attempted to provide a comprehensive guide to traditional Irish music and musicians. It was an ambitious and successful effort, but there were some criticism that it wasn’t comprehensive enough and there was demand over the years for a revised edition. Vallely undertook the challenge and engaged a num...

Image by IvanWalsh.com via Flickr A DAD'S LIFE: THE FEADÓG bloody stáin . Is it even an instrument? Or is the tin whistle a jigging, reeling, anti-Sasanach weapon of parental torture? I’m disgusted at myself. I wanted to be that encouraging parent, the one who has the kids trying everything and not caring whether or not they succeeded just as long as they gave it a rattle. Music, sports, drama, performance art, whatever, just get out there and express yourself kids. You know, that type of insufferable parent. Of course, this requires a complete personality overhaul. For a start, I do care if they succeed or not. I’ll be the one tripping the other kid as she rounds the final corner of a 400m final just ahead of mine. It’s a fight out there, we all need a little help. The other thing is music. I can play Wild Thin g badly on the guitar, and the opening to Desire . That’s where it ends. In school, I was a bass in the choir mainly because I harassed the teacher into letting me ...

It started with a late night tweet. But it could end up as as the Christmas No 1. The first-ever charity single recorded using Twitter, #twitterxmassingle, was launched in Dublin yesterday, and raced straight to number 4 in the Irish iTunes chart. Written by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, 'Winter Song' came about after Brenda Drumm from Newbridge in Co Kildare tweeted on Saturday November 19: "Wouldn't it be great to have a Twitter Xmas Single?" Within hours @BrendaDrumm was getting tweets from musicians, singers, studio technicians, and other well-wishers across the country eager to help. Recording of the Christmas single took place just eight days later, on Sunday November 27, when 140 people gathered in the Westin Hotel in Dublin. Organisers picked the track 'Winter Song' as their single because it fitted the season, and also because the record is a fundraiser for the Neonatal Special Care Unit in the National Maternity Hospital in Holles...

Cover of Four Men and a Dog Monroe’s pub Saturday night, December 3 Well known trad group Four Men and a Dog, who are celebrating 21 years on the road, will perform in Monroe’s pub in the city this Saturday night, December 3 as part of a nationwide Irish tour. The current line-up features Cathal Hayden on fiddle and banjo, Donal Murphy on accordion, Gerry O’Connor on banjo and fiddle, Kevin Doherty on guitar and vocals and Gino Lupari on bodhrán and vocals. Four Men & a Dog have forged a reputation for their with their eclectic blend of music, mixing Irish with a wide spectrum of other genres, including rap, Southern rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass, polka, country swing, and salsa. Four Men and a Dog made their debut performance as a band in Murphy's Bar, Dungiven, County Derry, in 1990 and stole the show at the Belfast Folk Festival later that year. Barking Mad, their debut album won an award for Album of the Year from Folk Roots magazine in 1991, marking the first time...

Cover of Woody Guthrie Coming up in mid January, the Celtic Connections Festival, will light up the winter season in Glasgow, Scotland with music. There will be pipe bands, cutting edge contemporary Scottish and world musicians, tunes on fiddle, harp, guitar, whistle, bodhran, and other instruments, and songs from the many traditions and languages that intertwine with the music and history of Scotland. All told, there will be more than three hundred events as the nineteenth edition of Celtic Connections unfolds across the city. Whether the venue is a small listening room or the main auditorium of the Royal Concert Hall, though, the festival artists, staff, and audiences maintain a welcoming and friendly atmosphere that only adds the spirit of the music they share. This season. that music will include a celebration of the centennial of American folk song legend Woody Guthrie, as the one hundredth anniversary of his birth is observed by musicians from many traditions. There will be ...

Image via Wikipedia Legendary Irish outfit The Chieftains will embark on U.S. and European legs early next year, celebrating the group's 50th anniversary and a new collaborative album, "Voices of Ages." The quartet, helmed by Paddy Moloney (Uilleann pipes, tin whistle) along with Matt Molloy (flute), Sean Keane (fiddle) and Kevin Conneff (bodhran, vocals), will kick off the U.S. portion of the run with a Feb. 17 show in Santa Barbara, CA. The 21-date outing moves from the West Coast to the East, including a two-night stand March 11-12 in Virginia Beach, VA. The North American trek will conclude with a St. Patrick's Day (3/17) performance in New York City. A dozen U.K. gigs follow the U.S. tour, keeping the band on the road through mid-June. The Chieftains will celebrate their 50th anniversary with the release of "Voices of Ages," a collaborative effort featuring music by The Decemberists, The Civil Wars, Paolo Nutini, Bon Iver and The Secret Sisters, ...

http://www.bonapartesretreat.eu/ 3-piece Traditional Irish Group ... Stephen Ducke : Flute Louisa Bennion : Concertina Hubert Chenot : Fiddle Saturday 19th November @ 8.30pm Tickets €5 Bookings phone 086 3338457 Tickets also available on the door http://passionfruittheatre.com/passionfruit/music/upcoming-gigs/171-bonapartes-retreat

Having 60 years of tradition is enough reason to celebrate, but the traditions of the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann go back far longer then its 60 years in operation. Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann is an international organization aimed at promoting and preserving traditional Irish culture. The 415 branches in 15 countries gather to uphold traditional Irish music and promote and foster the Irish language. Here in Kingston, the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Harp of Tara Branch has been operating for 31 years. For the 60th anniversary of the organization, the Kingston branch hosted representatives from branches throughout the Canada East region, which covers Ontario and all provinces east of it. It was for that reason that the Irish Ambassador to Canada, Ray Bassett, made a stop in Kingston this past weekend, where he presented awards of recognition to members of each branch in Canada East. "Comhalts is a very important organization, keeping alive the traditional music and general traditio...

NORTHBOROUGH — Direct from Prince Edward Island, Canada, to Northborough, will be the extraordinary talents of fiddler Roy Johnstone and singer/songwriter Steve Sharratt. Invited to perform in town by resident (and traditional music fan) Liam Kearney, the performers will appear on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. at the American Legion Hall on West Main Street. While well-recognized in the field of traditional music - and the winners of multiple awards together and separately - organizers say the foot-stamping appeal of Roy & Steve can only be truly appreciated when you hear them live. In Northborough, they plan to perform the best of their Celtic and folk tunes along with original songs and some fine new gypsy tunes. Johnstone and Sharratt come from the red cliff shores of Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province. As long-time performing partners and accomplished recording artists, they will bring their toe tapping kitchen party music to venues across New Hampshire, ...

Kick up your heels for A Celtic Family Evening with the Martin Family Band Saturday, Oct. 15, at Bucks County Community College. The show, featuring Irish and American fiddle tunes and Irish step dance routines, gets underway at 7:30 p.m. in the Gateway Auditorium on the campus at 275 Swamp Road, Newtown. The band revolves around the eight-member Martin family: parents Nelson and Elaine, 20-year-old Emily, 18-year-old Melissa, 15-year-old Brian, 13-year-old Christy, 10-year-old Zach and 5-year-old Alex. Nearly all play the fiddle, while Emily adds bagpipes and banjo, Melissa picks up the accordion and Irish whistle, and Nelson and Brian play guitar. Family friend Earl Pyles completes the group on drums. Traditional Irish step-dancing and storytelling round out the program. A reception follows the show, where audience members can meet the performers and enjoy free refreshments, many of which are homemade. Tickets are $15. Children under age 12 are free. Proceeds benefit CCC Celt, which ...

Image via Wikipedia THREE SISTERS from Newcastle swept the board at the recent 2011 Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann, coming away with three coveted pieces of silverware. Between them, Lottie, Courtney and Katie Cullen brought home all of Wicklow's three titles from the 53rd Fleadh Cheoil which took place in Cavan at the end of August. Lottie was the first to show her hand to the competition when the 16 year old played the Uilleann pipes in the Under 18 competition. A member of the Craobh Chualann branch of Comhaltas Ceolteori Eireann and previous winner of five All-Ireland titles, Lottie soon made it clear that the competition from England, America and beyond were no match for her playing skills. Her title winning performance was so impressive, that the teenager was asked to take a starring role in the opening ceremony of the Solheim Cup at Killeen Castle, Co. Meath, last weekend. Fresh from her Under 18 win, Lottie joined her sister Courtney to represent Leinster in the highly c...

The Fairfax Chamber of Commerce and Heartbeat Music© announce The 1st Annual Fairfax Feis - Festival of Irish Music and Dance http://www.fairfaxfeis.com. The Feis will be held October 14-15th in venues throughout downtown Fairfax in Marin County, California. A Feis is a traditional Gaelic arts and cultural festival modeled in the traditional Irish Flead Cheoil where music, dance and poetry and storytelling go on in pubs all throughout the towns. This is the 1st Feis to be modeled on the traditional Fleadh Cheoil in Ireland to be held in northern California. Lineup for the Feis: Girsa, Todd Denman & Friends, Shay & Michael Black, Dale Russ, Brosnan School of Irish Dancing, Culann’s Hounds, Kyle Alden, Lucia Comnes Band, Gerry Carthy, Colm Ó Riain, Gerry Forde, The Gas Men,The Mild Colonial Boys, Tipsy House, Vinnie Cronin & Barry O ’Connell, Pat Hamilton, Iseult Jordan & Liz Stires, Riggy Rackin, Pat & Sean O Donnell, Healy School of Irish Dance, Sinead & Roisin...

The Ward Irish Music Archives will host the 7th annual American Sheet Music Conference this weekend at the Irish Fest Center, 1532 Wauwatosa Ave., Wauwatosa. Dealers and collectors of antique sheet music from across America, as well as teachers, professors and artists, are expected at the conference. The event begins at 4 p.m. Friday with a swap meet of music-related items. A series of seminars will be held on Saturday. Closing out the conference is ragtime entertainment in a program called "Sunday Cabaret with Bill Edwards." The event is open to the public. Admission is $5 each day. For more information, visit www.irishfest.com. Ward Irish Music Archives hosts American Sheet Music Conference - JSOnline :

The composer’s groundbreaking arrangements of traditional music had a formative influence on an entire generation, writes SIOBHÁN LONG FISHERMAN, PHILOSOPHER and polyglot; broadcaster, composer and arranger: Seán Ó Riada occupies a place somewhere between that of a tortured genius and what you could term an iconoclassicist. This year, the 40th anniversary of his death and the 80th anniversary of his birth, offers a timely opportunity to delve beneath the surface of this maestro whose legacy is still debated in both traditional and classical music circles. Those who have made Ó Riada’s acquaintance second-hand through his music might struggle to understand what all the fuss was about. Who was this man who cut a swathe through our characterisation of Irish cultural identity from the early 1950s to the late 1960s? Was he truly the white knight who rescued traditional music from the lower caste to which it had been consigned? Did Ó Riada’s film scores (in particular, that for Mise Éire ...

In any given year, the graph of Irish culture in the U.S. is skewed disproportionately towards the month of March, offering us more options around St Patrick’s Day than any of us could possibly attend, followed by swift decline in excitement when that month is over. This year is different: Imagine Ireland, a celebration of Irish culture across the full spectrum of the arts, spoils us for choice for the full twelve months of the year, offering music, dance, film and theatre, not just in major coastal cities, but across the country. And now, as the autumn schedule unfolds in these parts, fans of Irish film are treated to a new festival that aspires to become an annual event in NYC. At the end of the month, Irish Film New York offers a broad range of contemporary Irish features, from drama and documentary to comedy, starring household names and actors who soon will be. The festival is the brainchild of Niall McKay, a Wicklow native who comes to town from the West Coast with a reputatio...

This year the “Irish Alps” celebrates the fifth annual Banjo Burke Festival, which will be held in East Durham, New York over Columbus Day Weekend, October 7-10. The gathering offers an opportunity to enjoy traditional Irish music, dance and hospitality amidst the beautiful fall foliage of Greene County’s Catskills. The Banjo Burke Memorial Fund is a public charity founded to honor the memory of the late Joe “Banjo” Burke, a brilliant musician, singer and collector of songs who was also a well-known hurler in his native Kilkenny and at Gaelic Park. The Fund helps to support Parkinson’s research, as well as Irish traditional arts and sports. The Banjo Burke Festival is the main event on the Fund’s schedule, and has grown into an amazing tribute to a man who was devoted to traditional music, song, and sport. This year as always the festival will feature performances by gifted Irish musicians, singers, and dancers across the weekend. Various workshops will also be offered, giving as...

EMC Events - Celtfest is coming up this weekend (July 8-10), and offers more fun and excitement for its 15th year. "This year's event literally is bigger and better," says Jim Mountain, Almonte Celtfest Organizing Committee. "It is a tribute to all the performers, volunteers and supporters who have made Celtfest possible over the past 15 years." Beginning Friday night and running through Sunday, Almonte's annual celebration features three jam-packed days of Celtic art, music and song, language and culture. The event takes place in "one of the best natural amphitheatres in Canada - Gemmill Park," as well as Almonte's Old Town Hall. "Come and celebrate with us the great traditional and contemporary music, song and dance of the Ottawa Valley region," says Mountain. "Discover your inner Celt!" He notes nearly 200 performers will entertain residents and visitors during the festival. With Celtfest's growing popularit...

Cover of Cathie Ryan “You can’t swing a cat without hitting a fiddler,” is a fact at the July 9 Saline Celtic Festival, according to entertainment chair Sheila Graziano. Two high school fiddle groups – Fiddlers ReStrung from Saline, and The Tecumseh Fiddlers – will launch the day on the Red Dragon Stage. The Tecumseh Fiddlers are directed by Saline High School grad Amy Feldcamp Marr. One of the original members of the Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic, she played with that group at the first Saline Celtic Festival. “Amy has established, from scratch, the entire orchestra program in the Tecumseh Schools, and started this fiddle group four years ago to give to the Tecumseh community some of the riches she gleaned from her own experiences in Saline,” Graziano says. The high school fiddlers will be followed by Blue Fiddle, featuring Tom Ware on fiddle; and a performance by the current (and youngest ever) U.S. Open Scottish Fiddle Champion, Maura Shawn Scanlin. Fiddler Matt Mancuso, a f...

“You can’t swing a cat without hitting a fiddler,” is a fact at the July 9 Saline Celtic Festival, according to entertainment chair Sheila Graziano. Two high school fiddle groups – Fiddlers ReStrung from Saline, and The Tecumseh Fiddlers – will launch the day on the Red Dragon Stage. The Tecumseh Fiddlers are directed by Saline High School grad Amy Feldcamp Marr. One of the original members of the Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic, she played with that group at the first Saline Celtic Festival. “Amy has established, from scratch, the entire orchestra program in the Tecumseh Schools, and started this fiddle group four years ago to give to the Tecumseh community some of the riches she gleaned from her own experiences in Saline,” Graziano says. The high school fiddlers will be followed by Blue Fiddle, featuring Tom Ware on fiddle; and a performance by the current (and youngest ever) U.S. Open Scottish Fiddle Champion, Maura Shawn Scanlin. Fiddler Matt Mancuso, a former lead fiddler for Lord o...

When Paul Keating became artistic director of the Catskills Irish Arts Week in November 2003, he knew its coming 10th anniversary as a weeklong summer school for Irish traditional music and dance represented a rare opportunity. "It was a chance to further establish the school and enhance its programming," he recently recalled over the phone from his home in Hillsdale, N.J. "So I increased the instructional classes and expanded the rental of classrooms in a nearby elementary school that doubled the space for teaching." Mr. Keating also found additional funding sources, hired a lawyer to handle visa applications for overseas artists, refined the live sessions of Irish music so that they'd be more comfortable for performers and listeners alike, and scheduled music lectures for each weekday and more CD launches throughout the week. "I wanted it to be as good as it could be," he said. The 17th annual Catskills Irish Arts Week will be held from July 10 to ...