Irish Trad Music Blog

"In his soft Irish brogue, Kevin Crosby says Celtic Crossroads, the world-touring music and dance show he co-founded, is getting closer to Sioux Falls. Talking by phone last week as one of his tour buses pulls over in Houston, the show producer says the more than 20 performers and crew can't fly - they have too much production gear packed into buses and cargo trailers to attempt airline travel. He and his troupe of acoustic minstrels and dancers perform mostly Irish music Friday at the Washington Pavilion. The show blends traditional music and dance with a light touch of modern beats. He and musical friends began playing in the streets of their hometown of Galway, Ireland, in 2005." Enjoy Irish music and dance: Celtic Crossroads tour brings world-class performers to the Pavilion stage | The Argus Leader | argusleader.com :

"Few forms of music stir the blood as much as Celtic Folk music with its rich interplay of fiddles & whistles incorporating instruments ancient, the bodhran, flutes, contemporary guitars & accordions, modern synthesisers, and the truly unique, the bagpipes with their wail & scream plus enthralling vocals, songs often delivered in a rich syrupy brogue tinged with whisky and ale, words in language older than centuries, vocals plaintive & urgent, tragic and comic. Music stirring passion, music inspiring dance and movement, music invigorating enticing inciting romance. The Battlefield Band is a proud purveyor of Scottish Celtic music, preserving traditional melodies & songs while adding to the lexicon, their music is as fresh & invigorating at the end of the first decade of the 21st Century as it was when they began their musical odyssey in the tumultuous year of 1969." Battlefield Band set to Storm the Hawai’i’an Islands » Hawaii News and Travel Guide :

"PORTLAND — Two Boston acoustic musicians, Irish flutist Shannon Heaton and Celtic harpist Maeve Gilchrist, will get together Saturday, Feb. 5, at The Empire Dine and Dance. They will celebrate the release of Heaton's new all-instrumental CD, 'The Blue Dress,' featuring Gilchrist on harp, Paddy League on bodhran and bouzouki, and Matt Heaton and Liz Simmons on guitar. A member of the Boston Celtic music scene for almost a decade, Heaton often appears with her husband, Matt, with whom she tours nationally and abroad. Heaton was recently chosen Female Musician of the Year by The Irish American News. She is also a founder and director of the Boston Celtic Music Fest. She has a degree in ethno-musicology from Northwestern University." Boston-based acoustic musicians will perform | Encore :

"BRATTLEBORO -- The Brattleboro Music Center’s 4th annual Northern Roots Traditional Music Festival -- featuring more than 20 musicians playing music in the rich traditions of Ireland, Scotland, England, Sweden, New England and French Canada -- will be held throughout the day on Saturday, Jan. 29. The highlights will be a daytime family concert and dance, and an evening jam session concert. Each year the festival brings together local and regional musicians representing the best of various northern musical traditions. The festival also draws on the richness of talent in the broader region, with players from throughout New England coming to perform, teach and participate in informal sessions. 'The festival focuses on small ensembles and solo players whose talent brings us to the heart of the beauty of traditional music,' said festival director Keith Murphy. 'Our day of teaching workshops gives a fresh boost to students in a variety of styles and on various instruments, ...

‘ONE MORE TUNE.” It’s not exactly the sort of phrase you could imagine a crowd of post-gig revellers in Naples, Rome or Milan chanting, but two Dublin-based Italians have adopted the mantra for their own purposes. Rossella Bottone and Luisella Mazza didn’t know each other before they moved to Dublin – but their common interest in music and media led them to establish Onemoretune.ie in 2008. The website documents the Irish music scene through a series of interviews, conducted with both native artists and international acts that pass through Dublin on their European tours. Bottone, 35, initially unearthed a love for Irish music through her work for Italian magazine Jam. “It started with The Frames, Nina Hynes and Gemma Hayes in early 2000,” she says. “I was regularly checking what Road Records would suggest on their website, and my brother, who was – and still is – living in Dublin would buy me those records, which were impossible to find in Italy. As a journalist, I covered many Irish a...

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"Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- If your band wants to play in front of the green masses of partygoers at this year's St. Pat's Festival in Five Points, then organizers urge you to compete in the Battle for St. Pat's 2011. In its fourth year, the battle of the bands gives a chance to six local bands eager to play a set on a national stage on March 19th, the Saturday after St. Patrick's Day, and the official celebration of St. Patick and Irish culture. The Battle for St. Pat's is scheduled for March 6 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Five Points Fountain stage. If you're interested in entering your band for the competition, you can send a press kit, with contact information, a bio, a picture and a sample CD of your music to the Five Points Association, postmarked by Feb. 1. Send them to The Five Points Association, c/o Battle for St. Pat's; P.O. Box 5283, Columbia, SC 29250. Press kits can also be dropped off at 2002 Blossom Street in Columbia." Bands Wanted fo...

"MELODIC Irish charm will fill The Railway Hotel in Burnham this month when a musical duo grace the stage. Rose and Christy Arthur will deliver a set of airs, fiddle tunes, chorus songs, comedy numbers and ballads, all played with a hint of bluegrass and a touch of classical. Listen out for well-known songs including Whiskey in the Jar, Molly Malone, Sweet Sixteen, Fairytale of New York and The Irish Rover. The old favourites will be mixed with new songs, all arranged beautifully for flute, guitar, mandolin, fiddle and vocals. Rose and Christy Arthur will be performing at The Railway on January 29. For more information call the venue on 01278-784828." Irish Duo head to Burnham (From This is The West Country) :

A set of 3 reels on Irish wooden flute and guitar from www.tradschool.com

"The now near chaotic political scene in Ireland has cast doubt on how, when, and which government representatives will now participate in the annual Saint Patrick's Day exodus to the US and the White House. Even the Irish prime ministers annual trip to greet the president with a traditional bowl of shamrocks is in doubt after Brian Cowen announced that the Irish general election will take place just six days beforehand. Irish ministers traditionally travel around the world during Saint Patrick's week showcasing Ireland as a tourism hot spot (and also as an attractive place to do business). It's an opportunity to highlight the nation that other countries claim to envy. However, with the climate of political upheaval and with the Irish election date set for March 11, it's unlikely that a new government will be in place to streamline the transition in time." Annual St. Patrick’s Day visit to the White House in question | Irish News | IrishCentral :

: "IT’S LIKE a scene from a Coen brothers movie: a Model A Ford pulls up outside a prison farm in a remote corner of Louisiana in the 1930s and out step two men, one middle-aged, one teenaged, and brush down their clothes, creased from weeks of travelling and camping out. The man is John Lomax, a Texan folklorist on a field trip to collect prison songs, and the boy is his son, Alan, who has taken time off from his studies at the University of Texas to help his dad. The back seat of the Ford has been torn out to make room for the pair’s recording equipment, which includes a newfangled disc-cutting recorder, vacuum-tube amplifier, blank aluminium discs, microphone, mixing board and all the accoutrements of a mobile studio. The prison farm, known locally as Angola, after the African country from which many slaves were shipped, is bordered on three sides by the Mississippi, and most of its inmates are there for life. Armed with a letter of introduction from the Library of Congress, in...

"Irish eyes certainly have been smiling on “Riverdance” since its 1995 debut in Dublin. Watching Thursday night’s show at Memorial Auditorium, it’s easy to see why: impossibly fast, thunderous, rhythmic tapping, 20-dancers strong, in a synchronized line that would put Radio City Music Hall’s Rockettes to shame. Add to all that spectacular dancing a few heart-rending, haunting solo singing performances; a mad-skills drum solo on the bodhran by Mark Alfred; up-in-your-seat, joyful fiddle jigs by Patrick Mangan; and Matt Bashford’s reverberating turn on the Uilleann pipes. And then there was lead dancer Alan Scariff, whose feet move so nimbly and so adeptly that you dare not blink too fast for fear of missing something, and also Caterina Coyne, who can match him with her quick feet and limber, graceful jumps." Shults: Riverdance one high-stepping show » Times Record News :

"BACKSTAGE PASS: Beoga mixes blues, Cajun rhythms and jazz into catchy Celtic melodies to create a spirited sound, writes TARA BRADY BEOGA TRANSLATES as lively. Of course it does. If you didn’t know as much before, a quick blast of the spirited Antrim five-piece, who go by that name, will soon set you straight. These skilful practitioners in new traditional music have been raising the roof ever since the gang first converged at a reputedly fierce 2002 All-Ireland Fleadh session. “Myself and Seán Óg Graham, the accordion player, grew up together,” says percussionist and four-time All Ireland bodhrán champion Eamon Murray." “Seán knew the other two guys Liam [Bradley] and Damian [McKee] before. I had heard of them but that fleadh was the first time we got together. Niamh [Dunne] joined a couple of years after that and her vocals and fiddle really completed the sound.” Happily, Niamh Dunne, the daughter of Limerick piper Mickey Dunne and an accomplished recording artist in her o...

"Celtic Crossroads embarked on their much anticipated World Fusion Tour. The tour began last week in Texas. Two performances in Florida followed and then the group made their way to Sacramento. They have a tour bus that will be their home for the next couple of months and will also serve as their mode of transportation. They drove the bus from Gainesville Florida to Sacramento. The bus was parked in front of Harlow’s on J Street as people began entering the night club Thursday night. Their aggressively scheduled tour brings them to the West Coast for the first time. Other tours dates are scheduled in the Midwest before they take a couple of weeks off. Celtic Crossroads will resume their tour on the East Coast and perform in what seems like a nightly performance from February 16 to the end of March." Sacramento Press / Celtic Crossroads World Fusion Tour :

"The pin-up of traditional Scottish folk, Fowlis has touched an audience normally immune to the charms of Gaelic crofters' songs, such is the sweetness of her voice. Drawn from her three studio albums, this live set from last year's Amber festival in Pitlochry finds her and her quartet in immaculate form, skipping between spirited tinwhistle jigs, mournful ballads and her version of McCartney's 'Blackbird' ('Lon Dubh'). Led by her husband, Eamon Doorley, on bouzouki, her accompanists are themselves a class act, though it's Fowlis's ethereal vocals that captivate, not least on a solo opener that reflects the elemental beauty of her Hebridean homeland." Julie Fowlis: Live at Perthshire Amber – review | Music | The Observer :

"Four Shillings Short comes to town Sunday, Jan. 30, packing more instruments than the husband-wife duo can count for a performance of music that blends jazz, Celtic, American and East Indian traditional music. 'Going out on a musical limb is common for Four Shillings Short,' say Aodh (a Gaelic name pronounced 'ayog') 'g ' Tuama and Christy Martin, whose ever-increasing array of musical instruments includes a hammered dulcimer, mandola and mandolin, tin whistle and woodwinds, a sitar from India, banjo, percussion, vocals and a renaissance crumhorn." 'Alternative neo-Celtic folk' duo to perform Prescott house concert - The Prescott Daily Courier - Prescott, Arizona :

"The picturesque North Tipperary villages of Portroe and Newtown will be alive with the sounds of traditional Irish music on March 12 and 13. On Saturday, March 12, traditional music artistes from various counties will assemble for a gala concert in Portroe Hall on the 20th anniversary of the death of legendary accordionist, the late Paddy O’Brien of Newtown, Nenagh. The concert in aid of North Tipperary Hospice in Home Care and main organiser is renowned musician Eileen O’Brien-Minogue of Moanfin, Nenagh, the late Paddy O Brien’s daughter. On the following day at 3.30pm another huge gathering is expected in Bobby Reidy’s hostelry in Newtown for the launch of a CD, “My Homelife In Tipperary” by the legendary All-Ireland champion ballad singer, Nora Butler Swan of Nenagh. The Toomevara native who produced the CD with her husband, Pat Swan has five All Ireland ballad singing titles to her credit, three at senior level and two at under 18 level." The Nenagh Guardian

The McNulty School of Irish Dance and Illinois Celtic Arts invite the public to a traditional Irish Hooley, to be held Saturday, Jan. 22 at Ballydoyle Irish Restaurant & Pub in Aurora, Ill. ‘Hooley’ in Irish translates to a celebration with music and dance. Featuring live music by Leahy’s Luck and a kick-off performance by the McNulty Irish Dancers, the Hooley supports the continuation and preservation of the Irish heritage. Founded in 1971 by Barbara McNulty T.C.R.G., the McNulty School has grown to become one of the most active schools in the Midwest, with classes in more than 15 locations across Chicagoland, Bloomington, and Rockford, Ill., as well classes in Wisconsin and Iowa. The McNulty School of Irish Dance seeks to preserve the rich traditions of Irish music and dance by celebrating them now and passing them down for future generations. McNulty School of Irish Dance and Illinois Celtic Arts sponsoring a traditional Irish Hooley to promote Irish music and dance — Downers Gr...

"(Media-Newswire.com) - The Texas Tech Celtic Ensemble will present the concert, “Céili in the Snow: An Irish House-Party,” at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 in the Talkington Great Hall at the Legacy Event Center. Singers and players will perform dances, songs, listening pieces and tunes associated with the Celtic experience played globally for many centuries. Students, families and seniors are welcome to attend free of charge to enjoy solo and figure dances, instrumental music and guest appearances by the Texas Tech Irish Set-Dancers and the Caprock Border Morris Dancers. In the Gaeltachtai ( Irish-speaking communities ) of Ireland’s West, certain houses became known as “céili ( KAY-lee ) houses.” These were places where songs, tunes, musicians, dancers, poets and players could find a warm welcome and an appreciative response in the shared community performance of the house party." Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency :

"The Gaelic Roots Music, Song, Dance, Workshop and Lecture Series spring program will continue to train the spotlight on the Irish instrumental music tradition, beginning with a concert on Feb. 3 by three of Boston’s most highly regarded Celtic musicians: Shannon Heaton, Maeve Gilchrist and Paddy League. The series, sponsored by the Center for Irish Programs and directed by Sullivan Artist-in-Residence Seamus Connolly, also will feature the celebrated fiddle-piano duo of Brian Conway and Brendan Dolan, and virtuoso flute and whistle player Larry Nugent. All events are free and open to the public, and take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Connolly House, 300 Hammond Street. " The Boston College Chronicle - Boston College :

"GALWAY NATIONAL schools will be showing off their classical musical talents next month when they join the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland for two concerts. The shows, entitled Peace Proms, take place in Leisureland, Salthill on Saturday February 12 at 3pm and 8pm. Peace Proms is part of a series of nationwide concerts by the renowned CBOI to give young people the opportunity to perform with a full symphony orchestra. The project focus is on providing outstanding cultural opportunities for young people while promoting peace, unity and tolerance through music." Galway schools to perform with the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland - Galway Advertiser - January 20, 2011. :

"M argot Krimmel and Mason Brown will present a program Sunday in the truest Irish fashion featuring the historic music of Turlough O'Carolan. The Jan. 23 program in the main building of the Stanley Hotel will feature the harp music of Krimmell and Brown's viol and guitar skills performing the music of O'Carolan. The two will bring the Irish and ancient harp/string music to their 2 p.m. performance. Admission to the Jan. 23 concert is $5 at the door. Children and students are admitted free. This Estes Park Music Festival Winter Series concert is sponsored by John and Connie Phipps." The sounds of O'Carolan Duo to perform classic Irish music Sunday - Estes Park Trail-Gazette :

"BYLAWS ARE to be introduced to regulate bad busking in Killarney. This follows complaints from office workers and businesses in the town centre of poor playing and monotonous tunes played over and over for up to six hours on screeching instruments. Killarney town clerk Michael O’Leary said some businesses, all ratepayers, were finding it difficult “to transact business due to the sounds created by the buskers”. He said there were several complaints to the town hall and the council was being asked to amend the town bylaws. A meeting of Killarney Town Council heard this was not a request to outlaw busking altogether, particularly if the music was good. It was a complex issue in a tourist town, but the particular difficulty was during the day." Out Of Tune With Business: Sour Note To Bad Busking In Killarney - The Irish Times - Wed, Jan 19, 2011 :

"THERE could hardly have been a more fitting opening concert to this year’s Celtic Connections festival, with top musicians truly fusing the connection between world music and our own traditions. The ‘Pulse of the World’ concert beat out the rhythms of Scotland, Ireland and India led by globally-renowned Indian tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, while included in the stellar seven-strong line-up of musicians from Scotland and Ireland were Perthshire’s Patsy Reid and Ross Ainslie. The festival’s artistic director Donald Shaw introduced the concert, explaining it was the result of a long car journey some 15 years ago when he was listening to a Zakir Hussain cassette and identified a link between music from India, Scotland and Ireland." Celtic Connections’ opening concert - Perthshire Advertiser :

"EVERY CHILD in the country should have a chance to learn how to sing or play a musical instrument, the organisers of a music scheme part-funded by U2 have said. Music Generation, the national music education programme for young people, hopes that 10,000 children who would otherwise not have received a musical education will be able to do so over the next three years. U2 contributed €5 million towards the €7 million cost of Music Generation. The rest will come from the Ireland Fund." Youth music education project finds what it was looking for . . . €5m from U2 - The Irish Times - Tue, Jan 18, 2011

RTE's 'Céilí House' comes to Carlingford - News, frontpage - Argus.ie : "CÉILÍ House, one of RTÉ Radio's most popular programmes of traditional Irish music and song, comes to Carlingford this evening ( Wednesday) as presenter Kieran Hanrahan and producer Peter Browne travel to the Cooley Peninsula to record many of the regions finest performers in McKevitt's Village Hotel. Ravensdale fiddle player Gerry O'Connor has gathered together some of the artists of the area who have put this region on the international map of traditional music. Taking part in the programme with Gerry will be Stevie Dunne from Clogherhead who has recently released a solo banjo cd 'About Time', Dundalk's Áine McGeeney (songs and fiddle) and Kevin Shields, (flute) will provide the live recording with some local songs. World re-knowned piper John McSherry and local fiddle player Dónal O'Connor, who released the album 'Six Days in Down', Fintan Vallely (songs and ...

"A NEW competition for composers is to become a key feature of the West Cork Chamber Music Festival. West Cork Music’s PR and marketing manager, Sara O’Donovan, said the competition would present ‘an unparalleled opportunity for Irish composers’ because three winning works will be performed at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in 2011. The competition – which will give aspiring Irish composers a platform for their work to be evaluated and performed in front of an audience – is a joint initiative by West Cork Music in partnership with the Contemporary Music Centre." The Southern Star Newspaper - Co Cork, Ireland :

"With its own PBS TV special and CD release, Celtic Crossroads is a youthful, energetic group that performs both traditional and contemporary Irish music. And it wouldn’t be complete without two dancers, who not only provide visual spectacle but add to the percussion as well. The female dancer is Charlene Morrison, a professional who also is completing a master’s degree in traditional dance at the University of Limerick in Ireland. Morrison, 25, began training as a child in her native County Mayo." Celtic Crossroads will perform traditional and contemporary Irish music and dance on Sunday at University Auditorium. | Gainesville.com :

"Rita Moloney will fly across the Atlantic later this month to watch her famous husband be honored at the National Arts Club in New York. That’s a measure of how seriously that institution’s Medal of Honor for Lifetime Achievement in Music is being taken in the household of the Chieftains front man, for his other half detests air travel. On Thursday, Jan. 27, Paddy Moloney will join musicians Leonard Bernstein, Benny Carter, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Placido Domingo, Benny Goodman, André Previn and James Galway on the honor roll at the club’s venerable Gramercy Square South building. And a cast of international household names – including Sting and Liam Neeson – will be among those paying tribute to him in person or via video." Moloney’s medal

"NORTHERN Europe and America dominate this year’s Shetland Folk Festival, which has announced its line up of visiting artists for the 31st outing of this award winning event over four days at the end of April. Having scooped the ‘Event of the Year’ gong at last year’s MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, the festival organisers are boasting 14 visiting bands from “at least” nine different countries at this year’s shindig. From across the Atlantic come old time country “hillbilly hurricane” The Wilders, from Kansas City, Missouri; rag time blues maestros Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three; attractive young Louisiana Cajun fiddle fusion family band L’Angelus; and from Canada the acclaimed Quebecois three piece Genticorum who weave fiddle, flute, voice, guitar and bass into “a jubilant musical feast”." Folk festival line-up announced

"The Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club gave Northern New Jersey a taste of authentic Irish and Celtic music over the weekend, bringing the Makem and Spain Brothers and Runa to the Fair Lawn Community Center. While the Runa trio performed only five songs as the opening act, the band—which consists of Shannon Lambert-Ryan, her husband Fionn De Barra and Cheryl Prashker—proved they should be headliners in the future. Their first song, “Lowlands of Holland” was almost orchestral and rocky. But at several points in the song on Saturday, it occurred that it was only an acoustic guitarist, two voices and an engaging percussionist." Review: A 'Blur' of Irish and Celtic Music at the Community Center - Fair Lawn, NJ Patch :

"The programme for the 2011 Temple Bar TradFest was officially launched today at a reception in the Workman's Club in Temple Bar. Programmer Kieran Hanrahan gave details of the 5 day festival which is bound to set toes tapping along the cobbles of Temple Bar this January. Now in its sixth year Temple Bar TradFest is a firm fixture on the Irish music calendar. With some of the best loved names in Irish Trad alongside up and coming acts, showcase concerts and workshops the festival will include 200 free events inviting everyone to join in the fun. It will host performances in the historic Christ Church Cathedral as well as live music and family entertainment on the streets of Temple Bar." Temple Bar TradFest 2011 Program Launched 2011/01/11 :

"IVERDANCE - as it's never been seen before! Be prepared to be swept away by the sights and sounds of RIVERDANCE - On Ice! Now, the Irish Dance spectacular joins forces with a cast of Olympic, World and National champion figure skaters for this NBC Sports Television Special to air Saturday, February 19 from 4 to 6PM EST (check local listings) on NBC. The program will be rebroadcast on the Hallmark Channel on March 15 from 6 to 8PM EST and on March 21 from 1 to 3PM EST. RIVERDANCE- On Ice was performed live with an audience in the Fall of 2010 at the Tsongas Center at UMass in Lowell, MA. The internationally-acclaimed company of brilliant dancers, singers and musicians performed on a specially-designed stage simultaneously with the choreographed skaters on the ice, all to the magic of Bill Whelan's Grammy Award-winning music." RIVERDANCE ON ICE To Air 2/19 2011/01/10

"“Just what the world needs: another bloody book about Ireland.” Maybe not the best way to start off a book about Irish music, but Colin Irwin seems to make it work. In his book In Search of the Craic: One Man’s Pub Crawl Through Irish Music, well-respected British music journalist Irwin sets out on a trip to discover Irish music in the present day and through his travels finds the etchings of the past in all modern playing. The difficulty in discovering Irish music, particularly traditional Irish music, is that other than the few exceptions of the Chieftains and Clancy Brothers, it is a music that remains hidden from the charts. To find the true soul of Irish music one was embark on the very kind of thirsty, rambunctious trip Irwin does: a pub crawl." In Search of the Craic: One Man’s Pub Crawl Through Irish Music by Colin Irwin | Irish America Magazine's Book Reviews | Irish America | IrishCentral

"The Shelley Irish Dance Company, co-founded by Tina Shelley and Jo Lambert and located in Cedar Hills, Utah, is bringing its production, Ireland: The Dance Experience to audiences at the Scera Center for the Arts in Orem City, Utah. Described as an Irish version of Alice in Wonderland, choreographers Shelley and Lambert have created a vision in which Alice follows a leprechaun to meet the “Dancemaster of the Pub” and the “Banshee of Killarney.” The show follows a similar story structure to a ballet, but instead of relying simply on the dance to move the plot along, the narrator is a fundamental part of the show. Lambert told the local Daily Herald: “It sort of mirrors a ballet…in that it’s a story told through dance. However, the ballets tend to be hard to follow because you have a read the story before you watch it. But this actually has narration that leads you through. So it’s a very family-friendly show." The Irish Emigrant - Utah dancers present Irish version of Alice i...

"BELFAST — The Maine Celtic Celebration is pleased to announce acclaimed Irish musicians John Doyle and John Williams, formerly of Solas, will headline at the fourth annual celebration of Celtic music and culture, taking place July 15 to17 on the beautiful Belfast waterfront. To celebrate, organizers will hold a benefit dinner Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. at Belfast Curling Club on Route 3 in Belfast." Dinner and fundraiser commemorating Scottish poet Burns slated for Jan. 22 - - Belfast - Waldo - The Republican Journal

A touch of Ireland | press-citizen.com | Iowa City Press Citizen : "The Irish Gaelic alphabet has only 18 letters in it, with 'J,' 'K,' Q,' 'V,' 'W,' 'X,' Y,' and 'Z' not included, Robin Slater told a group of Regina Elementary students Friday morning. 'If your name is J.J., you don't have a name,' he joked. The introduction to the Gaelic language was part of the presentation by Slater and his wife, Dearbhail Finnegan of Irish Kaleidoscope. Natives of County Meath in Ireland, the couple stopped at Regina Elementary for the day to teach students about the culture, dance and language of Ireland as part of the Cultural Kaleidoscope, which is based in Kansas City, Mo."

Crosby is 27 years old and is building something of an entertainment empire full of the best Celtic musicians and dancers to be found. But, like most empires, it started from rather humble beginnings. "The show started by us putting on street performances," he says. "Myself, and my brother and a friend named Michael McClintock put on a street show showcasing Irish music. We started promoting the shows by getting sign carriers to walk around the streets, and as our name got bigger, even after the first week of doing these shows, people started to come and sit down in the bars and restaurants around where they knew we would be performing. There was no formal idea or big business plan; it was just a group of guys that were very talented." Group Celtic Crossroads brings their modern, fun take on traditional Irish music to Gainesville | Gainesville.com "

Gibson Les Paul legend Jimmy Page is a true ambassador for the absolute power and authority of rock ’n’ roll. And this Sunday, January 9, he gets a little more senior as he celebrates his 67th birthday. Of course, both Page and his music are ageless – enduring in the same way as David Lynch and his landmark films, or Beethoven or Poe. That is to say, he was a radical attuned to the cutting edge in his salad days, and the works he created then still have the same breathless ability to excite and inspire. Page was a giant sprung forth in the ’60s and ’70s, who first fully realized his genius in 1969 with Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II. That was also the year of the MC5’s Kick Out the Jams, The Stooges, the Stones’ Let It Bleed, Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats, Fleetwood Mac’s Then Play On, King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King, Blind Faith, Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica, Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline, The Beatles’ Abbey Road, Santana, Sly & the Family Stone’s Stand, and m...

ON Thursday, Scotland's gloomy winter will be brought to life as the annual Celtic Connections Torchlight Parade lights up Glasgow's city centre. Over the next 18 days 1500 acts will play 300 events across 14 venues. And this year, more so than any year since it began in 1994, Scotland's top winter festival will offer a range of music unsurpassed in the UK, with sounds varying from traditional Scots and Irish music to folk, jazz, roots, gospel and indie. As well as an exclusive gig from Sir Tom Jones, the festival will celebrate Bob Dylan's 70th birthday, a one-off gig by Glasgow cult band Love and Money and a gig to mark the 25th year of the BMX Bandits. Celtic Connections will also feature performances from Fran Healy, gospel singer Mavis Staples, Scots legend Dougie MacLean, ex-Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, Raul Malo from The Mavericks and Johnny Cash's daughter Rosanne. Donald Shaw, Artistic Director of Celtic Connections, said: "We're very excited. I...

Irish arts to get US exposure - National News, Frontpage - Herald.ie : "The Government has announced it will present 400 Irish arts events all across the US this year. Actor and cultural ambassador Gabriel Byrne formally announced details of the €5.3m programme at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. A spokesman said the events would cover every art form: theatre, dance, literature, music, film and visual arts. More than 2,000 artists will participate in the year-long, 40-state Imagine Ireland project."

Clare Maguire has rubbed shoulders with Jay-Z, Leonard Cohen and Rick Rubin, but she hasn’t released an album yet. Brian Boyd talks to the 23-year-old Birmingham native about Topshop (party frocks), Raglan Road (party pieces) and her new album (party time) YOU MAY not have heard about Birmingham-Irish singer Clare Maguire yet, but the biggest names in the music industry have – and are queuing up to work with her. The mystery around Maguire has been fuelled by the fact that she’s been kept out of the spotlight for the past three years (her label even took all her songs down from MySpace). Talents like this don’t come around often, hence the hush ahead of the release of her album next month. “It has been a bit surreal,” says the 23-year-old, who grew up in a big Irish family and was raised on a diet of Irish trad. “There have been certain moments over the past few years when I couldn’t really believe what was happening to me. The producer Rick Rubin had me flown over to his house in Mali...

Released a few weeks back, this set marks a welcome return from one of the great musicians of the Irish folk scene. Andy Irvine has played with a variety of bands but is best known for his role working alongside Christy Moore, Donal Lunny and Liam O'Flynn in the now-legendary Planxty, who were still in remarkable form at their reunion shows five years ago. Moore makes no appearance here, but there are still echoes of Planxty: the album was produced by Lunny, who also adds guitar or bouzouki on almost every track, while the first two songs feature O'Flynn's exquisite uilleann pipe-playing. This is Irvine's first solo album in more than a decade, recorded in Dublin, Norway, Australia, Hungary and Brittany. It's a finely crafted, varied work, with his intimate, carefully articulated vocals matched against his own mandola, bouzouki and harmonica playing, along with accordion, fiddle and occasional strings. The songs include new settings for traditional ballads such as T...