Irish Trad Music Blog

"A GIG FOR ALL SEASONS, a concert of sean nós song, ancient harp music, and traditional tunes, takes place in St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church on Thursday May 5 at 8pm. Singer Róisín Elsafty, piper Ronan Browne, and harpist Siobhán Armstrong return to Galway for this show, following their sell-out performance at the Celtic Connections in Glasgow. Róisín won the best sean nós singer award in the Irish Music Awards 2010; Ronan is the uilleann piper and singer with Cran. He is a former member of the Afro Celt Sound System and performed as part of Riverdance. Siobhán Armstrong plays historical harps of many kinds and is particularly keen on encouraging the revival of Ireland’s early harp. Tickets are €15/12 and are available from Galway Early Music (087 - 930 5506, www.galwayearlymusic.com) or at the door. This is a fundraising concert for The Galway Early Music Festival." A Gig For All Seasons :

ENJOY and experience traditional Irish music at its best at Edenderry from Tuesday May 3 until Sunday May 8, 2011 Traditional Irish music is a legacy that has never died; it is still growing, taught, and appreciated all over the world. It is this legacy that will be celebrated throughout the upcoming 52nd Offaly County Fleadh. The festivities organised by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann will consist of enthralling traditional music sessions with musicians of all ages and instruments of all sizes. With competitions for every age group, as well as solo, duet, trio and céilί competitions, the music and fun is non stop. Edenderry has all the necessary facilities to make this event a great success and the organising committee looks forward to welcoming many musicians and visitors to the county for what promises to be a fantastic few days of Ceol agus Craic. The festivities will commence on Tuesday May 3 with a singing and storytelling session in Donoghue’s Lounge at 9.30pm. On Wednesday May 4 a...

With just over a week to go before the May 3 release of Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy's Nonesuch debut album, Grá agus Bás, you can now listen to the album in its entirety till release day on npr.org as an NPR First Listen. (Also streaming in full there till tomorrow are two Nonesuch albums due out then: Emmylou Harris's Hard Bargain and James Farm's self-titled debut.) Grá agus Bás includes the title piece, which was inspired by Sean Nós "old style" Irish vocal music, as well as the composer’s song cycle That the Night Come, comprising six settings of poems by W.B. Yeats. The Dublin–based Crash Ensemble performs both works, conducted by Alan Pierson. Irish singer Iarla O’Lionáird is the soloist for Grá agus Bás, while Dawn Upshaw is featured on That the Night Come. Whatever notions of traditional Irish music you may have, NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas exclaims, "Prepare to have all those preconceptions blown away by this album from the superb 40-year-old I...

Had the wheel of fortune spun ever so slightly differently, Paddy Keenan might today be known as the man who kept the Beatles together. Then again, he could be a respected singer-guitarist, on a par with his Irish contemporaries Paul Brady and Christy Moore. Or, just as easily, he could be lying in the cold, cold ground. Instead, though, Keenan’s survived hard times, fame, and a fumbled encounter with the Fab Four to become one of the greatest virtuosos of the uilleann pipes, Ireland’s smaller, bellows-driven version of the more familiar Highland pipes. On the line from his adopted home in New Hampshire, he sounds settled and happy—and yet he still finds himself in some unusual places. Most recently, he’s been in West Africa, shooting Dearbhla Glynn’s documentary Dambé: The Mali Project alongside Hothouse Flowers singer Liam Ó Maonlaí, kora virtuoso Toumani Diabaté, and Ali Farka Touré protégé Afel Bocoum, among others. Part travelogue, part concert film, and part ethnomusicological tr...

"LEADING singer/songwriter Damien Dempsey is lending his backing to a campaign to help develop the making of uilleann pipes in Ireland. Despite being uniquely Irish, a large proportion of the instruments are made abroad. However, with a sharp increase in the popularity of the instrument, makers in Ireland and worldwide cannot meet the growing demand. The Dubliner is to perform a special gig to help raise funds for, and awareness of, the PipeCraft campaign, aimed at developing long-term training for uilleann pipe makers in Ireland. In response to this problem, Na Piobairi Uilleann (NPU), the association of uilleann pipers, with the assistance of the Arts Council, has set up a training unit at the Port Tunnel Business Park in Clonshaugh, to teach a new generation of makers. 'The sound of the uilleann pipes is our sound,' said Dempsey, pictured left with piper Sean McKeon who plays with his band. He will perform the fundraiser at the Grand Social venue in Liffey Street, Dubli...

WE’RE ALL encouraged to be ambassadors for Irish tourism these days and, when approached by visitors needing advice, most of us are happy to oblige. But as an exchange on a traditional music website highlighted recently, there are limits – ethical and otherwise – to what can reasonably be expected. The conversation began promisingly. Under the tag-line “Music in Co Clare”, a group of English instrumentalists sought tips about pub sessions in which they could participate during an Easter visit. So far, so good. The mere fact that they were targeting Clare spoke well of their trad sensibilities. And sure enough, locals were soon rolling out the welcome mat. Venues in Ennis, Feakle, Miltown Malbay, and elsewhere were suggested. Then, suddenly, matters took an unhappy turn. Asked for extra details of their trip, the visitors gave some dates and a rough itinerary. But they also gave more information about themselves, mentioning that they comprised a group of ten: “3 of whom play guitars...

Fancy a good night out in 'the big smoke', but torn between that and supporting your home county? Well you don't have to choose! There's an important Fleadh 2011 fundraiser in the Harcourt Hotel, Dublin next Monday, April 18. The pressure is on for Cavan to maintain the reputation of excellence that it established at last year's All-Ireland Fleadh, but funding is needed. What better way to do your bit, than to get in the trad' mood. The host for the Harcourt Hotel event is Martin Donohoe, our local trad' legend who's always sure to get the craic and ceol going, and there's a fantastic line-up of performers with a distinct Cavan flavour. Among the musicians travelling to the event and giving their services free for the night are: Sean O Se, Cork (Singer); John Carty, Roscommon (Banjo and Fiddle); Seamus Fay, Cavan (Lilter); Fintan McManus, Fermanagh (Bouzouki); Patsy Hanly, Roscommon (Flute); Roisin O'Reilly, Cavan (Singer); John McSherry, Antrim ...

"Nina Nash-Robertson considers herself a “real choir geek.” The director of choral activities and professor of music said her favorite piece is often the one she is working on and she has been moved to tears by the beauty of many. She said she loves renaissance music and has a special interest in Irish choral music because she was born in Ireland, where she retains citizenship. “I find it beautiful and deeply moving and very exciting,” she said. Nash-Robertson has been director of choral activities since 1983 and conducts the Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Festival Chorus. She said the most rewarding part about being a professor and a director is working with talented students who love music. “I get to make music all day long,” she said. “That’s a rare and wondrous gift.”" Irish-born professor of music Nina Nash-Robertson says career is rare, wondrous gift | Central Michigan Life :

MAYOMAN Tom Vesey from Ballaghaderreen, one of the key Comhaltas movers and shakers in North America and a long-time CCE operative in the New Jersey area for decades through his Martin Mulvihill branch, is always thinking about how to do things differently and get more young people involved. When he was chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Region he turned over the reigns of running the New York Fleadh to the next generation. It was their children who would be benefitting directly from keeping the competitions going, he reasoned, and he also recruited the nascent crop of teachers centered in Pearl River and elsewhere in New York City. The senior guard stepped aside and let the young Turks provide the much needed energy and new thinking to allow it to grow substantially, encouraged by Vesey’s mantra of “looky-here, whatever ye want to do.” The new blood also energized him and he was still respected as a man who could get things done, climbing every mountain and challenge to raise the Comhaltas ...

"New ways of passing on traditional music – by CD, by book and online – are helping Irish musicians to share their sound with trad-lovers all over the world, writes SIOBHAN LONG PLAYING BY ear is one of the great cornerstones of traditional music. It’s thanks to the players’ finesse that tunes can be picked up purely from listening, with scant reference to written notation. It’s a reflection of where traditional music has sprung from, that musicians rarely burden themselves with sheet music. But in keeping with the laws of perpetual motion, the tunes are being passed on in many other ways too, which in particular, is a boon for players with a hunger to add newly composed tunes to their repertoire. Over the past decade, online music tuition websites have sprung up, where musicians the world over can learn a tune from an Irish musician without ever having to set foot in this country. The Irish Traditional Music Archive and Na Píobairí Uilleann have both embraced the internet, making...

"Experience an evening of Celtic music and culture when Órla Fallon, renowned singer/harpist originally from the village of Kockananna in County Wicklow, Ireland, comes to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Friday, April 15, at 8 p.m. A former member of the highly successful Celtic Woman ensemble, Órla has experienced celebrity as a solo artist for the past three years." ConnecticutPlus.com News - Celtic music and culture with Órla Fallon :