Irish Trad Music Blog

Image via Wikipedia Paul McCartney, Madonna, Doc Watson and Luciano Pavarotti have at least one thing in common: They've all collaborated with Irish folk band The Chieftains. The band, credited with helping to revive Irish music, is celebrating its 50th anniversary and a career that includes more than 50 albums, six Grammys and an Oscar. The latest album, Voice of Ages, includes recordings of traditional songs with help from indie-rocker Bon Iver, folk group The Civil Wars, string band Carolina Chocolate Drops and country trio Pistol Annies, among others. Chieftains founder Paddy Moloney tells Morning Edition's Renee Montagne that it all began for him in the 1940s, with a gift from his mother. "I was 6 years of age," he says, "and my mother bought me what you call a pennywhistle — a tin whistle — for one shilling and nine pence." The Chieftains began in 1962, at a time when rock 'n' roll was king. Moloney's goal was not only to bring back t...

Image via Wikipedia THE Manx Heritage Foundation’s annual traditional music, song and dance workshop weekend is back in 2012, and while the timetable is yet to be finalised, the dates, venue and guests of honour have been revealed. The workshops are confirmed for the weekend of March 10 and 11, to be held at Manx Heritage Foundation headquarters in the stable building and chapel at The Nunnery in Douglas and will be led by Donegal singer Noeleen Ni Cholla and Belfast-based dancer and instrumentalist Tim Flaherty. Both visitors are experienced tutors as well as performers. Noeleen is well-known in the Gaelic world and has performed around the world with some of the scene’s biggest names. She will be teaching Irish solo and choral singing to the adults, as well as a traditional music session with youngsters. Tim dances will Belfast’s All Set, and will teach set dancing as well as sean nos – a very social, fast moving dance style – to more experienced dancers. He will also lead se...

Cover of Paddy Moloney The Chieftains celebrate their 50th Anniversary Tour with Philadelphia performance at the Kimmel Center on March 9, 2012 at 8 p.m. in Verizon Hall. The six-time Grammy-winning ensemble performs traditional Irish music and dancing on stage, as well as new works from their 2012 release, Voice of Ages. Their performance features Paddy Moloney as pipe virtuoso and master of ceremonies, Matt Molloy on flute, Kevin Conneff as the rhythmic and vocal heartbeat of the ensemble on the bodhrán, along with Deanie Richardson and Jon Pilatzke on fiddles, Triona Marshall on harp, and Jeff White on guitar. Philadelphia marks one of the final U.S. stops on The Chieftains’ 50th Anniversary Tour, which concludes with a special St. Patrick’s Day concert at Carnegie Hall on March 17. Also marking their semi-centennial is the February 21 release of Voice of Ages, an imaginative recording featuring a dazzling collection of like-minded musical visionaries and kindred spirits. The albu...

Feeling a need for a bit of music from the auld sod? Then don’t miss the first Irish Music Day on Saturday, Feb. 11, on the MTSU campus. MTSU’s School of Music is collaborating with the Franklin, Tenn.-based Authentic Ireland Cultural Enrichment organization to conduct the daylong event. It will include workshops for traditional singing, step dancing, fiddle, Irish flute, bodhran and bouzouki as well asclasses in the Gaelic language and other associated topics. The day will culminate at 4:30 p.m. with a special public concert in Room 101 of the University’s Saunders Fine Arts Building. The workshops cost $40 each with a discount for multiple sessions, and the closing concert costs $10 per person. MTSU students with a valid ID will be admitted free. For more information about the individual workshops, visit the AICE’s workshop page at www.eiliscreanaice.com/weekend_workshops.html. Attendees can pre-register by emailing AICE founder Éilís Crean at eiliscrean@gmail.com. Time cha...

A special traditional Irish music concert in aid of a film on Michael Davitt will be held on Friday, March 2, at the Irish World Heritage Centre in Manchester. The film, which will cover the life and times of Mayo’s most famous son and leader of the Land League, is the brainchild of Irish musician Donal Maguire and film maker Paul Vernon Lydiate. The special concert, which features a host of award-winning musicians, includes performances from Debbie Garvey, Steve Johnston, Dónal Maguire, Mike McGoldrick, Emma Sweeney and special-guest, singer Dick Gaughan. Maguire decided to embark on the project because he felt a film on Davitt’s part in Irish history is long overdue, and because his own path often crossed that of the historical figure: “Davitt lived in Haslingden when his family moved here from Mayo, which is where I am living at present. My first London address in Battersea, as a student, was across the road from where Davitt lived during his brief spell as an electe...

Image via Wikipedia As we speed toward that metamorphic holiday in March where the whole world turns green and becomes Irish, St Patrick's Day, the Irish Music Association has released a new list of the Best in Irish Music, creating new international icons in the genre. Last weekend, on Saturday, January 28, 2012, during the 4th Annual Irish Music Award Presentation ceremony, the IMA recognized outstanding Irish artists in 18 different categories. The event took place in the 60-foot-underground historic brewery cellars of the 1842 Royal Brewing Company at O'Malley's Pub in Weston, Missouri. More than six weeks of voting and electioneering occurred in two online forums: "Members of the Irish Music Association" and "Free Public Voting." The two forums for voting are used as checks and balances to insure fair and balanced reporting. Close races were in the following categories: Top Button Accordion, Top Fiddle, and Best Female Vocalist. (List of award ...

The five-piece band Goitse, all students at Ireland's University of Limerick, will perform traditional melodies, modern rhythms and new compositions Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Skye Theatre Performing Arts Center. The group will also play at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, at The Rack in Carrabassett for the annual Carrabassett Valley “Dirt-bag Prom;" and at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, at Unity College Center for the Performing Arts in Unity. Curtain at Skye is 7 p.m. Jam sessions will be held one hour prior to show at Skye and Unity. Now entering its third year, Goitse has gone from supporting acts and opening concerts to performing concerts in the four provinces of Ireland, parts of Europe and in Africa. Goitse's debut album, released in January 2010, has gained praise from critics. Hotpress Magazine had this to say: "They play with an easy assurance that should cause those fretting about the future of Irish trad to rest more easily at night." Making up the b...