Irish Trad Music Blog

(Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The countdown to next year’s All Ireland Fleadh in Derry has officially begun after a handover ceremony at the end of this year’s fleadh in Cavan on Sunday night. The handover was made by the organisers of Cavan’s fleadh, civil leaders from Cavan County Council, and Comhaltas Ceolteoiri Eireann representatives to Derry’s Mayor, Councillor Kevin Campbell, Eibhlin Ni Dhochartaigh, chair of the Derry branch of Comhaltas, and Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson. Speaking at the gig rig stage in Cavan, Ms Anderson said next year’s Fleadh will be the most talked about in history. “Derry is working hard preparing to host the Fleadh next year and we promise facilities and services that will make Derry a memorable host destination for all Fleadh events - and without doubt we will provide the most talked about fleadh in living memory.

Fleadh (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) As traditional music fans from across the globe make their way home from this years Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Cavan, plans for 2013 in Derry are already well underway. The capital of the North West will host the festival North of the border for the first time from 12th – 18th August 2013. Mayor of Derry Kevin Campbell said “The All Ireland Fleadh is a huge event for the city and region as we prepare for next year and the City of Culture. The event presents us with a unique opportunity to welcome up to 300,000 people to our city and enable us to benefit from an estimated economic benefit of £40million for the region. The city of Derry is at the cusp of change and looking forward towards a new and positive future thanks to over £100m investment in regeneration and infrastructure. 2013 is our chance to tell our new story and welcome people across the island of Ireland and beyond to share our experience and be part of our year of celebration. I a...

Called "the hottest Irish acoustic band on the planet" by the Irish Times, Lúnasa performs live from the intimate confines of The Burren Irish Pub in Somerville, Massachusetts. Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts, Lúnasa is made up of some of the top musical talents in Ireland. The current lineup includes:

Céilí with "Sliabh Luachra Craic" - Matt Cranitch fiddle, Jackie Daly button accordian, Paul deGrae guitar, and young guest fiddler (name?). Catskills Irish Arts Week 2012, East Durham, New York. This took place Tues night 7-17-12 at the Weldon House, with MC Padraig McEneany.

(Photo credit: BedwyrPhoto.com ) A special online webcast from this year’s Electric Picnic Festival will be streamed on www.gaeilge.ie on Saturday September 1st 2012 from 18:00-20:00 GMT+1 (Time Conversion here). The webcast will come live from An Puball Gaeilge, located in the Mindfield section of the Festival site (where 15 other tents will also provide entertainment), and it’s a great way for those without tickets for this year’s Electric Picnic to get a real flavour of some of the events there. Raidió na Gaeltachta presenter Rónán Mac Aodh Bhuí will act as compere for the evening, which will involve the live streaming of traditional Irish music, drama, song, dance and much more besides.

Altan and Clannad have been to the forefront of traditional Irish music for over 25 years. Both groups grew up in the rich musical traditions of their native Donegal, but incredibly, this is the very first time the groups will take to the stage together. It promises to be an unforgettable night of music for those in attendance at The Dome in Cavan for this Fleadh highlight, and for those who want to log on from home, it couldn’t be simpler. All you need to watch the concert online is a reliable broadband connection and up-to-date browser software. To check your connection and software now, go to www.LiveTrad.com/help. Viewers will be invited to post messages and requests throughout the concert via the LiveTrad.com interactive message board, and we’ll have requests read out on air. There’s also the chance to win tickets for the concert as well as CDs signed by the musicians – check out LiveTrad.com for details.

Traditional Irish Music classes organised by Mullingar CCÉ Branch, Registration Evening for classes will be on Thursday 6th September from 6pm - 8pm in Áras an Mhuillin. Variety of instruments - fiddle, flute, whistle, banjo, mandolin, bodhrán, accordions etc! Classes run from September to December. Break at Halloween. Tel: 044 9330644 email: eolas@arasanmhuilinn.ie Related articles Cavan tunes up to reel in the folk - The Irish Times Traditional Irish Music Workshop Announced for October, 2012 in the West of Ireland with John Carty, Arty McGlynn and Others - Yahoo! News Ceol na Locha Festival New Irish Whistle Tutor Book Session Obsession Blog

Playing as part of Thursday Trad Sessions The weekly Trad. Sessions continue this Thursday 16th August at Passionfruit Theatre, 7pm. This week's act includes the well-known John Wynne (flute), John McEvoy (fiddle) and Paudie O'Connor (accordian). Admission is only €7/€5 concession, children only €2. A great evening's entertainment for all the family. Light refreshments provided. No booking necessary. Phone 086 333 8457.

(Photo credit: Irish Philadelphia Photo Essays ) ONCE again Camross Comhaltas had great success in a wide range of competitions at the Leinster Fleadh Cheoil which was recently held in Enniscorthy. The u12 Ard ErinCeili Band competed against 11 other bands and got first place, being presented with the Monica Power Cup. St Aidan’s Grupai Cheoil aged 12 to 15 competed against 16 other Grupai Cheoil’s and got secoond place. In the button accordion age group 15 to 18 Joseph Keane received 1st place and was presented with the Ena Doocey Trophy. Cliona Dowling McDonald who was u12 got first place in English singing and was presented with the Maurice McAuley Cup. She also came second in the flute competiton. Ciara Mackessy who won first place in the tin whistle competition also got 2nd on the concertina and tin whistle slow airs u12. Aaron Mackessy in the 12 to 15 category also won 1st place both on Banjo and Mandolin. Isobel Donnery got second place in u12 bodhran Conal Nevin came second...

Fleadh (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) IF YOU WERE to ask the average person to name the biggest music festival due to take place in Ireland over the next few weeks, odds are they’ll say Electric Picnic, which is expected to attract between 30,000 and 35,000 music fans to Stradbally in Co Laois at the end of the month. But the average person would be wrong, because this week sees the annual Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann take over the streets of Cavan town for the third consecutive year, and organisers suggest there will be almost 300,000 visitors to Cavan over the duration of the festival. The Irish traditional music scene is thriving at the moment, and there is no better evidence than in the huge crowds of musicians and fans from across the country, and the world, who will gather over the next 10 days to learn, compete, dance, drink and above all play lots of tunes and sing lots of songs.

Dervish have released an App for the iPhone and Apple App store. The app is now available free to download from the App store and is a great way to stay in touch with the band.

The Celtic Music Fan is a website specialising in Celtic music in general, with mp3 downloads, album reviews, essays and a Featured Artist column. Some recommended articles: Concertina music in a church  (Tony Lawless) A Musical Journey  (Alasdair Roberts) Grada - The Landing Step

Session Obsession is a site created by fiddler Katrina VanTyne with loads of information about Irish traditional music in Vermont, and tips and advice about Irish music in general. With some excellent writing, photos and videos, and up-to date session information, it's well worth a visit. Instructional:  http://sessionobsession.org/category/instructional/ Instrument Care:  http://sessionobsession.org/category/instrument-care/ Concert reviews:  http://sessionobsession.org/category/concert-reviews/

Fish Market, Galway (Photo credit: National Library of Ireland on The Commons ) Despite the economy being in recession and a summer characterised by rain, the Galway Arts Festival managed to enjoy a bumper year, drawing in record crowds for many shows. Numbers were up again on the 2011 festival with “record breaking crowds” attending the various performances over the festival fortnight. “We are absolutely delighted with the success of this year’s event,” said GAF chief executive John Crumlish. “This was one of our most ambitious festivals to date and I would like to thank all our audiences, our wonderful artists, and all our sponsors and funders for helping us make the past two weeks so memorable.” The ABSOLUT Festival Gallery in the Galway Shopping Centre drew more numbers that before to the signature GAF exhibitions.

(Photo credit: FroZman ) An Urban Fleadh When: Bank Holiday Monday 6 August 2012 from 2.00pm to 6.00pm Where: Wolfe Tone Square, Jervis St, Dublin 1 Northside Music Festival presents An Urban Fleadh in association with Ceoltóirí Chluain Tarbh. Enjoy the atmosphere of a mini fleadh in the heart of Dublin's city center. Traditional music sessions will take place in a "tent village", with session tents positioned around the square. The sessions will run from 2.00pm to about 4.30pm and this will be followed by a concert showcasing some of Dublin's finest musical and singing talent on the main "cross roads" stage.

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The 40th Annual Scoil Éigse organised by Comhaltas takes place in Cavan Town, August 12th to 17th, the week preceding Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. At Scoil Éigse – CCÉ’s annual international Summer School students of all ages register for the various instrumental music, singing, dancing and Irish language classes. Scoil Éigse (meaning a learning experience focused on cultural discussion and participation) implies, this annual event, preceding Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, provides a broad-based cultural educational experience for students, their families, other visitors and the general public. Daily classes are central to the week’s purpose – students are placed in appropriately graded instrumental music classes (fiddle, flute, whistle, button-accordion, concertina, banjo, harp, uilleann-pipes and piano-accompaniment), traditional singing and amhránaíocht classes, dancing (set, sean-nós and céilí dancing) and conversational Irish classe...

Bua is: Brían Ó hAirt (vocals, sean-nós dance, concertina) Brian Miller (guitar, bouzouki, backing vocals) Sean Gavin (flute, uilleann pipes, whistle) Devin Shepherd (fiddle)

(Photo credit: Blue~Canoe ) PORT GAMBLE — Free Live Music at the Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival The Port Gamble Maritime Music Festival, now in its 7th year, will offer five hours of free live music on August 11th from noon to 5 pm. Performing will be four Northwest maritime acts: Watch the Sky, Cannery Underground, Piper Stock Hill, and Spanaway Bay. The setting is the Port Gamble Amphitheater, a sloping, grassy lawn overlooking Port Gamble Bay. While maritime music has its roots in the work songs used aboard ships in the days of sail, modern maritime musicians have taken the music in a direction which has a broad appeal to all ages, writing new songs and incorporating elements from pop, rock, and Celtic music. While the music will have a definite appeal to those who enjoy the folk and folk-rock sounds of the 1960s and ‘70s, maritime music has continued to innovate and incorporate new elements, particularly the Celtic music revival.

 (Photo credit: Joe Shlabotnik ) About an hour south of Merritt in the little town of Princeton will be a gem of a music festival. On Aug. 17 - 19, the streets of Princeton will be alive with the sounds of fiddles, banjos, accordions and harps. The strains of singing voices will waft through the town. These are the sounds of the Princeton Traditional Music Festival, now in its fifth year. Over 150 musicians will be in town that weekend, some local and some from as far away as California. Audiences will hear everything from toe-tapping Celtic tunes to sea shanties, banjo picking to Balkan songs. The festival begins on the Friday evening (Aug. 17) with the opening ceremony, followed by a country dance right on the street. The dance will feature a live band and a caller to teach the dances, so no experience is necessary. Everyone is welcome and people don’t even need to bring a partner.