Irish Trad Music Blog

Related articles Mary MacNamara - Canúintí Ceoil 3 (irishconcertina.blogspot.com) Irish Musicians Achieve New Height of Recognition at the 4th Annual Irish Music Award Presentation on Jan. 28, 2012 (irishtradmusic.blogspot.com) Traditional Irish Music in a Modern Ireland (Documentary) (irishtradmusic.blogspot.com)

At the Philadelphia Flower Show, the crowd is snaking along the pathway through the Irish garden display, their eyes intently raking the underbrush as if engaged in an Easter egg hunt for adults. In a corner of the exhibit's colonnaded courtyard, largely unnoticed, Moya Brennan is singing a haunting rendition of "Down by the Salley Gardens," accompanied by a harpist and a fiddler. That she is drawing so little attention is remarkable. Imagine stumbling across Aretha Franklin singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" in a spark-plug booth at the Detroit Auto Show. Brennan, singer for the seminal Irish group Clannad, is widely known as the First Lady of Celtic Music. She was the obvious choice to host Music of Ireland: Welcome Home, airing Tuesday night on WHYY TV12. Brennan interviews a who's who of Hibernian stars - from the Chieftains' Paddy Moloney to U2's Bono - in the documentary, which charts the course of contemporary Irish music. ...

Irish music on fiddle, flute, & uilleann pipes.

(Kayos) Switzerland's legendary Montreux Jazz Festival has always boasted a variety of talent, in all musical genres. In 1997, it proudly hosted a feast of Irish culture, when The Chieftains graced the stage. On September 1, Eagle Rock Entertainment, through its Eagle Eye subsidiary, will bring this special performance to DVD, when Live At Montreux 1997 hits stores. Bringing a unique aesthetic to the Montreux stage, The Chieftains effortlessly engaged the crowd on this night. Celebrating a stellar 35-year career at the time, they brought their seemless blend of Irish culture, folk, pop, and classical influences to the festival. Complete with special appearances from step-dancers and bagpipe players, this is a set that gave a whole new flair to the jazz festival. One of the first bands to popularize traditional Irish music, The Chieftains have enjoyed a long and celebrated career, and are still undisputed as one of the greatest Irish folk bands of all time. Originally founded in 19...