Source: TBO.com
By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News
NEW PORT RICHEY – The Pasco-Hernando Community College Foundation’s 2010 Performing Arts Series starts off with a big weekend, featuring one of music’s most timeless genres one night and another that defined a decade the next.
In what has become something of a tradition, Gaelic Storm will lead off the season with a concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, at the school’s recently refurbished Performing Arts Center at the PHCC West Campus, 10230 Ridge Road.
The quintet has appeared there each of the last three years, mesmerizing audiences with their repertoire that includes both Celtic rock and the traditional Irish and Scottish music that inspired it, with which they have entertained audiences around the world for over a decade.
Gaelic Storm formed in Santa Monica, Calif., in 1996, at a neighborhood Irish pub. A year later, the band gained notoriety portraying a steerage class band in the movie “Titanic”. Since then, they have toured extensively, spreading the popularity of Celtic music while expanding the genre with new arrangements of traditional melodies as well as original compositions that encompass both the energetic, upbeat humor and haunting ballads it is known for.
Three of Gaelic Storm’s albums have made the Top 10 on Billboard’s World Chart, with the 2008 release “What’s the Rumpus?” reaching the No. 1 slot in its second week.
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Source: http://musicroad.blogspot.com
Ireland, Scotland, Cape Breton — the Boston area has long been a place where these Celtic traditions not only flourish on their own but meet each other. All that is celebrated in the Boston Celtic Music Festival, coming up this year on January 8 and 9. Two events on the Friday kick things off, a concert at the historic Club Passim in Harvard Square, and the Boston Urban Ceilidh, a sort of Celtic dance meets mosh pit high energy fling that’s become a legendary evening of fun, held this year at Springstep in Medford Square.
The ceilidh will still be going when the concert’s done, so no need to choose if you’d like to check out both. The festival continues on January 9 with day time performances and workshops at four stages located in Club Passim and at nearby First Church of Cambridge. First Church will also host the BCMFest Finale Concert on Saturday night, which will include performances by Irish singers and players the Makem and Spain Brothers and Cape Breton fiddler Kimberley Fraser.
Over its six year history, BCMFest has emphasized differing themes, ranging from music about the Boston area to Celtic dance to rising young musicians. This year, core traditions is the central idea. In keeping with that, at the Boston Urban Ceilidh one of acts will be a special one-of-its-kind ensemble that will recreate the classic Dudley Street Boston Irish Dance Hall Era from the 1930s to 1950s — and you can also expect Scottish fiddle meets rock from Laura Cortese and friends. Both of those, in a way, are quite in keeping with the core tradtions of how Celtic music grows and changes.
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Posted in Celtic Music, Events, Festivals, Tours, Trips | Celtic Music, celtic trips, david ross, Scotland, scottish music, Tours | Leave a commentSource: BBC
By: Pauline McLean
Never mind 66 shopping days till Christmas.
There are only 86 days till the start of the 2010 Celtic Connections festival, and a fair amount of excitement at the launch this morning in Glasgow of the new programme.
Since his appointment three years ago, the artistic director Donald Shaw has pushed the world music element of the festival and he admits himself it is an important strand of this year’s programme.
One of his biggest coups is reuniting Ry Cooder with The Chieftains – who’ll perform a concert exploring Celtic and Mexican musical connections.
“I didn’t know there was a connection between Celtic music and Mexican music,” he admits, “but if The Chieftains say there’s a connection, there’s a connection.”
Negotiations to confirm the gig were only finalised in the wee small hours of this morning, with Ry Cooder, who toured Europe in his own right earlier this year, not keen to travel to Glasgow in the middle of January.
And although Donald Shaw admits the concert – which will also feature Cara Butler from the original Riverdance show and Mexican band Los Cenzontles – is something of a coup for the festival, he hands most of the credit to Chieftains founder and leader Paddy Moloney.
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By: Donovan Murray
www.TheCelticForce.com
The sounds from the stage this weekend at the Williamsburg Scottish Festival matched the turnout. It was GREAT! This is the second year Celtic Force has handled the entertainment for the festival, now into its third decade, and the combination of styles and personalities of the performers left those attending with wonderful memories. The weather turned out to be fantastic (no rain, a little warm) and the full moon that delivered its smile on Saturday night topped off a perfect evening. Seems that a new attendance record was set as well. Those performing not only complimented each other but there were several times during the weekend that different artists joined others on stage for a once in a lifetime jam.
As usual the power and sound of pipes and drums delivered by Albannach had everyone moving to the primal tunes and screaming loud enough to reach Richmond. Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas wowed the audience with their blend of fiddle and cello that delivered listeners the passion and intensity of instruments that have left their marks on Celtic music history. Coyote Run, normally a long way from home, were pumped to be playing in their own backyard with sets that demonstrated their unique abilities, highlighted by tight harmonies and theatrical presentations, that took the audience to new places in the Celtic music experience. And when you consider that Williamsburg honors the military during their weekend, it was fitting to have the Air Force Heritage Aire Celtic Ensemble, based out of Langley, playing traditional and lighthearted tunes that showcased those individual musicians’ talents.
You know you have a good blend of talent when you see members of Coyote Run, along with Alasdair Fraser, join the Air Force Ensemble for a tune. To see the crowd on its feet getting dance step instructions from Alasdair so that everyone knows how to do a Scottish reel adds a special something to the day. Having local musicians such as So’loch & a group based out of the Green Oak Pub in Virginia Beach add their talents to the mix. And then Albannach invites Coyote Run & Graham Smith to join them on the final song of the weekend to end with a bang. That’s special!
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