Posts Tagged ‘celtic force’

New River Blues Festival is an event that pays homage to the authentic greats of this most expressive and wonderful of all American roots music.

Through the many years real-deal Blues folks have generously shared their gifts & mentored us. On this special day we celebrate, promote & thank the legends, elders & luminaries who have lighted the way.

At River House Inn, on the banks of the pristine New River, there is a day devoted to WORLD-CLASS BLUES. The setting is wonderfully scenic. Picture a glorious mountain meadow on the edge of a lively river… Now picture a beautiful summer day and hundreds of blues fans dancing in the green grass to the music of living legends. You have just conjured up the NEW RIVER BLUES FESTIVAL now in it’s 8TH year.

On SUNDAY SEPT. 5, 2010 THE NEW RIVER BLUES FESTIVAL (formerlyThe Todd Blues Festival) promises to out-do its past success. The NEW RIVER BLUES FESTIVAL is unique in this Appalachian setting where Bluegrass and Old Time Music reign. The driving forces behind this one-of-a-kind musical gathering are Rob “Hound Dog” Baskerville and Penny “Queen Bee” Zamagni of the internationally acclaimed blues band, The King Bees. Residing in Todd (a nearby village on the New River where the first few fests were held) Baskerville and Zamagni were eager to bring their over 23 years of experience backing up blues greats here and abroad to this unique setting.

Calling upon friendships established through the years with some of the most revered names in blues, The King Bees have offered talent line-ups that rival many major blues festivals in the US and Europe. Fans have loved not only the performances, but also the picturesque surroundings on the banks of the New River a few miles north of Boone.

For more, visit: http://www.myspace.com/newriverbluesfestival

It is our honored pleasure to announce the formation of The Society of William Wallace USA.  “Wallace USA” represents the coming together of both Americans and Scots in their shared passion for those principles for which William Wallace stood. Namely, his love of Scotland, its people, and their freeborn right to freedom.

“Wallace USA” owes its foundation and allegiance to The Society of William Wallace in Scotland.  As such, our causes, goals and objectives shall be consistent with those of our parent organization. Through the works of our Society, we seek to emulate the ideals of William Wallace.  We also seek to honor and preserve the memory of our departed friend David R. Ross who himself did much for love of Wallace and Scotland.

“Wallace USA’ shall be participating at the Grandfather Mtn. Highland Games, held 8-11, July. Organizational meeting shall be held Saturday the 10th, at 11am in The Chieftain’s Tent.  Membership is open to all who share similar interests and values.  Application forms will be made available shortly and a Facebook page is being constructed. More information will be forthcoming very soon!

The Celtic Force – Visit our website: www.thecelticforce.com

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Celtic Force Enterprises Inc. is pleased to announce receipt of first inventory of books by the late Scottish historian and author David R. Ross. Currently available are these titles:

• Desire Lines, David’s unique combination travelogue and history book on his beloved Scotland.

• On the Trail of William Wallace, David’s refreshing insight into the life and heritage of the great Scots hero whose proud story is at the very heart of what it means to be Scottish.

Books can be purchased by contacting Eric Johnson.  Send email to:  thecelticforceej@gmail.com for more information.

Additional inventory of other David Ross books is expected soon. Included will be his last work, Scottish Women, scheduled for release in June. Look for further announcements here.

David Robertson Ross is, and was, a patriotic Scot who loved his country and its people. He was passionate about the rich tapestry of Scottish history. David  specialised in the great Scottish hero Sir William Wallace. He loved Scotland’s past AND present. David believed his writing gave him the opportunity to promote Scotland in a positive light. For David, it was always important to show Scotland as ready to take its equal place in the world of the future.

David Ross websites:

http://www.davidrross.org
http://www.walkforwallace.com
http://www.thesocietyofwilliamwallace.com

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Celtic Force is coming at you in the next several weeks.

We will be handling the entertainment for these upcoming highland games; Gatlinburg, TN May 14-16 featuring Albannach, Cutthroat Shamrock, Thistledown Tinkers, Colin Grant Adams Greenville, SC May 28-29   featuring Albannach, Coyote Run Grandfather, Linville, NC July 8-11.

FINALLY, the line up for the Celtic Groves at Grandfather Mountain Highland Games is set. We are pleased to offer this line up that delivers a very wide range of Celtic music styles. We hope you make plans to join us from July 8-11 for “THE Gathering” at Grandfather Mountain with THE Celtic Force.

This year in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway we will highlight music of Appalachia by featuring regional artists in Grove 3 and as part of our concerts. Hear the influence that Celtic music played on the development of what has become one of the most popular musical styles in the world.

Performing July 9-11:
Albannach
Brother
Clandestine
Colin Grant Adams
Ed Miller/Jill Chambliss/Scooter Muse
Forget Me Nots
Mother Grove
RG Absher & Celtic Connection
Teribus
The Blessed Blend

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Source: http://www.readjunk.com

Posted by Bryan Kremkau

St Patrick’s Day has passed this year but that doesn’t mean you can’t listen to some Celtic rock music still! The Rumjacks hail from Australia, but they don’t sound like it at all. The band is heavily influenced by The Pogues and Roaring Jack (obviously). Members of the band formed in 2008 when their other bands (the Laundrymen, Catgut Mary) broke up. I’ve heard many a Celtic rock band in my day, and these guys definitely stand out from the bunch.

I’m reviewing both their releases since each EP only contains 5 or 6 tracks each. Their newest release is “Hung, Drawn and Portered” and it’s a fine EP. It makes me want to hear more after hearing it. The first song on that album is “The Plantin’ O’ Kitty Randall” is an awesome track that sounds like a bunch of pirates are singing it. I notice that many bands cross over into the pirate territory when doing Celtic music sometimes. I don’t mind it, pirates rock! The accordion playing is top notch, and the singing is really good as well. The last track on the EP is a cover of “I’ll Tell Me Ma” and I can never get enough of hearing different covers of that traditional song.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

Band Link: www.myspace.com/therumjacks

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Source: http://www.theobserver.ca

PAUL MORDEN – The Observer

Mark Fletcher said he wishes he could afford to hire an orchestra to tour with his band Rant Maggie Rant.

It’s set to join the International Symphony Orchestra on stage at the Imperial Theatre in Sarnia on Jan. 29, and the McMorran Theatre in Port Huron on Jan. 30, for what’s billed as a “Celtic Extravaganza.”

“It’s just an absolute rush,” Fletcher said about the experience of playing on stage with a symphony orchestra.

“It’s like a great big engine winding up behind you. You feel all that thundering power and precision.”

Rant Maggie Rant is made up of five musicians from the Stratford area, including several brought to Celtic music from other genres about two years ago.

“It was actually sort of a hand-picked group,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher, who plays guitar, mandolin, banjo, flute and pipes, and fiddler Lindsay Schindler had performed together, off and on, for years before they decided to form the group.

“We wanted to build a really strong stage and concert band,” he said.

So, they spent several months looking carefully for seasoned musicians that didn’t necessarily have a strong background in Celtic music. 

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This is another Celtic music group we are watching and listening to. Skerryvore, based in Scotland, shows they have a very solid sound and good energy.

Skerryvore were formed in 2004 on Isle of Tiree in Scotland’s wild west.From traditional roots the band have developed a unique fusion of their traditional music and songs with the urban sounds of rock and funk. With their oustanding musicianship and the mesmirising voice of singer Alec Dalglish, Skerryvore have gripped audiences across the world from Boston to Beijing and have been the highlights at many big festivals including Celtic festivals such as Celtic Connections and Hebcelt to the massive rock festival ‘T in the Park’.

The band had the honour of co-writing and performing the song ‘Hold Your Breath’ for the BBC Gaelic television series entitled ‘A’Gharaids’. The band’s own songs and fresh material are a big feature of their new album due for release in April 2010.

Skerryvore continue to generate a big following of fans and have achieved album sales of over 10 000 and their first album was awarded album of the month on the BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Celtic Connections.’

Watch an interview with Skerryvore on Scotland TV – CLICK HERE

For more information, visit: http://www.skerryvore.com.

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Rathkeltair (pronounce rath-KELT-ur) is one of North America’s premier Celtic rock bands.  Based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and touring internationally since 2003, Rathkeltair delivers one of the most energetic, entertaining, audience-friendly shows you will see anywhere.

Bringing together three formidable multi-instrumentalists from England, Ireland, and America, Rathkeltair is essentially a power trio consisting of  guitarist  Trevor Tanner, drummer Nick Watson, and ‘piper Neil Anderson.  Depending on the venue, they will often bring along one or two guest musicians, usually a bass guitarist and occassionally a fiddler.

Trev, Nick and Neil are all veteran road warriors with incredible stories to tell.  Together, they will take you on a rollicking journey through time and space.  So hop in, and hitch a ride in the big white van- we don’t know where we’ll end up but you can bet it’ll be great fun.  Because as any old road dog will tell you, it’s all about the journey, not the destination.  That’s Rathkeltair.

For more information, please visit: http://www.rathkeltair.com

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The Irish as a race have given the world some of the most important and influential people in rocknroll history – the likes of Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, U2 and, through descension, The Beatles, The Smiths and more recently Oasis. The influence of traditional music is well acknowledged by all these artists, many of them citing the more traditional artists like The Chieftains, Luke Kelly and The Dubliners as mentors with The Pogues landing somewhere between the two styles. Still nobody to this day has truly married all these into one as naturally and effortlessly as The BibleCodeSundays, with the added influence of growing up in a multicultural London, surrounded by a strong Irish community. This breeds a unique branch of the worlds vast Irish population. The stories, poems and songs that speak of a beautiful landscape and glorious heroes mixed in with the aggressive, dirty streets of day to day London.

The BibleCodeSundays debut album Ghosts of Our Past was born mostly out of frustration that no one band was really hitting the mark. The Pogues had opened a door and nobody was stepping through and carrying on their work as so many bands had done with The Beatles. Included on this debut album are three songs written for Mike O’Dea’s Boston-Irish movie Code of Silence which will be produced by Michael Z Gordon, the producer of the movie Narc which starred Ray Liotta.

The band proved to be a popular one on the London Irish scene and were voted winners by readers of The Irish World newspaper for the award of ‘Best Band on London Circuit 2006′. The lads picked up the award at a huge ceremony and after their performance on the night were described as “a breath of fresh air for Irish music.” They were never content to just be a local band playing other people’s music and harboured ambitions of reaching a world-wide audience.

‘The BibleCodeSundays’ name came about from regular sunday gigs and drink-fuelled conversations about conspiracy theories. These weekly gigs/sessions became known as ‘BibleCode Sundays’.

To learn more about the band, visit: http://www.biblecodesundays.co.uk/bcshtml/theband.htm

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Source: Washington Post

By Fritz Hahn
Washington Post Staff Writer

On paper, Scythian is a traditional Irish group: the lineup includes two classically trained fiddlers, and the twenty-something musicians play accordion, guitar, electric bass and mandolin. In concert, though, Scythian proves to be one of Washington’s most energetic and eclectic bands.

One night at Fado mixes spirited takes on traditional rebel tunes like “Come Out Ye Black and Tans” and covers of Irish punks-with-pennywhistles the Pogues with klezmer-influenced versions of Squirrel Nut Zippers’ “Hell” and They Might Be Giants’ “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”; a Celtic-tinged interpretation of Charlie Daniels’s “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”; a careening, double-time “Danny Boy”; and a take on “Wild Thing” that features a fiddle singing over the familiar, thumping bass line.

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To learn more about Scythian, please visit: http://www.scythianmusic.com

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