Posts Tagged ‘Celtic Music’

Here’s a teaser for our March 2011 Ireland Tour. Exploring the links between our own Appalachian culture and Ireland roots, we’ll be visiting the Ulster American Folk Park.

An oft-overlooked fact… over 2 million emigrated to America from Ulster prior to 1900. Collectively, those people had a profound impact on American history and culture. Several American Presidents, most notably Andrew Jackson, U.S. Grant, and Teddy Roosevelt had Ulster roots. The Ulster American Folk Park explores the various reasons for the waves of migration reaching back to the early 1700s. People of all stations of life crossed the Atlantic… destined to become “Americans.”

The Park is a fascinating, open-air, sprawling museum including 30 buildings, some of which are recreations, some being lovingly restored originals. Staffed with interpreters and “people of history,” from them one gains a sense of place and time. Particularly of rural life in the 1700s and 1800s. Visitors are first guided through parts of an Irish village of smallholdings, cottages, churches, weavers shop, and a blacksmith’s shop. You’ll see and hear people go about their daily business as in earlier times.

“Ireland” then “ends” in a city street, complete with well-stocked shops, leading down to a quay. Here a sailing ship awaits…you board … for transport to “America.” Debarking, it’s through the immigration shed into a virtual street from 19th Century Boston. Then journey on until you are in the open countryside. Here, several farmsteads are recreated with a loving eye for detail, complete with crops and livestock. There’s even a log house directly from Greene County, PA.

All in all, the Ulster American Folk Park is an amazing experience. Especially for those of us from American frontier roots. Common traditions continue on both sides of The Atlantic. Of those, music is ever-present. In celebration, the Ulster American Folk Park’s annual Bluegrass Festival has been a calendar highlight for more than sixteen years. Who knows what musical moments we might share there!

To explore more, here’s the website: http://www.nmni.com/uafp

Celtic Force is pleased to announce their partnership with historic Columbia Speedway to present the first edition of Tartan Day South, A Celtic Celebration, on Fri. & Sat. April 1 & 2, 2011.

Friday will feature different activities throughout the greater Columbia area such as whiskey tasting, kilted fashion show and a pub-crawl.

The festival will be featured on Sat. at the Speedway and will include the best in Celtic music, athletic competition, pipe bands, children’s activities, dancing & herding demonstrations along with vendors and other organizations representing the best in Celtic culture, including such notables as Clan MacBubba.

There is a new web site being developed and the musical line up is being selected. We’re working on hotel packages and other cool activities for those that attend. Stay tuned and mark your calendars to be in Columbia, SC on April 1 & 2!

It’s the first TARTAN DAY SOUTH

By Maureen Perdomo and Jack Long, Guest Writers

In early July, on a crisp Sunday morning in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, the sounds of the song “The Kiss,” from the movie, “The Last of the Mohicans,” could be heard filtering down through the rocks and the crags into the valleys below.

Above, on a mile-high pedestrian bridge, 28 members of the Chelsea House Orchestra played as they crossed from one peak to another, bringing their version of “Celtic with a kick” to yet another part of the world.

This glorious site was the conclusion of CHO’s first trip to the annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, where the largest gathering of the clans in the United States takes place each year to celebrate their Scottish heritage.

This trip would also mark the beginning of one of the busiest and most traveled months in the CHO’s history, putting in over 2,400 miles in a three-week period in a tour that covered shows in North Carolina, Jackson, Edinboro, Pa., Grass Lake and ending in Chelsea.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

Have you always wanted to go to Scotland or Ireland but just haven’t been able to?  Well now is your chance! 

For just $10 you and a family member or friend can enjoy one of five tour packages to Scotland or Ireland – winners choice.  The Williamsburg Scottish Festival, in partnership with Guardian Travel Chesapeake and Celtic Force Enterprise, will be raffling a tour for two on Saturday October 2 at the Main Parade Field closing ceremony. 

You do not need to be present to win.  Only 3,900 tickets will be sold.  All proceeds of this raffle will be used to pay for Festival Competition cost and scholarships of winners.  Here are the tour raffle options.  You do not need to make a choice until the day you win.

For more information, visit the raffle site: http://www.wsfonline.org/tour-raffle.org

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

We stumbled across this inspiring video of images of Ireland set to “The Rights of Man.” We hope you enjoy it!

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Source: http://www.reelrootsfolkmusic.com

You never know what you’re going to get from a new band on the scene, and when “The Big Spree” was released by Breabach back in 2008 it was a shocker in all the best of ways.

The young styles of Patsy Reid, Calum MacCrimmon, Ewan Robertson, and Donal Brown bring a freshness to the traditional tunes they play. The arrangements on this CD are fantastic, and the blend of tunes and songs give the listener a nice mix of everything. Their songs are full of foot stomping pipes, whistles and fiddle, and you’ll definitely want to sing along to “The Rolling Hills”.

If you like some of the other Scottish folk creatives such as Old Blind Dogs or the Tannahill Weavers, don’t miss this Breabach release! You’ll be thrilled that you added it to your collection… In fact, better by two in case you wear the first one out!

Check Out The Track Listing and visit: www.breabach.com

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Source: Wikipedia

Celtic Fusion is an umbrella term for modern music which incorporates influences considered “Celtic,” or Celtic music which incorporates modern music.

It is a syncretic musical tradition which borrows freely from the perceived “Celtic” musical traditions of all the Celtic nations, as well as from all styles of popular music; it is thus sometimes associated with the Pan-Celtic movement.

Celtic fusion may or may not include authentic traditional music from any one tradition under the Celtic umbrella, but its common characteristic is the inspiration by Celtic identity.

The oldest musical tradition which fits under the label of Celtic fusion originated in the rural American south in the early colonial period and incorporated Scottish, Scots-Irish, Irish, and African American influences. Variously referred to as roots music, American folk music, or old-time music, this tradition has exerted a strong influence on all forms of American music, including country, blues, and rock and roll.

The connections between traditional Scottish and Irish music and Rock music are deep and go back to the origins of American music.

Read All About Celtic Fusion

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Had the chance to work with Cutthroat Shamrock again recently at the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival and their brand of punk/irish/pirate seems to leave a positive impression.

The energy and musicianship is definitely a show stopper, it’s obvious they have been honing their skills over this past year. Known well in Knoxville, these guys are expanding their travels, so keep an eye out for an appearance near you.

Did I mention that they played the weekend festival without a bass player? Seems Guido lost a wrestling match and came away with a broken foot, so what to do? Go on with what you’ve got, and they did!

You’ve got to have talent to continue without a bass player and make it sound good and it sounded very good. It’s also nice to work with someone that delivers without attitude. Of course the beer tent may have had something to do with that…….

Thought you might want to check them out on myspace or facebook… www.myspace.com/cutthroatshamrock    www.facebook.com/cutthroatshamrock

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