On Friday night, Nov. 12th, you have the opportunity to celebrate Scotland’s National Day a little early. St. Andrews is the patron saint of Scotland and the 30th of November is set aside to recognize Scotland’s nationality.
In the High Country you can celebrate this day by attending a dinner and concert featuring one of Scotland’s treasures, singer/songwriter, Jim Malcolm.
Malcolm is the winner of the Scots Trad Music Awards Songwriter of the Year and has been runner up for singer of the year. (www.jimmalcolm.com)
He is known for his smooth vocals, his charismatic delivery and his wit. Jim has performed in the past at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, as well as other regional venues, and will deliver his tribute to St Andrew’s Day at the Broyhill Inn & Conference Center in Boone, NC.
The dinner will be at 7pm followed by the concert in the Grand Ballroom at Broyhill Inn. This celebration is being presented jointly by the Broyhill Inn and Celtic Force Enterprises.
Tickets for the dinner and the concert are $45 per person and can be purchased on line at www.thecelticforce.com/tickets. For more information you can call 336-499-9733
Here it is! A brand spanking new song from Mickey Harte!
This was recorded late in the evening of October 11th, outside at Old Salem Tavern in Winston-Salem, NC. Written just two days prior…you can hear the crickets, which we think adds to the atmosphere. Enjoy!
For more information, visit http://www.mickeyhartemusic.com!
Posted in Ireland, irish music, mickey harte | 
Celtic Music, celtic rock, celtic tours, irish music, mickey harte, The Celtic Force | 
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Mickey Harte is a singer songwriter from Donegal in Ireland. He has been a mainstay of the Irish acoustic circuit over the past 10 years. From his formative years as a musician, playing in local bands he was always well regarded as an exceptional songwriter.
Noted several times by national press and media for his capability, in RTE Television’s song writing contests in the early 1990’s and by Ireland’s largest music magazine ‘Hotpress’ in the later 90’s.
USA Tour… October 2010.
Friday, 8th Oct: Appalachian State University Entrepreneurs Summit, Raley Hall. http://www.business.appstate.edu/summit/
Saturday, 9th Oct: Canyons , Blowing Rock, NC. 9 pm. http://www.canyonsbr.com/
(co-presented by Split Rail Records)
Sunday, 10th Oct: River House Inn, Grassy Creek, NC. http://www.riverhousenc.com/
Monday, 11th Oct: Old Salem Tavern, Winston-Salem, NC. http://www.oldsalemtavern.com/
Thursday, 14th Oct: Tir na Nog, Raleigh, NC. http://www.tirnanogirishpub.com/
Friday, 15th Oct: Kildare’s Irish Pub, Chapel Hill, NC http://www.kildaresirishpub.com/
Saturday, 16th Oct: Kildare’s Irish Pub, Chapel Hill, NC
Thursday, 21st Oct: Chicago Street Pub, Joliet, IL. 9pm. http://www.chicagost.com/
For more info, visit: http://www.mickeyhartemusic.com
Source: http://www.beith.org
The Tin Whistle (sometimes called a pennywhistle) is a simple and cheap instrument. It’s simply a metal tube with six fingerholes and a mouthpiece (much like a recorder); it has a range of about two octaves. Costs range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars — although some of the best players play only the cheaper brands.
The tin whistle is a simple instrument — and it’s simple to play, and simple to play easy tunes. But — it’s not simple to master! The instrument may be cheap, but you’ll have to pay for mastery … by practicing! The haunting whistle tunes from the movie “Titanic” illustrate the deep soul found in this instrument.
This instrument is commonly made from metal (usually brass) with a molded whistle mouthpiece. By playing it open (not covering any of the six fingerholes), then by covering each fingerhole in turn, you can play the 7 notes in a diatonic (a simple Do-Re-Mi scale — essentially the white keys on a piano) scale. Blow a little bit harder and you’ll play the same note, but an octave higher. While it is a diatonic instrument, you can achieve sharps and flats by half-covering fingerholes.
Since there are essentially only two open notes — a note, then the note an octave higher when you blow harder — each tin whistle is said to represent a certain Key signature. For instance, if the open note sounds a “D”, then the whistle is considered to be in the key of D. Many players carry a small set of whistles in the most commonly used keys.
Some people don’t realize you can actually tune a tin whistle! You do so by sliding the metal barrel of the whistle in and out of the mouthpiece head. Some whistles have the head glues securely to the barrel. You can usually loosen the glue by holding the joined portion under hot running water. Don’t use boiling water — this may melt the plastic whistle head!
Source: http://celticmusic.co/
The fourth album from the rockin’ modern pipes and drums band features ‘Bagrock’ cover versions of classic tracks including Radio Ga Ga (Queen), Baba O’Reilly (The Who), Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams) and Long Way To The Top (AC/DC).
The Chillis’ version of Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars has been going down a storm in America, where the band is currently touring.
The Chilli Pipers also incorporate gospel and dance into their melting pot of sound, through the likes of Everybody Dance Now and a version of Amazing Grace featuring members of Glasgow’s Gospel Truth Choir.
The Chillis came storming on to the scene after winning Graham Norton’s BBC1 TV series When Will I Be Famous? With their powerful style they have moved the bagpipes into new and adventurous areas, re-interpreting famous tracks by the likes of Queen, Survivor, John Farnham, Deep Purple, AC/DC, Status Quo, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Coldplay in their very own Chilli Piper way.
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.
Posted in Celtic Music | Celtic Music, irish music, Scotland, scottish music, The Celtic Force | Leave a comment
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
Posted in Tours, Trips | celtic festivals, Celtic Music, celtic tours, celtic trips, ireland, The Celtic Force, tour scotland | Leave a comment
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