Category Archives: Music

Bellowhead’s Burlesque 

Mike Wilson penned this review.  Burlesque takes traditional English music and dresses it up with vim and vigour, presenting 13 glorious tracks with full-on arrangements that instantly grab your attention. Bellowhead are an 11-piece band, led by renowned English folk musicians John Spiers and … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Bellowhead’s Burlesque 

Steven Brust’s A Rose for Iconoclastes

I’ve read almost all of Steven Brust’s books, listened (innumerable times) to the song cycle he wrote with Adam Stemple, Songs from ‘The Gypsy’, and heard some samples of the music of Cats Laughing. All of this did absolutely nothing … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Steven Brust’s A Rose for Iconoclastes

Richard D. Smith’s Bluegrass: An Informal Guide 

Brendan Foreman penned this review. Bluegrass music really lives a strange existence within the world of American music. Its form is too stylized and polished to classify it properly as a “folk music.” After all, the big bluegrass events of the … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Richard D. Smith’s Bluegrass: An Informal Guide 

Donal Hickey’s Stone Mad for Music: The Sliabh Luachra Story 

John O’Regan penned this review. Subtitled “The Sliabh Luachra story,” this book attempts to demythologize the heartland of Sliabh Luachra, a legendary area where Irish traditional music is concerned. To fans of Irish music, Sliabh Luachra will need no introduction. Something … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Donal Hickey’s Stone Mad for Music: The Sliabh Luachra Story 

Dag Gården’s frå folk te’ folk 

Judith Gennett penned this review. Located north of Oslo and south of Tondheim, The Gudbrandsdalen is known as Norway’s “valley of valleys.” It is, along with its western extension the Ottadalen, also known as a hotbed of “normal” fiddling, using the … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Dag Gården’s frå folk te’ folk 

Diana Boullier’s Exploring Irish Music and Dance

At some point for children seeking to master traditional music, the learning must come through the power of relationship — through parents, friends, neighbors, or teachers. But not every child has access to that world, and many a child may … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Diana Boullier’s Exploring Irish Music and Dance

Ciaran Carson’s Last Night’s Fun: In and Out of Time with Irish Music

Chuck Lipsig penned this review. Ciaran Carson is an Irish poet and musician, who has, in Last Night’s Fun, put together a series of writings, each inspired by a traditional tune. In most cases, these are short essays. For others, he has … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Ciaran Carson’s Last Night’s Fun: In and Out of Time with Irish Music

Dave Swarbrick’s Swarb! Forty-Five years of Folk’s Finest Fiddler

Stephen Hunt penned this review. Rejoice! My friends, for what we have here is the latest “4 -CD’s and loads of goodies” box-set from Free Reed, the folks responsible for The Carthy Chronicles and Fairport unConventional. Given that Swarbrick’s career has included spells as … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Dave Swarbrick’s Swarb! Forty-Five years of Folk’s Finest Fiddler

Dr. N. Ramani and Hariprasad Chaurasia’s Together: Raga Hindolam/Malkauns, Raga Pahadi (“Dhum”)

When we think of Indian raga, most of us will think of the sitar, and perhaps the sarod, the most common instrument used in performing this classical Indian music. What we don’t think of is flutes, in the case of … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Comments Off on Dr. N. Ramani and Hariprasad Chaurasia’s Together: Raga Hindolam/Malkauns, Raga Pahadi (“Dhum”)

Victor Prieto’s The Three Voices

Victor Prieto was born in the town of Ourense in Galicia, an ancient Celtic homeland in Spain. But he grew up partially in Venezuela and has lived in New York for the past 20 years. His mother insisted that he … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Victor Prieto’s The Three Voices