Category Archives: Music

Interview with Danú at the Winnipeg Folk Festival

I spoke with Ciarán Ó Gealbháin (vocalist) and Donnchadh Gough (bodhrán and uilleann pipes) about the influences on Danú’s music, and the blending of new sounds with the old traditions. Their main stage set on Friday evening was one of the high … Continue reading →

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Solas at Rosebud

Patrick O’Donnell penned this review. I went to bed with their music in my head, and when I woke up the next morning, it was still there. That’s just how good Solas’ March 21 show at Rosebud in Pittsburgh was. Strains of … Continue reading →

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Fairport’s Cropredy Convention! August 2005

John O’Regan penned this epic review. ‘What We Did On Our Holidays’ was the title of Fairport Convention’s second album for Island records in 1969. To paraphrase said title a little, what I did this year on my holidays was go … Continue reading →

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La Musgaña at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church

You know that you are amid a dedicated folk audience when the audience applauds mid-tune as a musician sets down his whistle and picks up a set of bagpipes. Then again, this same audience was also in awe of a … Continue reading →

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Mor Karbasi at the  Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall

Christopher Conder penned this review. Finding a hidden treasure on a compilation CD is one of the small pleasures of record collecting. Thus it was when I discovered Mor Karbasi singing “Rosa,” tucked in between Linda Thompson and Tarika Bé (good … Continue reading →

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Steeleye Span at  the Trinity Theatre and Arts Centre

Guest writer Tony Wighton contributed this review. Well, having given the new album a good airing I knew that the band had some good material, so how would they perform without the person who in some peoples’ eyes ‘is’ Steeleye … Continue reading →

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Childsplay at the State Street Church

Imagine anywhere from 21 to 28 fiddler/violin players on one stage with a rhythm section, throw in a random banjo or wooden flute … sound like a party? Well, that’s how Childsplay got its start: in Bob Childs’ house at … Continue reading →

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Gjallarhorn’s Grimborg

What is it about Nordic folk music that draws you? Is it the wailing fiddles, the slight dissonance that seems to tap into something very basic? Is it the melodies, the lilt to the tunes? And Gjallarhorn’s magic? Was it … Continue reading →

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Alban & Josue’s Polska pa Pan

Mike Stiles wrote this review. At first glance at a bi-cultural collaboration like Polska pa Pan, I’ve come to expect one of two possibilities. The collaboration can be an exchange of traditions or it can be slanted towards that of one of … Continue reading →

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Plommon’s Sah

Big Earl Sellar wrote this review. It’s interesting how the current interest in reviving older traditions has been embraced by younger people throughout the world. Plommon is a group of five young women from Sweden playing traditional songs within a neotraditional … Continue reading →

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