Tag Archives: Scottish music

Katie McNally Trio’s The Boston States

For decades, expatriate Cape Breton Islanders lived and worked in Boston because there were few jobs on the Nova Scotia island they called home. Many of them, in addition to working factory jobs of one kind and another, were excellent … Continue reading

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Elias Alexander & Bywater Band’s Bywater

Elias Alexander hails from Ashland, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. But this piper, singer and songwriter has lived in a lot of places including Scotland, where he apparently worked as a tree planter, and New Orleans, and Vermont where … Continue reading

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Boys of the Lough’s Midwinter Night’s Dream

Chuck Lipsig penned this review. On Midwinter Night’s Dream, Boys of the Lough include Aly Bain (fiddle), Cathal McConnell (flute, whistles, song), Dave Richardson (concertina, mandolin, cittern, accordion), and Christy O’Leary (uilleann pipes, whistles, song). They call on Christmas and winter … 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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Capercaillie’s Dusk Till Dawn: The Best of Capercaillie and  Karen Matheson’s The Dreaming Sea

One of Scotland’s more endearing — and enduring — bands, Capercaillie (named, curiously, for a particularly large species of Scottish grouse) has been making beautiful music for nearly twenty years now. Formed in 1984 by Donald Shaw, Karen Matheson and … Continue reading

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Mairi MacInnes’ Tickettyboo

Judith Gennett penned this review. Some time back, Scottish Gaelic singer Mairi MacInnes was commissioned by the BBC to record music for a series called “Songs And Rhymes.” This children’s album is a collection of MacInnes’ favorites from the series. The … Continue reading

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Shooglenifty’s Arms Dealer’s Daughter

As far as I can tell, every little hamlet harbours some rad trad types with lots of electronic equipment in their garages. Hell, some of them have even invented instruments, as did Garry Finlayson of Shooglenifty with his souped up … Continue reading

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 Cantychiels’ Cantychiels

Naomi wrote this review. The members of Cantychiels — all active members of the Scottish folk music community — have apparently been playing together in various incarnations for several years, but this is the first chance that they’ve had, to … Continue reading

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Capercaillie’s Roses and Tears

My first acquaintance with Capercaillie was an album that turned out to be a “crossover” — Celtic trad group goes pop. At least some of that pop influence seems to have made a home in the group’s style — I … Continue reading

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Capercaillie’s At the Heart of It All

I’m still working my way through Capercaillie, which, out of a host of interesting musicians from many traditions, remains one of the most engaging groups I’ve run across. At the Heart of It All seems to pull together a lot … Continue reading

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