Tag Archives: traditional music

Joe K. Walsh’s Borderland

Posted on 15th September 2016 by Gary Whitehouse

Creating new music from old traditions is the hallmark of roots music anywhere in the world. And it’s what Joe K. Walsh does on his debut solo album Borderland. This mandolinist, songwriter and singer has been active in the Americana … Continue reading →

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Golfam Khayam and Mona Matbou Riahi’s Narrante

Posted on 18th June 2016 by Gary Whitehouse

Narrante is an utterly fascinating album, and it’s like very little else that I’ve ever heard. Golfam Khayam and Mona Matbou Riahi, who perform as Naqsh Duo, are Iranian musicians making their debut on the German jazz and classical label … Continue reading →

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Steindór Andersen’s Rímur: A Collection From Steindór Andersen

Posted on 23rd May 2016 by Robert

If linguists can postulate the existence, sometime in the distant past, of an “ur-language,” a Mother Tongue from which all other languages have descended, can there not as well be an “ur-music” from which all of our modern music derives? … Continue reading →

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Lúnasa: The Story So Far

Posted on 29th February 2016 by Robert

Strange as it may seem from someone who’s been writing about music – at GMR of all places – for several years now, one area in which I am less cognizant than I should be is traditional Celtic music. I … Continue reading →

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Clannad’s Landmarks

Posted on 29th February 2016 by Robert

I always think of Clannad as an Irish traditional group, which they aren’t — at least, not any more. Traditionally grounded, yes, as one can see from their early recordings, but what has become their signature style incorporates bits of … Continue reading →

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String Sisters’ Live

Posted on 23rd February 2016 by Robert

There seems to be something magical about the number “6” when you’re talking about fiddles. Maybe that many fiddlers reaches a kind of critical mass that sets off a chain reaction of some sort. At any rate, when the six … Continue reading →

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Celtic Colours Wycocomagh Gathering

Posted on 14th October 2013 by Gary Whitehouse

It was billed as “Cape Breton meets Denmark via Boston,” and it was all that and more as the two Celtic Colours 2013 Artists in Residence hosted a fiddling extravaganza Sunday night in Wycocomagh on Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island. … Continue reading →

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Celtic Colours — Tee and Tunes, Acadian Celtic Crossroads

Posted on 13th October 2013 by Gary Whitehouse

Tee and Tunes Fiddler Martin Hayes and guitarist John Doyle brought the capacity crowd to their feet in a spontaneous standing ovation at the conclusion of a stunning set of reels, the climax of an evening of traditional and contemporary … Continue reading →

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Cesaria Évora’s Mae Carinhosa

Posted on 8th May 2013 by Gary Whitehouse

Cesaria Évora died in 2011 at the age of 70, having spent most of her life singing. This posthumous release gathers a baker’s dozen tracks she recorded over her career but which never ended up on any of her 11 … Continue reading →

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Kaivama’s Kaivama

Posted on 14th November 2011 by Gary Whitehouse

Kaivama, which is fiddler Sara Pajunen and guitarist Jonathan Rundman, is making big waves in the Finnish-American cultural community of the upper Midwest. She’s from Minnesota, he’s a Yuper (that’s a native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula), they’ve only been together … Continue reading →

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