Sligo Rags
What do you get when you combine a classically trained violinist, a bluegrass banjo picker, a jazz bass player and an Afro/Latin percussionist? Give up? Why Irish reels and jigs, of course. That's right, reels and jigs.
From neighborhood pubs to outdoor festivals, house parties to concert halls, Michael Kelly, David Burns, Gordon Rustvold and Eric Hartwell, aka the Sligo Rags, have been performing regularly throughout the Southland for the past two years. While the Rags stay true to the original intent of the traditional tunes they play, they are not afraid to be innovative. The addition of bluegrass-style flat-picking and world music rhythms to these time-honored songs creates a unique brand of Irish music that these bandmates are eager to share with . . . well, anyone who will listen.
(credit The Irish Herald, November 2007 vol. 5 no. 2, Irish Herald)
[website]
Needfire
Needfire's music is a unique mix of all original high energy modern rock and traditional Scottish and Irish music. This five-piece Texas-based Celtic-rock band combines the talents of an award-winning Grade I Highland bagpiper, Celt-rock fiddle, and tribal didgeridoo with electric guitars, bass and drums. [website] [myspace]
Molly's Revenge
Molly's Revenge specializes in the traditional music of Ireland, Scotland and England, with occasional side trips to other parts of Europe, plus some of their own compositions.
At a Molly's Revenge performance you will be treated to upbeat, lively renditions of traditional Celtic music and song. The band is well known for its high-energy performances, and their piper regularly intermingles with the audience in the middle of tune sets. [website] [myspace]
1916
Robbie Byrne (Bagpiper) and Walter Baldwin (Drummer) created the band in 2006. Robbie introduced the Celtic side of the sound whilst Walter, Doug, and Rich enhanced the music to create a passionate Celtic/Rock experience. Robbie, a former Scots Guards professional musician had performed for the Queen of England during state visits at Buckingham Palace in London, as well as touring extensively at music festivals in England, Ireland, Scotland and Europe before moving to America.
The band have performed at many gigs over the past two years, including the William Wallace day, Bakersfield Highland Games, other venues alongside the Wicked Tinkers, Tempest, Banshee in the Kitchen and other Celtic bands. [website] [myspace]
Wicked Tinkers
Prepare yourself for a wild ride with Wicked Tinkers! Pioneers of the growing Tribal Celtic movement, the Tinkers have been playing haunting, heart-pounding bagpipes and irresistible, tribal drums as a professional touring band since 1995. With the addition, several years back, of the mesmerizing drone of the Australian didgeridoo and Bronze Age Irish horn, the magic was complete. Sit back and be transported to an earlier time in Scotland and Ireland, when battle cries filled the air and strange, unheard-of creatures roamed the night. Or better yet, get on your feet and let your body move to ancient rhythmsand forgotten sounds. [website] [myspace]
Nine 8ths Irish
Formed in 2007 and based in Sacramento, CA, Nine-8ths Irish is made up of Chris Dunlap, bodhran, cajon and vocals; Linda Relph, fiddle and vocals; Bo Bowen, whistles; Kathy Barwick, guitar, five-string banjo, acoustic bass and vocals; and Brady McKay, vocals.
Recording on the FGM Records label, the band released its first album "West of Ireland" in 2007. With the late-2009 release of their eclectic second recording, entitled "Out on the Ocean," the band takes its place among the most compelling, crowd-pleasing and original groups playing traditional Irish music within the U.S.
Incorporating their experiences in a wide variety of musical genres - from bluegrass and jazz to country and contest fiddling - Nine-8ths Irish delights in performing at festivals, pubs and concerts, enchanting audiences with its rousing and unique brand of "Irish music...and a wee bit more." [website]
Black Irish Band
The Black Irish Band, also known as the Hooligans of Jamestown, have been together for 19 years and have released 17 Cd albums to date. The band has a musical style that is as timeless as the rugged landscape of the west, a tribute to the people whose lives were spent building the world we now take for granted. From the Singapore World Music Festival to the Kennedy Center they have perform for thousands of music lovers.
The band has a large compliment of traditional maritime and railroad music, as well as ethnic tunes in their repertoire. They commonly play Irish, Scot's, Italian, and American folk music with an assortment of original songs and traditional western ballads.The bands musical style captures the spirit of the immigrants of this land, the men and women who tamed the Wild West. [website] [myspace]
Golden Bough
Rooted in the traditional Celtic music of Ireland and Scotland (as well as Wales, Cornwall, The Isle of Man, French Brittany and Spanish Galicia), this trio of modern day minstrels has expanded upon these ethnic styles through the development of intriguing arrangements and original compositions. In this way, they have created a sound unique unto themselves. Since their formation in 1980, Golden Bough has traveled great distances to numerous countries, to bring their music to enthusiastic folk fans the world over. [website]
Glenn Morgan
Hammered Dulcimer,
CELTIC MUSIC AND BEYOND...
For nearly 30 years, Glenn Morgan has been entertaining audiences with his high-energy performances on the hammered dulcimer. His repertoire focuses on Celtic Music, with delightful forays into Old Time Americana, French, and Eastern European tunes. The years have provided many opportunities to see Glenn play in a wide range of venues: Renaissance Faires, Scottish Festivals, Craft Fairs, Art Events, Museums, Corporate Events, Schools and San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall. Glenn performs regularly at Pier 39 in San Francisco. He maintains an active roster (about 30 weekends a year) at festivals from the Bay Area to Sacramento, Southern California to Wisconsin, and closer to his home in Sonora, California.
Glenn has produced six recordings, starting with Southwind in 1987. D is for Dulcimer, A Following Wind, Borders No More, Good Time Christmas, and Westwind followed. A new CD, Spring Rain, with guitarist Rick Roberts, is scheduled for release in March, 2010.
The dulcimer is an ancient instrument, and Glenn is most at home at historic recreations, ranging from Medieval to Gold Rush to Victorian. He also has a bit of the teacher in him, and welcomes the opportunity to introduce folks to his instrument, and the music of times long past.
[website]
Chris Caswell
Chris Caswell is one of the world's finest players and builders of the Celtic Harp. He is also a respected performer on the Scottish bagpipes, Irish flute, tinwhistle and bodhran (Irish frame drum). A true Celtic bard, folk musician and singer, he is a natural raconteur, knowledgeable historian and musicologist. His performances cast a bright spell with the music and his obvious delight in playing. His music is infused by his Welsh heritage, and by the world traditions of the Middle East and South America.
From the time he was very young, Chris has had an intense fascination and love for music. From his Welsh background, Chris inherited his interest in Celtic Arts, especially the playing of the harp, an instrument which had lain dormant for several hundred years in most of the British Isles. During the seventies in the United States, Chris was a seminal influence in re-introducing the Celtic harp to American players - a renaissance that occurred in his native Northern California.
Between his own playing, touring and harp building, Chris has found time to teach. Currently he teaches privately in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as offering workshops as an entertaining and educational adjunct to his concert appearances. A natural and joyful teacher, he has held harp retreats throughout the country, and has taught for years at several major music camps including Lark Camp in Mendocino, The Golden Toad Camp in Sonoma County and Alasdair Fraser's Valley of the Moon Fiddling School.
[website]
Photos from 2009
