Northwest tunes up for North Atlantic Fiddle Convention

Cover of Liz Carroll

The northwest is tuning up for a €3.5 million boost next summer when the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention takes place in Ireland for the first time. Some 400 musicians and 40,000 visitors are expected to travel to counties Derry and Donegal for the five-day event from June 27th to July 1st next year.

Performers from Ireland, Scotland, the US, Canada, Denmark and Norway are among those scheduled to take part. They include The Chieftains, The String Sisters featuring Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh; Liz Carroll from the US; Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill; Cathal Hayden; and the Wrigley Sisters.

The festival has previously been held in Scotland, Sweden and Canada.

Convention director and fiddle player Liz Doherty said the event was “about cultural exchange, developing new audiences, forging partnerships”.

The event was launched yesterday at the University of Ulster in Derry by Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains.

Northwest tunes up for North Atlantic Fiddle Convention - The Irish Times - Thu, Dec 01, 2011

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Eileen Ivers to perform at KU

"Kutztown Presents! will feature the acclaimed Irish fiddler Eileen Ivers and her band, Immigrant Soul, in its next concert Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Kutztown University's Schaeffer Auditorium.

Ivers, the daughter of Irish immigrants who grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., won the All-Ireland Fiddle Championships nine times and a 10th on tenor banjo. As one of the original stars of "Riverdance," she helped to bring traditional Irish dancing and music to the attention of the world.

She is also known as an innovator, playing an electric/acoustic violin and mixing Irish fiddle music with other genres. In addition to her work with her own band, she has performed with major symphony orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops; with rock stars such as Sting and Patti Smith; with jazz artists such as Randy Brecker and Regina Carter; and she was a founding member of Cherish the Ladies."

Eileen Ivers to perform at KU

Fiddle masters MacMaster, Leahy bring talents to Leach

Two of the world's most celebrated fiddlers, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, will bring their show, "Masters of the Fiddle," to Missouri University of Science and Technology on Saturday, Oct. 14.

A part of Missouri S&T's Campus Performing Arts Series, the performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Leach Theatre of Castleman Hall on the university campus, 10th and Main streets in Rolla.

Tickets are $38 for adults and $28 for youth. The first 75 tickets for Missouri S&T students are free; additional student tickets are $10. Tickets are available online or from the Leach Theatre Box Office. Box office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 573-341-4219 for more information.

The married couple's performance features fiddle-driven music, dance and song, combining French, Celtic, American bluegrass, and even some Cajun styles. They are joined by two acclaimed pianists, Mac Morin and Erin Leahy.

Fiddle masters MacMaster, Leahy bring talents to Leach Oct. 14 - Missouri S&T News and Events:

Fiddles and fiddlers bring crowd to Newburgh riverfront

NEWBURGH, Ind. — The Newburgh Fiddler Fest has been through plenty in its 31 years, with four different organizations taking turns at the helm. But the annual event, featuring live music and catfish dinners, has managed to survive.

So a few raindrops on Saturday morning weren't really anything to worry about.

By Saturday evening, the sky had cleared, and the crowd was again bustling along the Newburgh riverfront. Bluegrass music filled the air as volunteers fried up basket after basket of catfish fillets and fiddlers.

"This year, we've had a pretty decent crowd even with the rain," said Byron Sherman, Fiddler Fest treasurer. "The first hour Friday was just tremendous, and I think it's because people came down here before going to the (Castle High School) football game. And (Saturday) we lost the first hour to rain, but since then we've not only made that up, we've exceeded what we did last year."

The festival continues from noon until 5 p.m. today, weather permitting. Because the fish is cooked outdoors, the fryers have to be shut down when it rains. The festival is held at the Old Lock and Dam building on Old Indiana 662.

The Fiddler Fest is so named because of an old legend that a catfish will make a sound like a fiddle with its whiskers when hauled up in fishing nets. Though the festival is held on the banks of the Ohio River, the fish are shipped in from out of state. They are then cleaned by local Boy Scouts before heading to the fryers.

This is the second year the Fiddler Fest has been organized by the nonprofit organization Friends of Newburgh, formed last year to keep the event going. Most of the members of the group had been volunteers at the Fiddler Fest in the past.

Live music on Saturday included singer/guitarist Byron Rohrig, Tony Rothrock and his bluegrass band and the quartet Against Medical Advice. The Old Dam Community Band is scheduled to play today.

Several food and craft booths are set up just a few steps from the fish fryers.

The seven-member Friends of Newburgh board is assisted by a large group of volunteers who do everything from signing up musical acts to breading and frying the fish in giant vats of oil. "You have to make sure you bread the inside of it," said Shari Sherman. "If you miss that part, it gets dried out inside. You have to get under the fins and everything. But these are the best fiddlers that you will ever have. Only once a year can you get food this good in this kind of environment, and for a good cause."

Proceeds from the Fiddler Fest are donated back to the community. Last year, Friends of Newburgh was able to hand out more than $2,400 to local community groups. But the volunteers said they don't think of the Fiddler Fest as a way to make money.

"I think if you are looking at this as a fundraiser, probably it will not be a successful event," said Shari Sherman. "But if you are looking at it as a community event to get people out and enjoy the town and enjoy the music, then it is a success. "

'via Blog this'

MacDara Ó Raghallaigh - Ego Trip - Broderick's/McDermott's

MacDara Ó Raghallaigh live in concert playing reels composed by Vincent Broderick and Josie McDermott. This video was recorded by Antóin MacGabhann during the live recording of MacDara's CD of traditional Irish fiddle music entitled, Ego Trip. It's actually the first track on the album! Hear it properly here - http://macdara.bandcamp.com

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Josie McDermott's Reel

Reel on Irish Fiddle

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Ashley MacIsaac ready to settle down

Image via Wikipedia"The one-time Cape Breton bad boy is talking about settling down.

Ashley MacIsaac has been lying low in his adopted hometown of Windsor, Ont., and even looking at buying a house.

But the mercurial spirit remains. A creative urge to resist being tied down to one place or style of music is in evidence on his latest record, Crossover, which comes out in June.

Crossover has the genre-busting qualities of his breakout 1995 bestseller, Hi How Are You Today?.

'I've gone back to the original concept of finding ways of incorporating fiddle songs into other forms of music,' said the 36-year-old Celtic fiddler, who moved to Windsor in July 2008.

The idea came to him just after his abortive run at the federal Liberal leadership in 2006.

'I went to Scotland for a couple of months, and came back with the thought of making a new record similar to the earlier crossover records.'"

Ashley MacIsaac ready to settle down:

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