Can you help me compile a list of musicians that is a fair representation of the Chicago Irish music scene recent past and present?
Here is a start, but only a start:
Bohola
Martin Hayes
Laurence Nugent
Denis Cahill
John Daly
Liz Carroll
What, do you mean the relatively famous Irish music scene? John Williams, Kieran O'Hare, and Brendan Bulger should also be on your list. I'm sure I'll think of more.
And there's a ton more who are always out there who don't record or do performances -- too many to list, really, and all of them having a fair impact on Chicago's Irish music scene.
The reason I ask is because I have a weekly program on our community based web radio station, www.voiceofvashon.org, and I'd like to devote at least one show to the Chicago scene.
I know Martin used to live in Chicago, and I use any excuse to include him in the mix.
thanks!
If you need to get any radio promo CDs from some of these folks, let me know and I'll see if I can't get you in touch with them. I'm sure they'd be happy to send you promo discs for the station.
John Creavan actually lives in South Bend, Indiana, or something, now that I think about it. And I think David James (hammer dulcimer, won some all-irelands (miscellaneous instruments) lives there as well. T
Well I thought I'd never correct anyone on spelling since I'm one of the worst offenders around here : )
But....It's actually Conneely, not Kennealy. I briefly met Kathleen who's another sister in Boston and Mick ( Jr.) in Westport, Mayo, but haven't met Bernadette nor Pauline yet.
There are some great young musicians as well as the famous pros--I keep thinking of more and more people. There are a number of college-age pro or semi pro musicians that I've already mentioned, but there are some even younger ones as well: Chelsea the young harper (13), Rose Duffy (fantastic fiddler, 17 or 18), her younger sisters Hannah and Margaret (whistle and box), Farley Kelly-Masterton (whistle, 14), Caitlin Kaczmarek (harp, 12, second in the all-ireland last year). If i can think of more i'll post it.
Apologies to the Conneely sisters! I think I knew that somewhere in my brain but at the time I just spelled it as best I could phonetically. Hopefully I've gotten everyone else right!
Yes, would've mentioned Farley too, but I couldn't think of a last name! Thanks for adding those. I don't suppose you know Sarah or Lindsey? They should be on here as well.
Oh come on now, no real Chicago session would be complete without the gorgeous fiddling of that one player.... Asian chick... Uh... Tanya somebody? *smirk*
I believe John Creaven is living in or near Ann Arbor Michigan.
I don't know if Chris Bain is still doing anything with the Drovers, He's currently playing (for the past several years) with Gan Bua, with Jacky Moran, Tim Fleming, and Sheila (last name??).
Bernadette Conneely (Bernie) moved back to Ireland. Just saw Pauline (and Kieran, Cleek, John Daly, Dennis, the two Liz's, and............) at the John Carty concert Monday nite. Big Bash.
Don't forget to add all the sessions that in and around the Chicago area as well. Gummidge meantioned Kathaleen Collins. Does she play fiddle and recorded for Seanachie way back when???
Sean, Kieran O'Hare's brother, is a great whistler and I may add my wonderful teacher.
If you're working on a radio spot on Chicago Irish music, you might call the Old Town School of Folk Music to get in touch with their staff who teach Irish music. Mark
Joyce is that John Craven who used to live in Belfast? if so, I think you've got the spelling wrong as I have his email address somewhere! sorry to be pedantic and all ;¬)
Someone mentioned Clodagh Boylan. Is that where she is now? I remember competing against her in the Scór many moons ago. She's a lovely concertina player as well; in fact her whole family are great musicians.
He's been mentioned before, but I'll throw him in again. Brendan Bulger. A fantastic fiddler from Boston who has been living in Chicago for the past couple of years.
Zina, I don't Sheila's last name. She's a button accordion player from Ireland.
Another source for info would be the Irish-American Heritage Foundation in Chicago. There's a session there every week with many of the *older* players attending. They also keep a current list of musicians for hire.
LOL....well I did say my spelling is bad! It's actually John Creaven (not Creavan as I typed above). This guy is from Galway and I love his flute playing! His CD is one of my favourites!
Here's some info and a link to where you can order the CD
hehe that's him! I guess we were both wrong. He used to play in Madden's bar on the very odd occasion and the Hercules whenever Andy Dixon held court there. Not so long ago actually....
Chicago is, then, as Chicago was, carda -neagh expatriot Eire (did i spell that right?)
BUT WHY did the irish gravitate to the north midwest. Illinois. Chicago regioen?
Yeah Zina I think so. As far as I remember there are at least two other sisters. One's called Sheila and one plays the piano accordion but I don't know which is which!
vboyd100 asked why the Irish settled in Chicago. Most immigrants settled in cities because they couldn't afford to buy land and needed employment quickly. Most settled in the port where they arrived because they couldn't afford transportation elsewhere. Chicago, being a Great Lakes port, (I'm guessing here) may have been a destination for some of the immigrant ships. As I recall, Detroit and Cleveland also have significant Irish communities. Chicago was certainly a major rail center, so those who could afford a train trip from NY, Boston, or Baltimore, would probably wind up there. It was a destination for people looking to work upon the railway, the railway, I'm weary of the railway...
And, of course, when any of these communities got big enough, they would attract new immigrants who had friends or family there already. These would be the places people back home considering emigration would hear about. As late as about 40 years ago, the accordion great Joe Cooley was recorded talking about the time he lived in the US, saying something like, "I reckon I've been to most towns in America: New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, anyway." It would have been hard for someone in Ireland years ago to know much about US geography beyond the names of places where friends and relations lived. (About six years ago, a 23 year old barmaid I met in Co. Kerry said I should stop in and say hi to a relative of hers who was the "Mayor of New Hampshire" and could be found every night in McGann's pub in Boston.)
So Chicago is a pretty natural destination. There's also a huge Mexican population, again probably for reasons of cheap transportation - hop a train in Texas and go far away from the border to a place where you might find work and a cheap apartment. Now there's a large influx from Eastern Europe, probably because O'Hare Airport is an easy place to fly into from Europe. And there's a large demand for unskilled labor.
GaryAMartin, I might add that the building of the I&M canal connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River drew a 600% population increase with many Irish and German immigrants moving from the completed Erie canal project to Illinois. It's one long hand built ditch which many workers settled on the banks along the way.
Well, that explains all the Irish in the communities I grew up in... (Detroit area) - also explains my childhood exposure to all of this stuff. (Tho it doesn't explain to me why the song I learned in 2nd grade called The Emerald Isle was in strathspey rhythm. Gotta be Scotch-Irish.)
Farley Kelly-Masterton (14) is a two-time Midwest champion in Fiddle and Pennywhistle. He hasn't tried going to Ireland for the All-Ireland championship, though. He's studied with John Williams, Sean Ryan, John Creavan and Devin Shepherd. His sister Gwen (17) is a talented harpist, too.
The Chicago Scene, past and present
The Chicago Scene, past and present
Can you help me compile a list of musicians that is a fair representation of the Chicago Irish music scene recent past and present?
Here is a start, but only a start:
Bohola
Martin Hayes
Laurence Nugent
Denis Cahill
John Daly
Liz Carroll
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by bellows boy
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
What, do you mean the relatively famous Irish music scene? John Williams, Kieran O'Hare, and Brendan Bulger should also be on your list. I'm sure I'll think of more.
And there's a ton more who are always out there who don't record or do performances -- too many to list, really, and all of them having a fair impact on Chicago's Irish music scene.
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
And of course Liz Knowles-O'Hare, and Brendan-who-owns-the-Chief.
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Er...Doesn't Martin Hayes live out west coast these days?
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Oh, and don't forget the Chief, either.
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Kathleen Collins I think.
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by gummidge
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
The reason I ask is because I have a weekly program on our community based web radio station, www.voiceofvashon.org, and I'd like to devote at least one show to the Chicago scene.
I know Martin used to live in Chicago, and I use any excuse to include him in the mix.
thanks!
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by bellows boy
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Kevin Henry - nice, older-style flute player
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by jerball
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Chief O'Neil was a Chicagoain, was he not?
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Urger
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
If you need to get any radio promo CDs from some of these folks, let me know and I'll see if I can't get you in touch with them. I'm sure they'd be happy to send you promo discs for the station.
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Didn't Christy Barry used to live in Chicago?
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by jerball
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
I'm sorry - Chicahrgo.
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by jerball
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Isn't John Creavan (lovely flute player) still in Chicago?
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by JMH
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
How about, in no particular order :
Kathleen Keane (fiddle/whistle, formerly of the drovers and gaelic storm),
Chris Bain (fiddle, currently with the Drovers),
Brendan and Siobhan McKinney (flute, Brendan also plays pipes--they own Chiefs),
Isaac Alderson (triple all-ireland on fl, whistle, pipes, is currently away for college in NY),
Devin Shepherd (fiddle, Liz Carroll protege, won regional fleadh 9 times),
Marta Cook (harp,all-ireland winner, plays with Devin Shepherd),
Chelsea Sky Link (harp, age 13, three time all-Ireland champion, student of Marta Cook)
Sean Ryan (all-ireland flute player),
Clodagh Boylan (married to Sean Ryan; she's the fiddler with Providence, I think),
John Creavan (flute),
Marty Fahy (box and piano, Liz Carroll's accompanist on early albums),
John Williams (flute, accordion, concertina, formerly with Solas),
Bernadette and Pauline Kennealy (sisters, both play banjo),
John Shine (fiddle and piano, law student)
Cleek Schrey (fiddle and piano, recently moved to chicago, Brendan Mulvihill protege, plays with John Daly)
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by ostrichfeathers
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Johnny Harling of course, and his daughter plays too, no?
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Trinil
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
John Creavan actually lives in South Bend, Indiana, or something, now that I think about it. And I think David James (hammer dulcimer, won some all-irelands (miscellaneous instruments) lives there as well. T
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by ostrichfeathers
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Great list!!! There's a lot more, too, depending on how detailed of a scene you want. Look up Isaac's old band for starters.
Ciara
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Trinil
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Well I thought I'd never correct anyone on spelling since I'm one of the worst offenders around here : )
But....It's actually Conneely, not Kennealy. I briefly met Kathleen who's another sister in Boston and Mick ( Jr.) in Westport, Mayo, but haven't met Bernadette nor Pauline yet.
Joyce
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by JMH
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
There are some great young musicians as well as the famous pros--I keep thinking of more and more people. There are a number of college-age pro or semi pro musicians that I've already mentioned, but there are some even younger ones as well: Chelsea the young harper (13), Rose Duffy (fantastic fiddler, 17 or 18), her younger sisters Hannah and Margaret (whistle and box), Farley Kelly-Masterton (whistle, 14), Caitlin Kaczmarek (harp, 12, second in the all-ireland last year). If i can think of more i'll post it.
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by ostrichfeathers
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Apologies to the Conneely sisters! I think I knew that somewhere in my brain but at the time I just spelled it as best I could phonetically. Hopefully I've gotten everyone else right!
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by ostrichfeathers
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Hey you did spell it they way it sounds : )
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by JMH
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Yes, would've mentioned Farley too, but I couldn't think of a last name! Thanks for adding those. I don't suppose you know Sarah or Lindsey? They should be on here as well.
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Trinil
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
I just got a CD called Irish Music In Chicago . Label "Big Chicago"?
Jennifer
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Jenthur
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Oh come on now, no real Chicago session would be complete without the gorgeous fiddling of that one player.... Asian chick... Uh... Tanya somebody? *smirk*
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by emily_bmore
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
*straight faced* Oh, you must mean Tina Lech, Em, but she's mainly east and west coast.
*smirk*
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Oh, she's gorgeous all right Zina, & her playing is gorgeous as well, I'm speaking of f***ing gorgeous! oooo right on the tip of me tongue... :-|
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by emily_bmore
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Oh yeah, where is Tanya? Anybody hear from him...oops, I mean her ; )
but I think her description of herself was f***king gorgeous...lol....
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by JMH
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
we must have posted at the same time : )
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by JMH
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Emily - I sent you an email re: the Catskills
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by JMH
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
I believe John Creaven is living in or near Ann Arbor Michigan.
I don't know if Chris Bain is still doing anything with the Drovers, He's currently playing (for the past several years) with Gan Bua, with Jacky Moran, Tim Fleming, and Sheila (last name??).
Bernadette Conneely (Bernie) moved back to Ireland. Just saw Pauline (and Kieran, Cleek, John Daly, Dennis, the two Liz's, and............) at the John Carty concert Monday nite. Big Bash.
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Tusong200
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Don't forget to add all the sessions that in and around the Chicago area as well. Gummidge meantioned Kathaleen Collins. Does she play fiddle and recorded for Seanachie way back when???
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by I_Fel
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Sean, Kieran O'Hare's brother, is a great whistler and I may add my wonderful teacher.
If you're working on a radio spot on Chicago Irish music, you might call the Old Town School of Folk Music to get in touch with their staff who teach Irish music. Mark
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by markwilson
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Sandy, would that be Sheila McGuire?
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Joyce is that John Craven who used to live in Belfast? if so, I think you've got the spelling wrong as I have his email address somewhere! sorry to be pedantic and all ;¬)
Someone mentioned Clodagh Boylan. Is that where she is now? I remember competing against her in the Scór many moons ago. She's a lovely concertina player as well; in fact her whole family are great musicians.
Conán
# Posted on April 7th 2004 by Conán McDonnell
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
He's been mentioned before, but I'll throw him in again. Brendan Bulger. A fantastic fiddler from Boston who has been living in Chicago for the past couple of years.
# Posted on April 8th 2004 by 21
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Zina, I don't Sheila's last name. She's a button accordion player from Ireland.
Another source for info would be the Irish-American Heritage Foundation in Chicago. There's a session there every week with many of the *older* players attending. They also keep a current list of musicians for hire.
# Posted on April 8th 2004 by Tusong200
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
LOL....well I did say my spelling is bad! It's actually John Creaven (not Creavan as I typed above). This guy is from Galway and I love his flute playing! His CD is one of my favourites!
Here's some info and a link to where you can order the CD
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/creaven
Conan, I would love to hear more about your friend John Craven : )
Joyce
# Posted on April 8th 2004 by JMH
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
hehe that's him! I guess we were both wrong. He used to play in Madden's bar on the very odd occasion and the Hercules whenever Andy Dixon held court there. Not so long ago actually....
# Posted on April 8th 2004 by Conán McDonnell
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
This will definitely make for a series of shows. There are too many great players to cover in one show.
What about singers?
# Posted on April 8th 2004 by bellows boy
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
*gasp!*
# Posted on April 8th 2004 by emily_bmore
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
I've encountered John Creaven in South Bend, Indiana the last few times that I've visited the session at Fiddlers Hearth. What a lovely player!
# Posted on April 8th 2004 by Bill Reeder
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Conán, is Clodagh one of Turlach's sisters? Sandy, nope, must be another Sheila, as the Sheila I know of plays a fiddle!
# Posted on April 8th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Chicago is, then, as Chicago was, carda -neagh expatriot Eire (did i spell that right?)
BUT WHY did the irish gravitate to the north midwest. Illinois. Chicago regioen?
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by vboyd100
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
yes , Kathleen Collins made a recording for seannachie,quite a while ago.
# Posted on April 9th 2004 by gummidge
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Yeah Zina I think so. As far as I remember there are at least two other sisters. One's called Sheila and one plays the piano accordion but I don't know which is which!
Conán
# Posted on April 12th 2004 by Conán McDonnell
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
vboyd100 asked why the Irish settled in Chicago. Most immigrants settled in cities because they couldn't afford to buy land and needed employment quickly. Most settled in the port where they arrived because they couldn't afford transportation elsewhere. Chicago, being a Great Lakes port, (I'm guessing here) may have been a destination for some of the immigrant ships. As I recall, Detroit and Cleveland also have significant Irish communities. Chicago was certainly a major rail center, so those who could afford a train trip from NY, Boston, or Baltimore, would probably wind up there. It was a destination for people looking to work upon the railway, the railway, I'm weary of the railway...
And, of course, when any of these communities got big enough, they would attract new immigrants who had friends or family there already. These would be the places people back home considering emigration would hear about. As late as about 40 years ago, the accordion great Joe Cooley was recorded talking about the time he lived in the US, saying something like, "I reckon I've been to most towns in America: New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, anyway." It would have been hard for someone in Ireland years ago to know much about US geography beyond the names of places where friends and relations lived. (About six years ago, a 23 year old barmaid I met in Co. Kerry said I should stop in and say hi to a relative of hers who was the "Mayor of New Hampshire" and could be found every night in McGann's pub in Boston.)
So Chicago is a pretty natural destination. There's also a huge Mexican population, again probably for reasons of cheap transportation - hop a train in Texas and go far away from the border to a place where you might find work and a cheap apartment. Now there's a large influx from Eastern Europe, probably because O'Hare Airport is an easy place to fly into from Europe. And there's a large demand for unskilled labor.
# Posted on April 12th 2004 by GaryAMartin
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
GaryAMartin, I might add that the building of the I&M canal connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River drew a 600% population increase with many Irish and German immigrants moving from the completed Erie canal project to Illinois. It's one long hand built ditch which many workers settled on the banks along the way.
http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ip821110.html
http://www.chicagohistory.info/stories/daley/neighborhood.html
# Posted on April 12th 2004 by Robby B.
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Well, that explains all the Irish in the communities I grew up in... (Detroit area) - also explains my childhood exposure to all of this stuff. (Tho it doesn't explain to me why the song I learned in 2nd grade called The Emerald Isle was in strathspey rhythm. Gotta be Scotch-Irish.)
# Posted on April 12th 2004 by HighlandSun
Re: The Chicago Scene, past and present
Farley Kelly-Masterton (14) is a two-time Midwest champion in Fiddle and Pennywhistle. He hasn't tried going to Ireland for the All-Ireland championship, though. He's studied with John Williams, Sean Ryan, John Creavan and Devin Shepherd. His sister Gwen (17) is a talented harpist, too.
# Posted on May 6th 2004 by O'Really?