Hey all,
All signs seem to be suggesting that this is going to be one rocking year for irish traditional music. I can feel it in me bones. I thought I'd start a thread about the upcoming festivals, workshops, pilgrimages folks are going to this year.
As I mentioned in another thread, I'm going to the Gaelic Roots festival/workship in Boston in June. This will be my first and long-awaited encounter with Mary Bergin among others. I cannot wait. The following is the web site for anyone who is interested in finding out more:http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/irish/gr.html
Unfortunately, the event is completely booked. has been since february. so it isn't too early to start thinking about *next* summer...
Also, at the end of this month, I'm headed to the midwest Fleadh in Detroit. I'm competing on the whistle and--with foolish abandon--on the flute too. Word on the street has it that there is going to be a *major* smack-down battle between two ceili bands from Chicago: one from the south side and one from the north side. should be epic.
I'd love to hear about the festival/events people are headed to this year. or about the experience people have had (good/bad) with events they've been to in the past. For example, the Willie Clancy festival in Milltown Malbay has taken on legendary status, but I have also heard that it has become unsustainably big and popular. perhaps someone can elaborate?
perhaps this thread can be a chance for networking too...
thanks and i look forward to sharing a pint or five with some of you perhaps this summer!
Brendan, Gaelic Roots is indeed Sold Out but what many folks don't know is that the Wednesday night Boat Cruise from 7:00 PM to 10:PM around Boston Harbor is not and tickets are still available. For many, this cruise which features open Ceili dancing on the top deck of the boat to the Boston CCE Ceili Band lead by Larry Reynolds, and spontaneous sessions open to teachers, students and visitors on all decks of the boat, is the highlight of the week. The craic is indeed mighty. Boston's Original Slow Session typically hosts one of the sessions and many of the students find the pace comfortable. Following the cruise there is a bus that typically takes folks that have not had their fill of ITM to one of the local pubs where the craic continues until the wee hours of the AM.
Also what many folks don't know is that there are two sessions daily open to anyone, one at 11 AM and one at 4 PM. The sessions take place in three tents around Gasson Hall, one for beginners, one for intermediates and a regular session. Each one of these sessions is usually attended by two or three of the instructors and are a great opportunity to play even some of the simple tunes with the masters.
Come to Boston well rested because many of the sessions in the dorms and at other venues are enery filled until the early AM.
Hope you get a chance to play with Kathleen Coneeley as well as Mary Bergin.
This fits in with the "upcoming festivals" thread: Ireland's first hammered dulcimer festival, to be held in July. Is anyone out there going? (I can't, though I'd love to!) And is this a sign that HD is gaining in acceptance as a "trad" instrument? (Actually, one thing I read said that the "tiompan" [Irish HD] was "the" traditional instrument way back in time [as in, long before fiddles were even invented], and then lost out to the harp.)
Anyway, this sounds like loads of fun, and if anyone goes, please write up your adventures so we can share in them vicariously!
Thanks for the further details on Gaelic Roots, Bob. This is going to be my first time to this festival, and your post is making the anticipation only more unbearable. A week long of non-stop craic. I may never return...
The Folklife Festival is coming up in Seattle, over the Memorial Day weekend at Seattle Center. Although it celebrates a wide range of folk music, Irish is heavily represented. If you want to play, there are spontaneous sessions all over the grounds. For listening, the Murphy's Pub stage is a good bet.
I wish, I wish I could get to the HD festival in Ireland!
I headed up to the Roscommon Fleadh over the Easter weekend, held again this year in Elphinn. What craic!!! The tunes were just deadly, I tore myself away from a session on Tuesday, so who knows how long the tunes lasted for. Anybody from that end of the country might think about opening another B+B or hostel before the Fleadh next year....only one B+B in the town!!! Not much fun trying to get back to Strokestown at crazy hours!
I started to write up my experiences from the Friday Harbor Irish Music Camp (www.fridayharborirish.com) and ended up with an essay. Too much to post here, and probably of little interest to most.
The camp was great, too short and amazingly muddy. For a first year, things went fairly smoothly - the work of Dan Paulson who is a good guy and apparently well organized. It was a small camp and had that one-big-family feeling.
I only took fiddle classes, so will restrain my comments to just those. The fiddle teachers (James Kelly and Randal Bays) were fantastic, both as players and as teachers. They obviously care about their teaching techniques, it was clear that they have spent a lot of time figuring out how to express the material in a way that we could understand and apply. Reminded me of Will. And, they didn't just teach a bunch of tunes. Instead they taught techniques, using a tune as a means to an end, not the end itself. James and Randal have different teaching styles, apparently people felt strongly about which was better. To me, both worked, what can I say, I'm just easy . There were lots of fiddlers so they split us up into 2 groups. Both groups got instruction each day from both teachers, which was good.
Geez, this is turning into another essay. I'll stop there. Great camp, great location (if a bit wet). If they do it again, I'm going.
Here's another possibility for a musical vacation this summer, for those of you who've been looking for an excuse to visit Alaska: Alaska Fiddle Camp. It looks like there are more fiddle classes than anything else, but there are also classes for other instruments, some of which have not yet been finalized. There is one Irish fiddler in the "Instructors" list, so there will definitely be Irish fiddle class(es?) in addition to various other styles of fiddling. Check out their webpage for more details:
Hi Sarah,
I met a bunch of people from Anchorage at the Friday Harbor camp. Do you live in Anchorage? Were you at the camp? Anyway, Anchorage appears to be a hotbed of ITM activity - and they seem to have a lot of great fiddlers coming through (go figure that one, *grin*). I tell ya, I was thinking about moving there just to get in on it all! From what they said, it sounded like the camp would be pretty good. I think they were involved in the arrangements for the camp, or something. If so, the camp is bound to be fun - they were characters and a blast to hang out with (maybe something about those long, long winter nights . Kept me in giggles.
The Craic is Brewing
The Craic is Brewing
Hey all,
All signs seem to be suggesting that this is going to be one rocking year for irish traditional music. I can feel it in me bones. I thought I'd start a thread about the upcoming festivals, workshops, pilgrimages folks are going to this year.
As I mentioned in another thread, I'm going to the Gaelic Roots festival/workship in Boston in June. This will be my first and long-awaited encounter with Mary Bergin among others. I cannot wait. The following is the web site for anyone who is interested in finding out more:http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/irish/gr.html
Unfortunately, the event is completely booked. has been since february. so it isn't too early to start thinking about *next* summer...
Also, at the end of this month, I'm headed to the midwest Fleadh in Detroit. I'm competing on the whistle and--with foolish abandon--on the flute too. Word on the street has it that there is going to be a *major* smack-down battle between two ceili bands from Chicago: one from the south side and one from the north side. should be epic.
I'd love to hear about the festival/events people are headed to this year. or about the experience people have had (good/bad) with events they've been to in the past. For example, the Willie Clancy festival in Milltown Malbay has taken on legendary status, but I have also heard that it has become unsustainably big and popular. perhaps someone can elaborate?
perhaps this thread can be a chance for networking too...
thanks and i look forward to sharing a pint or five with some of you perhaps this summer!
# Posted on April 6th 2002 by Brendan
Re: The Craic is Brewing
Brendan, Gaelic Roots is indeed Sold Out but what many folks don't know is that the Wednesday night Boat Cruise from 7:00 PM to 10:PM around Boston Harbor is not and tickets are still available. For many, this cruise which features open Ceili dancing on the top deck of the boat to the Boston CCE Ceili Band lead by Larry Reynolds, and spontaneous sessions open to teachers, students and visitors on all decks of the boat, is the highlight of the week. The craic is indeed mighty. Boston's Original Slow Session typically hosts one of the sessions and many of the students find the pace comfortable. Following the cruise there is a bus that typically takes folks that have not had their fill of ITM to one of the local pubs where the craic continues until the wee hours of the AM.
Also what many folks don't know is that there are two sessions daily open to anyone, one at 11 AM and one at 4 PM. The sessions take place in three tents around Gasson Hall, one for beginners, one for intermediates and a regular session. Each one of these sessions is usually attended by two or three of the instructors and are a great opportunity to play even some of the simple tunes with the masters.
Come to Boston well rested because many of the sessions in the dorms and at other venues are enery filled until the early AM.
Hope you get a chance to play with Kathleen Coneeley as well as Mary Bergin.
See you in Boston God willing!
Play on!
Bob "The Hitman"
# Posted on April 7th 2002 by rcoleman
First HD festival in Ireland
This fits in with the "upcoming festivals" thread: Ireland's first hammered dulcimer festival, to be held in July. Is anyone out there going? (I can't, though I'd love to!) And is this a sign that HD is gaining in acceptance as a "trad" instrument? (Actually, one thing I read said that the "tiompan" [Irish HD] was "the" traditional instrument way back in time [as in, long before fiddles were even invented], and then lost out to the harp.)
Anyway, this sounds like loads of fun, and if anyone goes, please write up your adventures so we can share in them vicariously!
http://www.corkdulcimerfest.org/
Sarah
# Posted on April 7th 2002 by x
Re: The Craic is Brewing
Thanks for the further details on Gaelic Roots, Bob. This is going to be my first time to this festival, and your post is making the anticipation only more unbearable. A week long of non-stop craic. I may never return...
I look forward to seeing you there!
# Posted on April 7th 2002 by Brendan
Re: The Craic is Brewing
I hear of a workshop in Taos New Mexico that is supposed to be a pretty good event but can't seem to get any info. Any help would be appreciated. Jim
# Posted on April 8th 2002 by Jim Coulter
Re: The Craic is Brewing
Could you mean Zoukfest, Jim? http://www.zoukfest.com/
Zina
# Posted on April 8th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: The Craic is Brewing
The Folklife Festival is coming up in Seattle, over the Memorial Day weekend at Seattle Center. Although it celebrates a wide range of folk music, Irish is heavily represented. If you want to play, there are spontaneous sessions all over the grounds. For listening, the Murphy's Pub stage is a good bet.
I wish, I wish I could get to the HD festival in Ireland!
Susan
# Posted on April 8th 2002 by Thelees01
Re: First Fleadh of the season
I headed up to the Roscommon Fleadh over the Easter weekend, held again this year in Elphinn. What craic!!! The tunes were just deadly, I tore myself away from a session on Tuesday, so who knows how long the tunes lasted for. Anybody from that end of the country might think about opening another B+B or hostel before the Fleadh next year....only one B+B in the town!!! Not much fun trying to get back to Strokestown at crazy hours!
# Posted on April 9th 2002 by mp3
Re: The Craic is Brewing
I started to write up my experiences from the Friday Harbor Irish Music Camp (www.fridayharborirish.com) and ended up with an essay. Too much to post here, and probably of little interest to most.
. There were lots of fiddlers so they split us up into 2 groups. Both groups got instruction each day from both teachers, which was good.
The camp was great, too short and amazingly muddy. For a first year, things went fairly smoothly - the work of Dan Paulson who is a good guy and apparently well organized. It was a small camp and had that one-big-family feeling.
I only took fiddle classes, so will restrain my comments to just those. The fiddle teachers (James Kelly and Randal Bays) were fantastic, both as players and as teachers. They obviously care about their teaching techniques, it was clear that they have spent a lot of time figuring out how to express the material in a way that we could understand and apply. Reminded me of Will. And, they didn't just teach a bunch of tunes. Instead they taught techniques, using a tune as a means to an end, not the end itself. James and Randal have different teaching styles, apparently people felt strongly about which was better. To me, both worked, what can I say, I'm just easy
Geez, this is turning into another essay. I'll stop there. Great camp, great location (if a bit wet). If they do it again, I'm going.
# Posted on April 10th 2002 by chicagofiddler
Alaska Fiddle Camp
Here's another possibility for a musical vacation this summer, for those of you who've been looking for an excuse to visit Alaska: Alaska Fiddle Camp. It looks like there are more fiddle classes than anything else, but there are also classes for other instruments, some of which have not yet been finalized. There is one Irish fiddler in the "Instructors" list, so there will definitely be Irish fiddle class(es?) in addition to various other styles of fiddling. Check out their webpage for more details:
http://www.anchoragefolkfestival.org/afc02.html
Sarah
# Posted on April 10th 2002 by x
Re: The Craic is Brewing
Hi Sarah,
. Kept me in giggles.
I met a bunch of people from Anchorage at the Friday Harbor camp. Do you live in Anchorage? Were you at the camp? Anyway, Anchorage appears to be a hotbed of ITM activity - and they seem to have a lot of great fiddlers coming through (go figure that one, *grin*). I tell ya, I was thinking about moving there just to get in on it all! From what they said, it sounded like the camp would be pretty good. I think they were involved in the arrangements for the camp, or something. If so, the camp is bound to be fun - they were characters and a blast to hang out with (maybe something about those long, long winter nights
-s
# Posted on April 10th 2002 by chicagofiddler