IrishCentral traditional irish music - b5cc3275d518416eacb61d676e8d84d1

Oliver O’Connell and Mickey Dunne team up to highlight the importance of Irish Travellers to music tradition (IrishCentral)

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 04:33:00 PDT

Mickey Dunne and Oliver O'ConnellOn a brief tour of Massachusetts and New York next week are two very lively entertainers from Ireland who each in their own way are the bedrock upon which Irish traditional music survives and flows into the next generation Oliver O’Connell, originally from Doolin, Co Clare, is a historical storyteller, songwriter and musician He is teaming up with Limerick piper Mickey Dunne for a series of enlightening concerts that will provide a great deal of information about the importance of the traveling community in Ireland in preserving and passing on so much traditional music over the years READ MORE

Beautiful healing music in Newtown, CT with the Shamrock Traditional Irish music Society (IrishCentral)

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 04:17:23 PDT

Sliabh Notes, Matt Cranitch, Donal Murphy and Tommy O’SullivanNewtown, Connecticut --It was indeed a picturesque New England town in Connecticut before that awful day in December when a deranged young man perpetrated a senseless killing spree that claimed the lives of 26 beautiful educators and children who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time The world saw a different, harsher image of the bucolic town on the edge of suburbia just a few months ago than the one in my mind from a number of lovely visits to hear Irish music there hosted by the Shamrock Traditional Irish Music Society (STIMS) rooted in Fairfield County I am a firm believer that music plays a very important part in the healing process when sadness and grief strike the heart, so there wasn’t a question that I would venture to Newtown once again for a concert READ MORE

Irish traditional music happenings around St. Patrick’s Day (IrishCentral)

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 04:47:15 PDT

Jameson's Revenge will be playing in ParsippanyIn Parsippany, New Jersey, the Sheraton Hotel has joined with Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann for a St Patrick’s party on Friday, March 15 starting around 8 pm in the Tipperary Pub READ MORE

A wealth of Irish traditional music shows for the green season of St. Patrick (IrishCentral)

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 05:32:08 PST

Altan is ready to hit Zankel Hall in New York CityIt is time once again to make our readers aware of the multitude of musical opportunities with within the tradosphere as the Green Season is upon us Get your exercise in marching in all the local parades, then relax and take in some great Irish music by some of the finest artists anywhere, and in some new venues for the first time as well You can show your Irishness by supporting the arts and the musicians who create it READ MORE

Irish fiddler player Marie Reilly to perform at Ireland's Great Hunger Museum (IrishCentral)

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:52:03 PST

By: JANE WALSH

Marie Reilly, a premier Irish fiddler who recently released her new album "The Anvil," will perform at Ireland's Great Hunger Museum.

A window on my past in an old just discovered video -- Rolling back the years to Tipperary, Ireland 1959 (IrishCentral)

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 04:30:49 PST

The 1959 Fleadh Cheoil festival in Thurles, County TipperaryThe past reaches out at the most unlikely times My brother Fergus, a Minister of State in the Irish government, was recently researching the history of the Fleadh Cheoil, (pronounced Flah Keoil) the annual massive traditional music festival held in different towns throughout Ireland with a view to attracting it to Drogheda, the town he representsRead More Irish news hereHe came across this footage from 1959 of the Fleadh Cheoil festival in Thurles, County Tipperary, the town I grew up in It contains fleeting footage of my father who was one of the organizers and offers an amazing glimpse into the life and times I grew up in READ MORE

The top 12 Irish dance videos of 2012 - VIDEOS (IrishCentral)

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 04:15:30 PST

Prodijig, winners of Sky1's "Got to Dance," claim the No 1 spot on our list Last year's most popular Irish dance videos were innovative and surprising, and just when we thought Irish dance couldn't get that much more exciting, 2012 packed a wallop with dubstep-inspired step dancing, "Got to Dance" champs and One Direction treble reelsBased solely on pageviews attributed to individual Irish dancing videos uploaded to YouTube in the last year, these are the top 12 Irish dance videos of 2012:1 READ MORE

Joanie Madden wins USA Fellowship grant - first Irish traditional musical artist to ever win (IrishCentral)

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 04:47:01 PST

Joanie MaddenAnyone who has spent any amount of time around Joanie Madden knows she is a force of nature, and a very creative one at that Her creativity in the Irish music business and artistic success has long been recognized in the Irish American community over her more than three decades as a professional performing artist Accolades like inductions in both the American Irish Musicians and Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann halls of fame as one of their younger honorees, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and even a street named after her in her native Bronx near Yankee Stadium were all deserving awards to come her wayAs the second oldest child of Irish immigrants (father Joe was from Portumna, Co READ MORE

Leitrim trad stars broadcast to the world ahead of The Gathering (IrishCentral)

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 07:10:17 PST

By: JANE WALSH

Leitrim has announced its own innovative idea to promote the county for the Gathering 2013 by hosting a live Trad session webcast on Tuesday 20th November.

Chicago shows support fine Irish fiddler for Maurice Lennon (IrishCentral)

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:01:02 PST

Fiddle player Maurice LennonIn Chicago last Sunday, a massive benefit was held at the community-oriented Irish American Heritage Center on the North Side of town to aid an Irish musician who has made the Windy City his home in recent years Maurice Lennon from Rossiniver, Co Leitrim, the son of fiddler Ben Lennon and nephew of musician and composer Charlie Lennon, is one of Ireland’s finest fiddlers who at 17 was the youngest ever to win the senior All-Ireland championship He was also a founding member of Stockton’s Wing, performing alongside Kieran and Michael Hanrahan, Paul Roche and Tommy Hayes in that trail-blazing outfit very popular in the eighties READ MORE

It Takes a Village - 600 enjoy festive celebration at the Rockland County redoubt for traditional Irish music (IrishCentral)

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:01:00 PST

The musicians in concert in Pearl River (Photo by Sean Conway)A crowd of over 600 people enjoyed a festive and celebratory evening recently up in Pearl River, New York, the Rockland County redoubt for traditional Irish Music Pegged as an evening of Irish traditional music, it was to be a showcase not only for the marvelous and spirited youngsters playing Irish music in the epicenter of Irish music in America, but for the very supportive and encouraging community that surrounds them, making it very much a living tradition here in the greater New York area Organized as a fundraising event for the students of the Pearl River School of Music and the Martin Mulvihill branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann which experienced great success at the most recent Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in Co READ MORE

Upcoming Irish traditional music events in and around New York (IrishCentral)

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 05:00:44 PDT

The Irish Arts Center currently has a humanities lecture series underway at its Hell’s Kitchen home called “Two Roads Diverged: A Dialogue on Irish and Black Contributions to American Culture” Developed by Lenwood O Sloan and Dr Mick Moloney, it deals with a variety of aspects that characterized their interactions here in America over the centuries READ MORE

Upcoming Irish traditional music events in and around New York (IrishCentral)

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 05:45:23 PDT

Pete SeegerIt is looking like a very special night for the Irish American Writers and Artists annual bash at the Manhattan Club (upstairs from Rosie O’Grady’s at Seventh Avenue and 52nd Street) on Monday, October 15 from 6-9 pm Receiving the Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award is the grand dame of the American folk music movement, Judy Collins, whose sterling voice has touched audiences for over half a century and still holds strong today Along with her magnificent singing, she has a storyteller’s soul and a gift for bringing alive the lyrics of many famous and diverse songwriters like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Stephen Sondheim, Dominick Behan and even Irish poet William Butler Yeats READ MORE

Highly acclaimed Irish traditional band FullSet on tour (IrishCentral)

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 08:17:48 PDT

FullSetComing up this Friday night is a chance to see one of the highly touted young traditional bands on tour over from Ireland out in Western New Jersey in BlairstownFinishing up a tour, FullSet come east to the Blairstown Historic Theatre (wwwthehbtcom) READ MORE

Sean-nós dance revival reveals different side of Irish dance - VIDEOS (IrishCentral)

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 05:47:44 PDT

Sean-nós Irish dancersIrish dance has become almost synonymous with Riverdance -- the long line of dancers all tapping in unison, arms tightly pinned at their sides, pointed toes kicking high into the sky -- but that particular style of Irish dance is by no means the only form in existence todaySean-nós, or “old style,” dancing varies widely in style throughout Ireland, but its generally accepted characteristics -- arms loose, feet low to the ground, focus on percussive beats battered out by leather-soled shoes -- predate the more competitive, rigid style of step dancing popularized by Riverdance and documentary film “Jig”Back in 1929, the Gaelic League encouraged the development of the Irish Dancing Commission (An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha, or CLRG), an organization devoted to preserving Irish dance and developing standard rules for competition Prior to the formation of the commission, Irish dance was quite diverse, and it reflected regional differences READ MORE

Riverdance fiddler has a hip-hop side - VIDEOS (IrishCentral)

Fri, 25 May 2012 01:30:43 PDT

Riverdance musicians aren't all about traditional tunes all the time Just take a look at Riverdance fiddler Pat Mangan's YouTube page, and you'll soon see what I meanRihanna, Usher, Swizz Beatz, Calvin Harris, Antoine Dodson -- those aren't names often referenced around the trad music scene, but they are definitely artists and popular culture icons who have influenced Mangan, a 27-year-old Brooklyn native Mangan, who made his Riverdance debut on Broadway at the young age of 16, has been soaking up sounds his whole life, having been raised in the New York borough and surrounded by the constant cadence of the city READ MORE

Irish dance music duo Anton and Sully bust fresh feis beats (IrishCentral)

Fri, 11 May 2012 09:33:06 PDT

Hate to admit it, but Irish dancers are inevitably bored by the same traditional dance tunes, and it turns out feis musicians are, too Anthony Davis and Liam O'Sullivan -- better known as musical duo Anton & Sully -- provide the perfect antidote to musical monotony Known for jazzing up slip jigs and infusing whimsical romance into heavy jigs, the two musicians aim to create a sound that gets step dancers pumped up and performing energetically -- oh, and it's fun for them, too!Anton & Sully released two popular Irish dance CDs, "The Feis Album" and "The Feis Album, Volume II," along with side project "The Bootleg," an album they recorded with fellow musician Steve Byrnes (together, they form trad group Kayna) The duo also plays at major dance competitions, so they know exactly what gets a dancer jumping high and feeling the beat, and they also understand what uplifts the audience READ MORE

Hunting down traditional music in Ireland – radio waves filled with Lady Gaga and Jedward (IrishCentral)

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 05:15:17 PST

In coming to Ireland I had hoped to encounter more local made music than I have had the opportunity to in the states There are plenty of resources back home for finding more popular Irish or super-groups (which often form in, come out of or live in America) but there is little one can find of the local artists of Ireland in the States Having been here before, I was aware this wasn’t the easiest task But, I expected to find an easier time of it than I had previously, since I would be living here in Cork which is said to be the “Culture Capital of Ireland READ MORE

Gothard Sisters revisit Irish dance roots for new CD - VIDEOS (IrishCentral)

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 08:45:19 PST

Gothard sistersTraditional Irish dance music has somewhat of a different meaning for Greta, Solana and Willow Gothard For these sisters, "traditional" refers to not only classic tunes preserved throughout history, but it also reflects the family traditions the Seattle-based siblings have developed in their years performing togetherPart of that family tradition involves innovating musically -- combining music and dance influences from different genres -- which the trio continues to do with each album they recordThe three sisters are classically trained musicians and decorated Irish dancers with a stage show and a collection of six recorded albums to their name READ MORE

Beoga's "How to Tune a Fish" released worldwide this week (IrishCentral)

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 08:04:09 PDT

Part of the allure of Irish dance is the strong sense of cultural tradition -- the idea that our sets and ceili dances have been passed on for generations, and we dance to the same tunes as our ancestors But, man, those tunes get a little tired after a while With that said, we like to liven things up on occasion with fresh, fun, lively music And for that, many Irish dancers turn to the musical stylings of Beoga!Beoga -- gaelic for “lively” -- is a favorite band among Irish dancers because its members have a knack for meshing traditional jigs, reels, hornpipes and slip jigs with modern influences READ MORE