| |
Irish Music Cruises
the music...
Irish Music Concerts at Sea: 2012 cruise
Embark on this grand journey with one of the most popular Irish Ballad groups of all time, The Wolfe Tones, along with America's favorite Irish sons, The Makem and Spain
Brothers, and Scotland's legendary Archie Fisher, Evans
& Doherty,
Hanneke
Cassel, Jez Lowe, Seamus Kennedy, Mairtin De Cogain, Tom Sweeney, Andy May, and Ciaran Sheehan.
Enjoy 7 nights of Irish musical entertainment by your favorite Irish
performers. Sing. Dance. Laugh. Cry. You're in for a very memorable
time. It's a great chance to meet and be entertained by some of today's
best Irish traditional musicians. Listen to a sample of each artist's
music by clicking on a picture below.
 The
Wolfe Tones
Brian Warfield, Noel Nagle and Tommy Byrne today comprise the World's most popular Irish folk group, The Wolfe Tones.
But the Trio's story wasn't one of overnight success. In fact the bones of the group first saw the light of day as far back as 1963.
It was then that three neighbouring children from a quiet working-class Dublin suburb, Inchicore, brothers Brian and Derek and a pal Noel Nagle started playing round the fleadhs of Ireland more for fun than anything else. They used to get together at weekends playing Fleadh cheoils or music festivals, mainly as a pastime. Thoughts of fame and riches were a world apart.
Brian and Noel had taken tin whistle lessons at the Pipers Club in Thomas Street in Dublin, while Derek took up the mandolin for no better reason than his father played it.
During the summer of 1963 the four of them had hitch-hiked across Ireland, from Dublin to Kerry, for a weekend at a Fleadh Ceoil, an annual gathering of traditional Irish musicians where there's lashings of drink and non-stop music. The lads were really there for the beer although they did play and sing, but only for their own amusement.
Brian Warfield recalls what happened next: "I remember arriving in Killarney fairly late at night and looking around for somewhere to bed down. It was two o'clock in the morning as we trooped through the streets of the town and probably, because we had a few drinks in us, we started to play and sing. It was August and there were still some people on the streets. A few of them gathered around us as we sang and after a dozen tunes a fella with an American accent came up and asked us if we knew some song or other. We knew it - and played it for him."
"Afterwards he told us that he was a television producer for a Canadian service and he asked to meet us again the next day. He was shooting a documentary about Ireland and he said he wanted to include a spot with us."
"You could say that this was really our first professional engagement", says Noel Nagle, "The Producer paid us good money for the show so from then on we decided to get ourselves into the ballad game". Surprised that their music was considered good enough for a Television spot abroad, the trio were only too delighted to oblige. Their spot was recorded back in Dublin at the Old Brazen Head and they were payed the princely sum of 25 pounds - more importantly they were making progress.
 Listen to
a music sample of The Wolfe Tones.
Listen to
another music sample of The Wolfe Tones.
 The
Makem and Spain Brothers
Shane, Conor and Rory Makem represent the
third generation in their legendary family of Irish-born singers. The
Makem Brothers, professional entertainers since 1989, have had the
unique opportunity to study first hand from many of the top acts in
Irish music, growing up at sing-songs and sessions frequented by some
of Ireland's best known and prolific singers and musicians.
Mickey and Liam Spain grew up listening to songs at the knee of their
father in the mill town of Manchester, New Hampshire. Influenced by
such diverse acts as The Weavers, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem,
Woody Guthrie and Doc Watson, The Spains were able to take the common
elements in all and fuse them into a style all their own. Mickey's
baritone voice is strong and pure, and his deft work on the guitar and
bodrhan provide this duos sturdy framework. Around this, Liam's endless
skills on the guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica finish the picture
as only a true artist can. Together they produce a sound that is
original, yet still steeped in the song tradition. Their live
performances have been called an "energetic" and "electrifying" mixture
of Irish, Scottish, and American folk songs.
Listen to
a music sample of The Makem & Spain Brothers. Read
more on The Makem & Spain
Brothers group below.
 Archie
Fisher
Although Archie Fisher is a legendary figure
in the Scottish folk music world -- everybody's favorite singer and an
enormously influential presence both musically and philosophically --
he has remained largely unknown to the greater pop music mainstream.
While the mainstream's a poorer place for that, one gets the idea it
suits Archie Fisher just fine.
Fisher was born into a family of
semi-professional musicians and learned to play the guitar at a young
age. Fisher and his sister Ray formed a skiffle group in the mid-'50s,
as most musically inclined young Britons did around that time.
Eventually, the siblings formed a vocal duo, releasing their debut
album Far Over the North in 1963. In the tradition of the Coppers and
the Watersons, Archie and Ray joined with their parents and sister
Cilla and her husband Artie Tresize to form the Fisher Family. Playing
both traditional material and Archie's own compositions, the Fisher
Family were fixtures on the British folk circuit through the mid-'60s
and released the album The Fisher Family in 1965. The family group
split up in 1966 when Ray married and moved to London and Archie began
his solo career.
Fisher's first album, Archie Fisher, was
released in 1968. Around that time, Fisher also began his decades-long
association with the BBC; Fisher wrote original songs for BBC
documentaries on subjects like rural island communities in the
Hebrides, and also appeared on radio and television music programs with
regularity. Eventually, Fisher began working regularly with the BBC as
a producer of radio documentaries and features; in the '80s, he
inherited the series Traveling Folk, which he now produces and hosts,
from the previous presenter Robin Hall. Fisher's recorded output, for
someone with such a long and prolific career, is surprisingly sparse,
consisting of a handful of solo albums and a live duo album with
Canadian fiddler Garnet Rogers. Fisher has been much more active both
as a live performer at festivals and concerts around the world (he
directed the much-respected Edinburgh Folk Festival from 1988 to 1992)
and as a producer for other artists, including several albums by the
duo of Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy and the phenomenal group Silly
Wizard.
You can listen to Archie
Fisher here.
You can listen to another
clip by Archie Fisher here.
Jez Lowe
By the time Jez Lowe recorded his first solo album in 1980, he'd already spent almost a decade playing and absorbing the traditional music of his native North East England, an area rich in working-class values, with a wealth of songs and music unique to that windswept corner of the British Isles. This was to be the substance from which he would create a body of work that would make him one of the hardest-working, most popular and enduring of the many singer-songwriters to emerge from Britain in the last twenty years. Born in 1955 into an Irish family, in the coal-mining community of Easington in County Durham, Jez's early interest in pop music steered him into a fascination with blues and folk, especially Bob Dylan, John Mayall, Big Bill Broonzy and Woody Guthrie. A chance visit to a local folk club in 1973 to hear Martin Carthy led him down another path, and by the mid-70's Jez had begun to play a mixture of Dylan, traditional, contemporary and original material, in partnership with school friend Ged Foley, later of Patrick Street and The House Band.
Together they formed the group Hendon Banks in 1974, which found some local success before reverting to a duo in the late '70's, until Lowe went solo as the decade ended. He was to record four albums of his own songs in the 1980's on the Fellside label, and it was these songs about working class North Eastern life that would spread his reputation around the world's folk stages over the next few years.
In partnership with hurdy-gurdy pioneer Jake Walton he toured Europe and North America numerous times in the mid-80's. The duo's 1986 album "Two A Roue" was one of that year's biggest sellers. Suddenly everyone on the British folk scene was singing the songs of Jez Lowe. A songbook of 30 of his songs quickly sold out in 1988. Among those who were to record their own versions of Lowe's songs over the succeeding decade were Fairport Convention, The Dubliners, The Tannahill Weavers, Cherish The Ladies, Gordon Bok, The McCalmans, and literally hundreds more. Songs like "Back In Durham Gaol", "The Bergen", "Black Diamonds" and "These Coal Town Days" have generated scores of cover-versions, and are now classics of their kind.
In 1990, Jez was joined by the first line-up of a backing group that was to accompany him, off and on, to the present day. The Bad Pennies appear half of the year in concert with Jez, while the remaining time he tours solo. Constantly traveling, to Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and regularly to the USA in the past four years, Jez Lowe thrives on the live performance, while his albums regularly feature in the lists of best sellers around the folk scene. His last two albums, "Tenterhooks "(1995) and "The Parish Notices" (1998) have been on the Green Linnet label, and his entire back-catalogue is now available on CD from Fellside Records in the UK and Musica Pangaea in America.
In 1997, the BBC commissioned Jez to write and present a 7-part radio series on the music of North East England, entitled "A Song for Geordie", further establishing him as an ambassador for his native region. The success of these programs has resulted in a follow-up series next year. Meanwhile Jez returns to Australia in September '98, and the US in November '98, before The Bad Pennies regroup for a European tour taking them into Spring 1999.
In 2000 Jez released his latest live recording, "Live at the Davy Lamp".
- One of the best song writers to come out of England
- Nominee for BBC Folksinger of the Year 2008
- SONY Radio Academy Award Winner 2007 with the Radio Ballads
- Winner of the IAP USA "Album of the Year 2009"
Listen to a
music sample of Jez Lowe.
Here is another
music sample of Jez Lowe.
|
|
Hanneke Cassel
"Exuberant and rhythmic, somehow both
wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an
irresistible playfulness," says The Boston Globe about Hanneke Cassel’s
playing. Such charismatic fiddling has brought Hanneke Cassel many
honors and awards. She is the 1997 U.S. National Scottish Fiddle
Champion, she holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from
Berklee College of Music, and she has performed and taught across the
U.S., Scotland, Sweden, China, New Zealand, France, England, and
Austria.
In addition to her solo act, Hanneke
has played for the Cathie Ryan Band, and is a member of Boston-based
fiddle bands Childsplay and Halali. She has made guest appearances with
Cherish the Ladies, Alasdair Fraser, Matt Glaser and the Wayfaring
Strangers, Ensemble Galilei, Aine Minogue, and Joey McIntyre (from New
Kids on the Block). Her fiddling has graced the stages of Boston’s
Symphony Hall (opening for Judy Collins), Mountain Stage, The Plaza
Hotel, Lincoln Center, the Boston Hatch Shell, and the Kennedy Center
Millennium Stage.
Listen to a
music sample of Hanneke Cassel.
Listen to a
second music sample of Hanneke Cassel.
|
 Evans &
Doherty
Kevin Evans & Brian Doherty have
been an integral part of the East Coast music scene for twenty years.
They have been together as Evans & Doherty for eighteen years.
To capture the essence of an Evans & Doherty performance, take
a lively blend of traditional, original and contemporary songs, add a
liberal sprinkling of stories and humour, then sit back and enjoy these
fine entertainers.
As well as performing front and center on
stage, Evans & Doherty are involved with many aspects of the
music industry. Brian owns and operates Eastern Entertainment Agency, a
booking agency and production company which co-ordinates tours of
Atlantic Canada for many Canadian and international acts. Kevin owns
and operates Modtrad Music, a publishing company, through which much of
the material performed by Evans & Doherty is published and
licensed. Through Eastern Entertainment Agency, Evans & Doherty
have produced recordings for a number of East coast groups, as well as
three compilation recordings (A Taste Of The Maritimes, A Taste Of
Atlantic Canada and An East Coast Christmas) for national labels.
Listen to a music
sample of Evans & Doherty.
Listen to another music
sample of Evans & Doherty.
Seamus Kennedy
Seamus Kennedy, originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been entertaining audiences all over the United States for the past 32 years. With a ready wit and a vast store of songs, he travels from Alaska to Florida, Maryland to California, performing for audiences which range from Popes and presidents to bartenders and bricklayers, from college students to kindergartners.
In concert or festival, in pub or club, in colleges or high schools, Seamus Kennedy has the repertoire and the ability to make folks forget their cares for a while, to relax and enjoy themselves. He encourages the crowd to sing along to silly lyrics and daft ditties or act out the choruses of children's songs. When he plays a lively Irish jig or a reel, Seamus will often coax someone to jump up and dance to the music of his guitar or bodhrán - to the delight - and often amazement - of their friends. His audience participation songs and tongue-twisters have amused the ablest of participants and the nimblest of tongues.
Seamus has an endless supply of rib-tickling jokes, stories and one liners which can leave an audience breathless from laughing so hard. Many a crowd has gone home from one of his shows giggling to one another, "Do you remember the one about...?" (Ask him to do the routine about Moms And Kids, the Nuns, or Murphy and the Snails.)
But the Irish have their serious side too, and when Seamus performs one of the more somber ballads such as Tommy Sands' "There Were Roses" or Pete St. John's "Dublin In The Rare Old Times" you can hear a pin drop as the words sink in. That moment of silence before the applause can raise goosebumps. Seamus' greatest influences have been the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, the Dubliners' Luke Kelly, and the Irish Rovers, so it is no surprise to find many songs that they made famous, such as "The Wild Colonial Boy", "The Wild Rover," or "The Black Velvet Band" in his performance. So come and enjoy the music and mirth of one of Ireland's most popular exports - Seamus Kennedy!
Listen
to a music sample of Seamus Kennedy.
Listen
to another music sample of Seamus Kennedy.
 Mairtin De Cogain
The talents of this Cork born man are boundless, having garnered recognition as a storyteller, singer, fluent speaker of gaelic, gifted teacher of folk dances, and of course actor ( most notably in the film The Wind that Shakes the Barley). Storytelling has been in Mairtin?s family for generations, his infectious personality pleasantly captures the attention of all audiences. Mairtin de Cogain is a true shanachie, and there aren?t many left!
Listen to
a music sample of Mairtin De Cogain.
Listen to
another music sample of Mairtin De Cogain.
|
Tom Sweeney
On Friday June 20th 2008, Tom was honoured by the Tommy Makem International Songfest for his lifelong contribution to the Irish folksong and ballad tradition.
The Songfest is a highly prestigious event in the world of folk music and included among it’s patrons are Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Seamus Heaney and Liam Neeson.
Tom has been steeped in the folksong tradition since childhood and as he says himself, “When these songs are being sung all around you for most of your life it’s only natural that you end up with an extensive repertoire of old ballads handed for many generations in this family.”
On countless tours Tom has brought these songs to many stages across the world. “I first went to play in the United States at the age of sixteen for a two month stint with my brother, Jimmy, and have toured the US and Canada on a very regular basis ever since. In fact I have performed these songs in every state and province across the US and Canada with the exception of Hawaii – must go there soon!”
Tom was highly honoured by being invited to perform at the White House for President Clinton on St Patrick’s night in 1998.
Listen to
a music sample of Tom Sweeney.
Listen to
another music sample of Tom Sweeney.
Ciaran Sheehan
Ciaran was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. After college, he settled in New York City, where he studied acting with Meisner disciple Kathryn Gately and legendary Broadway director Bobby Lewis.
Currently he is studying voice with David Jones in NYC.
After winning the role of Tom in Hal Prince's acclaimed play Grandchild Of Kings, Ciaran's talent was quickly recognized and rewarded by starring roles on Broadway in such prestigious productions as Les Miserables (Babet, Marius) and The Phantom Of The Opera (1,000 performances as the dashing young Raoul, followed by over 1,000 performances on Broadway and in Toronto, as The Phantom). Broadway stage work also includes Byzantium (W. B. Yeats), The Molly Maguires (James McKenna), and Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt's The Irish...and How They Got That Way, as well as a wide variety of productions at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York City. Television and film work includes appearances on Law And Order, One Life To Live, Late Night With David Letterman, The PBS Presentation of The Irish...and How They Got That Way, Another World, and Married To The Mob. Ciaran's singing engagements include memorable and acclaimed performances on Broadway with such theater legends as Vanessa Redgrave, Angela Lansbury, Shirley Jones, and Rosemary Clooney. He touched the hearts of millions world-wide with his rendition of Danny Boy sung at the internationally televised Memorial Mass for John and Carolyn Kennedy, Jr. at Old St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC.
Listen to a music sample of Ciaran Sheehan.
Andy May
With 20 wins at open piping competitions under his belt, his first at the age of 13, Andy is a record-breaking and holding, nine-time winner of the Northumbrian Pipers Society Annual Open Competition! In addition to his adeptness at playing the pipes, Andy also makes them.
Having studied the pipes at the University of York, Andy has been influenced by Roland Lofthouse, Adrian Schofield, Billy Pigg and Tom Clough.
In 2003 Andy released his first solo album 'Yellow Haired Laddie' with guests: Simon Haworth, Kathryn Tickell, and Simon James.
Listen to a music sample of Andy May.
Listen to another music sample of Andy.
|
The Makem
and Spain Brothers
During the winter of 2003 the Makem Brothers joined forces with Irish
music's Spain Brothers to form a quintet as strong and unique as
anything offered in Irish music today. The result is a musical act far
greater than the sum of its parts and an electric onstage chemistry
that few acts ever achieve. Their sound comes from powerfully backed,
precise three-part harmonies, varied instrumentation and a strong
appreciation for the history and progression of folk music.
|
|
|
