Bodhrans

You've heard of dueling banjos, maybe even heard some play. But dueling bodhrans? Good fun from the Rooney Family at the Celtic Connections festival. Hint: if you've enjoyed some of Fred's posts on Desi Arnaz, below -- well, it is a different thing, of course, but still you might like this. Whole lot of drumming going on.

St. Patrick's Eve: The Lilting Banshee

Mike Rafferty on flute, Mary Rafferty on accordion, and Donal Clancy on bouzouki on the jig The Lilting Banshee...

Emily Smith: rising Scottish singer

Emily Smith is a rising star of Scottish music, and she’s won international song writing notice too. One of the things she enjoys is taking on lesser known songs from the tradition and honoring their substance while setting them to fresh arrangements. In this clip she offers a ballad that has elements of star crossed -- sort of -- lovers, fleeing over the hills, and a few surprise twists. The song is called May Colven, and it’s from a gig Smith and her band played in the Strathclyde Suite at the Royal Glasgow Concert hall at the Celtic Connections festival this winter. If you like fellow Scots singers Karine Polwart and Corrina Hewat, then give Smith a listen. What, you've never heard of any of them? Okay, well, on the American folk side then, Lucy Kaplansky and Gretchen Peters, on the British side of things, Kate Rusby. If the songs or sound of these women intrigue you, then give Smith a listen. She has a new album due out in April and is planning a short US tour around that time as well.






I've just noticed while posting this that it is the one hundredth post at Series of Tubes. Thanks for staying with us through all the varied musical excursions Fred and I keep taking you on, from the many faces of Dylan and his musical tastes through rockabilly, Cuban Pete, Robert Burns, Ian & Sylvia, Johnny Cash, Cathie Ryan, Pam Tillis, Ruby Tuesday, daisy mayhem, Tommy Makem, and many others -- check out the list on the lower right of this page and see where we've been so far.

Carrie Newcomer on songwriting

Indiana based singer and songwriter Carrie Newcomer has a new album out called The Geography of Light. Her songs are set variously at the edge of light and dark, in the history of the Ohio Valley, and in the quiet places of the soul. Her creative view is laced at once with faith, laughter, and grace, and a clear hearted view of the dimensions of the spirit in day to day life. In the video below, she talks about writing this collection of songs.






you may also want to see these posts over at Music Road

Newcomer was also involved in Wilderness Plots, a collection of songs about the time when the Ohio Valley was the frontier of settlement in the US

comment on an earlier Newcomer album.

tommy makem: will you go lassie go?

The late Irish singer and songwriter and tradition bearer Tommy Makem from a television special with Cherish the Ladies and Barley Bree, all joining in on Will You Go Lassie Go?, or as it's also known, Wild Mountain Thyme, from 1992. Joanie Madden on flutes and whistles, Cathie Ryan lead singer for Cherish.

Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra -Jitterumba

A longish (15-minute+) video that will give Desi Arnaz fans (of which I'm one) a pretty good taste of what his nightclub act was like before the I Love Lucy days. Desi gets in a dig at his old boss, Xavier Cugat, while introducing the beauteous Dulcina, who flies out onto the stage into a wild rumba and I kept expecting that crazy red-head who always wanted to break into show business to show up instead.

The short from Castle Films was originally released in 1947 as Jitterumba and then re-released in 1949 for the home 16mm film market in 1949 as Melody Masters #5. Apparently nobody at Castle could be bothered to correct the misspelling of Arnaz's name over the intervening two years. But, as Mark Evanier reports, Arnaz himself once let an entire season of Lucy go by with his name misspelled in the credits.

Full info on the short can be found here.

Cathie Ryan: The Back Door

Immigration comes up for political comment often this campaign season. Here's a musical exploration of one view of the subject, which. although written some years back, is still timely.

Cathie Ryan sings the powerful song she wrote concerning immigrants, especially dedicated to undocumented Irish, with Joanie Madden on flutes and whistles and other members of Cherish the Ladies along as well. From the early 1990s, part of a television special with Tommy Makem and Friends.

This song was title track of CTL's first recording with the then members of the regular touring band.

The Back Door really established the unique character of the band and their approach to music for those who had not yet seen them play live. The collection, includes jigs. reels, and songs, among them Coal Quay Market, a fast paced playful tale, and Roisin Dubh, a powerful sean nos song from the heart of Irish history. There's a post here at Music Road with more about The Back Door CD, and a later one about Cherish itself, those early concerts, and further adventures of the band. More about Cathie Ryan at her website.

Cherish the Ladies reunion gig: Ryan, who is a dozen years into her own solo career now, sings The Back Door in 2007, a one minute clip from the Milwaukee Irish festival.