Gradam Ceoil traditional Irish music awards

Liz Carroll – Traditional Composer of the Year award.

“I can remember that this felt very special, different from learning a tune, varying one or hearing one for the first time,” she writes. “I had a melody that had come to me, and it didn’t exist anywhere else. I was at once the first person to hear it, to vary it, to learn it and ultimately to perform it. I can’t tell you how exciting that was.”

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh – Traditional Singer of the Year

“I loved the way sean-nós wasn’t this precious artefact. It was a living, breathing part of a very vibrant culture. You weren’t singing in Irish for the Irish language’s sake. I never felt that I was a ‘sean-nós singer’, I’ve always just felt that I am ‘a singer’. It’s simply the music that I grew up with, that’s closest to my heart. I’m not from 100 years ago, and I’m not going to pretend to be, but obviously sean-nós has been the foundation for me.”

Gradam Saoil/Lifetime Achievement Award: Ben Lennon

Gradam na gCeoltóirí/ Musicians’ Award: Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin

Ceoltóir Óg/Young Traditional Musician of the Year: Pádraig Keane

Gradam TG4 Traditional Musician of the Year: Noel Hill

From the Irish Times >>>

Kilfenora Ceili Band painting by Michael Hanrahan

A canvas of the legendary Kilfenora Ceili Band will go under the hammer in March.

And there have been expressions of interest from as far away as the US.

Measuring 20in x 44in, the painting by Michael Hanrahan has been given a guide price of between €1,000 and €1,500, but could well exceed that, according to auctioneer Rory Guthrie of de Vere Art Auctions.

Formed in 1909 in Kilfenora, a small village on the edge of the Burren in north Clare, the group attribute their longevity to staying true to traditional instrumentation and repertoire and by keeping unnecessary innovation to a minimum.

“Seeing them perform is incredible and that’s what I tried to get on to my canvas,” Mr Hanrahan said. (Independent) >>>

Dervish + Tommy Peoples at Ballincollig

The Ballincollig Winter Music Festival takes place on the last weekend of January each year. With world-class headline concerts, traditional music sessions, classes and much more….

TOMMY PEOPLES, living legend of Irish music will play the Ballincollig Winter Music Festival this Thursday night, 27th January at 8.30 pm!

DERVISH play The Ballincollig Winter Music Festival this Friday night, 28th January at 8.30 pm!

Celtic Connections lives up to name

Irish mini-festival Sligo Live is to curate its own night at the annual Celtic Connections event, which is currently taking place in Glasgow. Young trad band Téada, who have already headlined several world-music festivals, will be joined by Sligo trad-fusion act Túcan and rock trio The Unwanted. (From Irish Times >>>)

Téada @ The Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre

Friday January 21st at 8:30 PM @ Séamus Ennis Centre

Téada released a long awaited fourth album – Ceol & Cuimhne / Music & Memory in 2010 on the Gael Linn label, described by The Irish Echo’s Earle Hitchner as “the best album of Irish instrumental music I’ve heard so far this year”. 2011 will see the Téada mark its’ 10th anniversary with a busy season of touring and other special projects.

Founded by Sligo fiddler Oisín Mac Diarmada, Téada first came together in 2001 to make an appearance on the innovative Irish television series ‘Flosc’. With engaging textural arrangements, Téada, meaning “strings” in the Irish language revels in the vibrant traditional music of Ireland. Deftly playing up its structural intricacies while preserving the contagious energy inherent in the repertoire, the group strives to capture a sense of the rawness and individuality of the solo artist, within a modern group context.

Seating is limited. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Brendan Power & Tim Edey + Jackie Daly & Matt Cranitch

Friday 28th January @ the Button Factory.

PLUS

Dessie O’Halloran, Cunningham Sean Nós Dancers, Mary Bergin & Paul de Grae

The Button Factory

Tickets online: €24.99 (booking fee included)
Box Office in Temple Bar Hotel: €22.49 (no admission fee)

Friday the 28th of January will bring together the best in established Irish traditional music talent. 4 incredibly talented soloists Brendan Power & Tim Edey, Jackie Daly & Matt Cranitch come together as two duets to create an exceptional night of Irish music.
Website: www.edeyandpower.com

They will be joined by the hugely popular and talented Cunningham Family Sean Nós Dancers from Connemara. ‘Outstanding’, ‘really entertaining’ and ‘everyone should see this show’, were just three of the comments following a recent sell out Cunningham performance at The Town Hall Theatre in Galway.

Legendary balladeer Dessie O’Halloran, who sings with the Cunningham Family in their show Fuaim Chonamara joins them on stage in the Button Factory. “When he sings in the pub and even when it’s just him, everybody takes notice,” Sharon Shannon told the Irish Times. “Desmond’s voice is rugged and totally unaffected.”

Mary Bergin is an Irishfolk musician who is widely acknowledged as one of the great masters of the tin whistle. She plays in both the Irish traditional and Baroque styles. Mary will be on stage together with Paul de Grae, a Dublin-born guitarist (and occasional singer), living in Kerry for many years. He has a particular interest in the music of Sliabh Luachra, plays regularly at sessions, concerts and festivals throughout Ireland (particularly in Kerry, Cork and Clare) and teaches guitar workshops in Ireland and the USA.

Altan, Eddi Reader & Friends @ Temple Bar Trad Fest

Wednesday the 26th January @ 8 pm

Christ Church Cathedral
Tickets online: €25.99 (including booking fee)
Box Office in Temple Bar Hotel: €23.49 (no admission fee)

Beoga and Ciorras @ the Button Factory

Thursday the 27th of January @ 8 pm

The Button Factory
Tickets online: €19.99 (including booking fee)
Box Office in Temple Bar Hotel: €17.49 (no admission fee)

Blurb:

BEOGA will  take to the stage in the Button Factory. Guaranteed to live up to their name- the Irish word for ‘lively’ the band from county Antrim were drawn together in 2002 after ‘jamming’ in a ferocious session at the all-Ireland Fleadh. Since then BEOGA has expanded the vocabulary of Irish music with a unique accent of their own blending bluesy riffs with jazz and pop beats producing melodious traditional music played to some of the most imaginative and contemporary accompaniment in Irish music today.
Wall Street Journal dubs them “the most exciting new traditional band to emerge from Ireland this century.”
“Individually talented and collectively inspired, this is a quartet who speak a language called music with a fluency beloved of the best multi-linguists” (Siobhan Long Irish Times January 2005)
The release of Beoga’s 2009 album ‘The Incident’ (which was shortlisted for a Grammy award) has seen the supergroup continue to blaze a pioneering trail, rewarding fans with their fresh creative energy and seducing a diverse array of music lovers. Their performance during the Tradfest will have every toe tapping in the house and add depth to an already eclectic mix during the festival.

The TradFest will continue its role as providing a platform for showcasing the best in up-coming Irish talent as on the same night the Button Factory will play host to Ciorras. Hailed as ‘a modern  Bothy band’, Ciorras bring a contemporary approach to traditional music. Ciorras were formed as a band earlier this year when the individual members were among a large number of young musicians who featured in the hit TG4 series, Lorg Lunny. These 8 young musicians were invited by Irish music legend Dónal Lunny to create a new band with a fresh, new unique sound in traditional music. With an impressive assortment of instruments between them including fiddle, concertina, pipes, piano accordion, keyboards, percussion, low-whistles, voice and no less than 4 exceptional flute players, the possibilities are endless as demonstrated in their choice of repertoire woven among imaginative and original arrangements and played with an energy and enthusiasm that showcases the phenomenal playing ability and musicality of these outstanding young musicians.