Got
any newsy tidbits?
Let us know. E-mail them to: bernadette@celticcafe.comWe
started the "Buzz" section here at the Celtic Cafe as a means
of sharing some of the news and information posted to our associated mail lists,
which are devoted mostly (but not exclusively) to Irish dance and Celtic music.
For more detailed information, and to join in the discussion about "anything
Celtic," please sign up for our main list, large and very international.
Click on the following to learn more: Celtic
Cafe Yahoo Group • • •
Please
note:
Cafe Buzz items will be added as time allows --
see
our main Celtic Cafe Yahoo Group for more regular updates on news and information.
CLICK
HERE The current Cafe Buzz page can always be reached
through the link from our main page at CelticCafe.com
Scroll
to the bottom of this page for links to the previous Cafe Buzz pages.
•
• •
May 8
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, DANCE OF DESIRE!
And
many more! Official site: DanceofDesire.com •
• •
April 30
MICHAEL FLATLEY DONATES ROLLS ROYCE TO PEOPLE
IN NEED CHARITY
The People in Need Trust
was established in May 1988 with the purpose of raising and distributing money
to charitable organisations throughout Ireland, and this year's donations by celebrities
to the RTÉ Telethon includes Michael Flatley's Rolls Royce Seraph.
Today, at a special event at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin, Michael handed the
keys of the 1999 beauty with only 8000 miles on the odometer to RTE host Gay
Byrne, who accepted on behalf of the People in Need organization. The Rolls
Royce will be auctioned on the night of the RTÉ People in Need Telethon
2004, presented by Gay, and broadcast live on Friday 21st May. This year's
event features a number of different elements including a bizarre talent show
called Can't Sing Can't Dance and a week-long reality television show,
Inside 252, which follows the attempts of a group of celebrities to run
a national radio station. RTÉ Charity 252 Radio for People in Need
will be broadcast throughout the week on Long Wave 252. "Following
the last Telethon in 2000, over €7.7 million was distributed to 897 projects
throughout all 26 counties. The main areas where the monies were distributed were
the elderly; children and young people; learning and physical disability; the
homeless and a variety of social services supporting family resource centres,
rape crisis centres, hospice care and unemployment centres. The monies
raised from this year’s Telethon will, as in previous years be distributed
far and wide throughout the 26 counties. In 2000 some of the beneficiaries included
the Adapt Shelter for women and children in Limerick; the Simon Community in Dundalk,
Co. Louth; the St. Vincent de Paul Society housing scheme for the elderly in Gweedore,
Co. Donegal; and the Irish Society for Autism’s farm for autistic adults
in Kinnegad, Co. Westmeath." Click
here to find out more about the People in Need Telethon 2004. This
is the 10th anniversary of the Eurovision interval at which Michael
Flatley and Riverdance
exploded onto the world stage, and the SuperStar Irish dancer has always been
generous with charitable contributions to worthy causes. Kudos! Learn
more about Da Man at the Celtic Cafe's MIKEroCosm,
MichaelFlatley.com, LordoftheDance.com
and of course at CelticCafeFLATLEY,
our mail list/discussion group devoted to fans of Michael and his shows worldwide.
Click here. •
• •
April 15
BRIAN KENNEDY LIVE IN THE WLIW STUDIO
We
continue the trend of focusing on former Riverdance
performers with the news of Brian Kennedy's
in-studio appearance tomorrow evening, April 16, 9 p.m. at WLIW
in New York, to accompany the showing of his new DVD "Brian Kennedy, Live
in Belfast." That DVD and the 2-CD set are being offered as pledge premiums
for the WLIW membership drive. Taped in November, 2003 at the Waterfront Hall
in Belfast, Ireland, his hometown, the prolific singer/songwriter performs some
of his most popular pop hits. Included are breathtaking renditions of ‘A
Better Man’, ‘Get On With Your Short Life’, ‘Put The Message
In The Box’, as well as choice selections from his BBC Northern Ireland TV
series, ‘On Song’ - from which come ‘The Ballad of Killaloe’,
‘Carrickfergus’, ‘The Curragh of Kildare’ and ‘Danny
Boy’. It also features inspired versions of ‘You Raise Me Up’ and
a tender medley of Van Morrison songs in ‘Crazy Love’ / ‘Have I
Told You Lately’, as well as a heartfelt take on the Neil Young classic,
‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’.
Brian's first
DVD contains the same performances that you can hear on his new CD, but includes
the Special Features of an interview with Brian, and behind the scenes footage.
Click
here for the WLIW page for specifics of the included tracks and here
for a page at Brian's site where there are MP3 samples. Check out the main page
at the WLIW website for the focus on this very special broadcast: WLIW.org We
hear that Brian and Michael Londra,
the singer who took his place in Riverdance on Broadway (and now the Music Director
of RadioCelt), will be painting
the town red on Saturday. Watch out for this dynamic duo if you live in New York
City! Michael's site is at MichaelLondra.com
and Brian's at BrianKennedy.co.uk •
• •
April 10 DARREN
HOLDEN "MOVIN' OUT"
This being close to the
10th anniversary of the emergence of Riverdance,
we love hearing about current and former performers with the show and "where
are they now?" One such talent is Darren
Holden, who toured with Riverdance
as lead singer for three years, as well as on Broadway, and fans can see him on
tour again -- this time in the Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp Tony Award-winning
hit "Moving Out" where he's thrilling audiences with his piano
and lead vocals. He's also just been nominated for the 2004
New Music Weekly Award in the category of Best Country Artist, and
the single "Wherever You Are"
off his CD "Live & Learn"
is now in the Top 30! That song was written by Eddie Snyder, the man who
wrote “Strangers in the Night” for Frank Sinatra. Learn
more at Darren's official site, DarrenHolden.com
and see if the "Movin'
Out" tour is headed your way via that official site at: MovinOutOnBroadway.com
Congratulations
on the nomination, Darren! • • •
April
5 CASTING WORKSHOPS FOR
BALOR THE SHOW
Breandán de Gallai, formerly
a Principal Dancer with Riverdance,
and Joe Csibi, former Musical Director
at Riverdance, are the creative forces behind a most exciting new production called
BALOR. It is confirmed to be opening
in Dublin (with a world tour planned). Casting workshops are scheduled for the
Irish dance World Championships in Belfast this week, on Saturday, April
10th and Sunday, April 11th. A further workshop will be held in Dublin on Saturday,
April 24.
The show is casting for both principal and troupe dancers, and
the ideal candidates are:
Irish Dancers (World Championship Recall Standard)
Contemporary/ballet
experience, Acting and relevant performance experience would be a plus. From
the Balor World website: "Joe and I wanted to develop a dance form that
would have the dramatic scope to deliver this story through ballet and contemporary
dance styles, but give all the excitement and energy of the Irish hard shoe discipline.
We have seamlessly fused dancers with experience in other dance forms on the same
stage, to tell the story as stage-actors.... With the dramatic highs of
Macbeth, the sultry moods of a Midsummer Night’s Dream and the sensuality
of Salome, the music has a film score feel in the vein of a thriller or horror.
The dancing is integral to the overall musical effect and has been worked into
the score to form part of the percussion. The dramatic score and daring choreography
makes Balor distinctive and unique among theatre events." To learn
more, see the Auditions Page at the Balor.com
site by clicking here. •
• •
March 10
LOOK AROUND IRELAND: WIN A CD-ROM!
Michael
Londra, former Riverdance singer
and current Music Director of RadioCelt,
brings us this competition whereby you can win a CD-Rom and LOOK
AROUND IRELAND! Here are the details: Radiocelt.com
and LookAroundIreland.com
have teamed up to give the Celtic Cafe folks a chance at winning one of 20 CD-Roms
which offer a beautiful view of Ireland's stunning scenery. The folks at RadioCelt
think the CD-Rom is an amazing product, which, like RadioCelt itself, offers a
new approach to attract people to visit Ireland
The team at Lookaround
Ireland, based in Louth, the smallest county in Ireland, are delighted
to bring to you the beauty of the tourist attractions of Ireland. They have travelled
the entire country to bring you over 30 interactive CD-Roms allowing you to take
a virtual tour of Ireland or your favourite county. Each CD-Rom shows you the
local tourist attractions and gives tourist information on that location.
On
each one they include interactive 360-degree virtual tours, a slideshow and screensaver
of pictures of Ireland, narration to accompany the virtual tour and music. The
CD-Rom can be run in automatic mode so that the user sits back and watches and
listens to each location, or in manual mode, where the user can control where
they want to go. When in manual mode the user has more control options and there
is a feeling of actually being in Ireland. They have attractions in Ireland from
every county, and each county CD-Rom has twelve locations which include the local
tourist attractions and relevant information.
Check out www.lookaroundireland.com
(while you are listening to RadioCelt,
of course!) and enter the contest to win one of these terrific CD-Roms by e-mailing
Michael (click here) with the answer to the following question:
Where
is Michael Londra's home town in Ireland? Hint: The answer
can be found easily at Michael's official site. Click
here: MichaelLondra.com The
names of 20 lucky winners will be drawn on March 24, 2004. •
• •
March 5 MIKE
HANRAHAN and RONNIE DREW
The U.S. premiere of the
critically-acclaimed show "Ronnie,
I Hardly Knew Ya" takes place at the Irish
Arts Center in New York City and runs from March 9 to 21, 2004. This is
a not-to-be-missed chance to hear the wonderful stories and songs of the one-and-only
Ronnie Drew (formerly of The Dubliners), accompanied on guitar by
ex-Stockton’s Wing frontman, Mike
Hanrahan. Originally written and performed by Ronnie and Mike in 1997,
the show has traveled to various venues around the world. The new show still features
the writings and songs of Patrick Kavannagh, Sean O' Casey and Brendan Behan,
but they've also added the works of Shane
Mc Gowan, Christy Moore, and Irish
poets Paul Durkin and Brendan Keneally. It is a true mix of Irish writing, "with
the past very comfortable in the company of the present." Mike's
website at MikeHanrahan.com is
a great place to keep up with news about Ronnie Drew and Stockton's Wing Reunions
as well as tourdates, and there is much information there about Mike's impressive
background (click here for
the full bio) as one of Ireland's finest musical talents. In addition
to his collaboration with Ronnie Drew, he continues to tour as a solo artist,
and samples of his terrific music can be heard at the official site. Click
here for that particular page, which also includes a full MP3 download
of "Firefighter" from the CD "What You Know." Musicians
will likely also appreciate Mike for his work as Chairman of IMRO
- the Irish Music Rights Organisation, a national not-for-profit organization
that administers the performing right in copyright music in Ireland on behalf
of its members - songwriters, composers and music publishers - and on behalf of
the members of the international overseas societies that are affiliated to it.
IMRO, according to its site at IMRO.ie,
is also prominently involved in the sponsorship and promotion of music in Ireland.
Every year it sponsors a large number of song contests, music festivals, seminars,
workshops, research projects and showcase performances. Indeed, IMRO is now synonymous
with helping to showcase emerging talent in Ireland.
Click
here for info and tickets for Ronnie,
I Hardly Knew Ya at IrishArtsCenter.org
and here for more on Mike and
Ronnie at MikeHanrahan.com.
• • •
March 4
THE IRISH DESCENDANTS
Chosen
as the official band for Newfoundland's 500th anniversary, and dubbed by the Irish
Press as "the lost Celtic tribe of Newfoundland," The
Irish Descendants first became known to many in the Celtic Cafe community
during their time with Needfire, a wonderful music and dance production
that some referred to as "Canada's answer to Riverdance!" The
lads are moving Westward this month to garner even more admirers for their "strong,
hearty vocals, incredible musicianship, and an astonishing ability to make even
the most cynical music fan dance.” Starting in Belleville, Ontario on Friday,
March 5th, at the Empire Theater,
and Saturday, March 6th in Brockville at the Wall St. United Church, they
make their way across Canada to Vancouver, B.C. and back, with a foray into Massachusetts
in April. The Brockville gig is hosted by the Brockville
Celtic Festival in Ontario, and 2004 marks the fourth year in which it
just keeps growing and getting better. Learn more about the festival, held on
June 4, 5, 6, at the official site: BrockvilleCelticFestival.com Check
out the tourdates and learn more about The
Irish Descendants, including their new CD, "We Are the Irish Descendants,"
at: IrishDescendants.com •
• •
Feb. 20 MARY
BLACK AT WLIW 21
On Sunday, February 22, at 9:30 p.m.
fans of Irish music are in for quite a treat, thanks to PBS station WLIW21.
Not only is there the Sunday premiere of MARY BLACK: LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA to
look forward to, but the legendary vocalist and former member of the Irish traditional
group De Dannan appears live in the WLIW studio to chat about her
career and the upcoming concert (March 11) at the Inter-Media
Art Center on Long Island, New York. Tune in for details about tickets
for the concert and a meet-and-greet with Mary!
From
a press release: In addition to Mary Black's public television debut,
WLIW's Irish-American Heritage Month programming includes the return of
viewer favorites Daniel O'Donnell, live in the studio to premiere his new
"Songs of Faith" concert on Tuesday, March 9 at 7:30 pm, followed by
an encore presentation of "Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance"
at 9:30 pm; highlights from WLIW's cultural celebration, "May the Road Rise
to Meet You," on Tuesday, March 16 at 7:30 pm followed by an encore of "The
Irish Tenors: Ellis Island;" and a St. Patrick's Day encore of "Daniel
O'Donnell: Songs of Faith" at 8 pm. These specials continue WLIW's
longstanding commitment to programming that explores and celebrates Irish culture
and tradition. The station also broadcasts and distributes the weekly newsmagazine
"Out of Ireland" with Patricia O'Reilly (Sundays at 6:30
pm) and "Jakers! The Adventures of
Piggley Winks" (Saturdays at 8:30 am and Fridays at 4:30 pm), an
animated series set in Ireland. WLIW New York is the fourth most-watched public
television station in the United States, with an average weekly cumulative audience
of nearly two million households in the New York metropolitan area. Visit
WLIW.org for more information, and see
a great website devoted to Mary Black, including tour schedule, at: Mary-Black.net
•
• •
Feb. 19 BROBDINGNAGIAN
BARDS AT "LORD OF THE RINGS" OSCAR PARTY
Celtic
duo Marc Gunn and Andrew McKee, the Brobdingnagian Bards,
will present an exclusive performance at New Line Cinema's official Lord
of the Rings Fan Club Oscar Party on Sunday, February 29th, 2004. The
Brobdingnagian Bards first released their original instrumental "Tolkien
(The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings)" on the late MP3.com three years ago.
The single quickly dominated the charts and subsequently earned over one million
mp3 downloads. The success of that single prompted the duo to record an
entire album of music inspired by JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings"
entitled "Memories of Middle Earth". This CD has earned continual praise
from fans and critics alike for its unique sound and stirring Celtic and folk-influenced
music. Thanks to the international grassroot efforts of LOTR fans from many
different groups, including The Official Fan Club, Ringbearer.Org, LOTR Fanatics,
War of the Ring, Council of Elrond, Tolkien Online, the LOTR Fanclub Scrapbook,
and Tolkien Forever, The Official Fan Club is proud and excited to present this
Lord of the Rings themed Oscar party. Learn more in Marc's posting to the
Celtic Cafe mail list by clicking
here. See the Bards' official site at: TheBards.net
Website
for the Oscar Party: IntoTheWest.net
• • •
Feb.
14 50 GREAT IRISH LOVE
SONGS
Happy Valentine's Day! What a perfect time to
let folks know about a ballad book, with CD, entitled "50 Great Irish
Love Songs." The description is "The Irish are
great lovers, and these songs prove it! In this book you have all you need to
play and sing some of the greatest Irish love songs ever written - the lyrics,
guitar chords and simplified music score. And what a magnificent selection of
songs, from the haunting 'Danny Boy' and 'She Moves Through the Fair' to the beautiful
'Mountains of Mourne' and 'Rose of Tralee' and to the mischievous 'German Clockwinder'
and 'Maids When You're Young.' They're all here!" The item includes
all the lyrics, music score, guitar chords and chord shapes, plus CD with first
versus/chorus of each song. Also included are historical backgrounds and information
on the songs, where available. The folks at Music-Ireland
also have "130 Great Irish Ballads," and later this year will offer
"100 Favorite Irish Ballads." Definitely a site worth checking out while
munching on those Valentine chocolates! See Music-Ireland.com
•
• •
Feb. 06
MY PIECE OF OLD IRELAND
Does
your family have roots on the Emerald Isle, but no land? Well, now you have the
opportunity! The fine folks at "My
Piece of Old Ireland" are offering "The ultimate heirloom,
the ultimate gift." A family tree is planted in your name in beautiful
County Wicklow (known as the garden of Ireland) and the land can be yours for
all time, making for a wonderful heirloom. Folks in the U.S. will be interested
to know that they can see a feature about this on the PBS program "Out
of Ireland," most likely around May of 2004. From
the website: "The history of Ireland throughout the
centuries has had one common feature. The displacement of her People from their
land and the almost inevitable consequence... mass emigration. Indeed,
it has often been said that Ireland's greatest export has been her people. St.
Brendan, the navigator, could be considered the first of the Irish to land on
the North American shores. When Brendan set foot in this land (long before the
Vikings or Columbus) he was to be the first of millions of his fellow Irish men
and women to make their home in the New World. During the famine years
of 1845 to 1850 a million Irish came to North America. A further 6 million Irish
have come to the U.S. since those dark years. Today, a staggering 40 million Americans
claim Irish descent. Their contribution to American society has been immense.
Hard working and enthusiastic, they have embraced their adoptive home, rising
to the highest levels of political and economic life in America. Yet, even whilst
enjoying such success, there has always been a deep and urgent longing. No other
peoples have retained such a powerful connection to the land of their forefathers.
Perhaps it is as a result of forced eviction and centuries of injustice that the
spiritual bond between the Irish and the land of Ireland has never been broken."
My
Piece of Old Ireland offers those of the Irish diaspora to re-establish
a link with their homeland. For details, please visit the official website at:
MyPieceOfOldIreland.com •
• •
Feb. 05 MARIE
DUFFY MARRIES MICHAEL PASK
The choreographer who can
claim a great deal of credit for the success of Irish dance as world-class entertainment
recently stepped down the aisle in Dorset, England. Marie
Duffy wed Michael Pask
on Saturday, January 3rd, and the Celtic Cafe sends its very best wishes and congratulations
to the happy couple. Ms. Duffy's boss and close friend Michael
Flatley attended the wedding with his own lovely fiancee, Lisa Murphy,
as did numerous family and friends from the world of Irish dance. The accompanying
photograph is courtesy of the wedding photographer Courtenay
Hitchcock, of Courtenay
Photographic. See their official site at: CourtenayPhotographic.co.uk Ms.
Duffy's official site: MarieDuffy.com •
• •
Feb. 04 VICAR
STREET ADDS DATES FOR PLANXTY
Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Donal
Lunny and Liam O'Flynn have reformed legendary trad band Planxty,
and fortunate fans have had a chance to see several gigs at Vicar
Street in Dublin. Due to overwhelming demand, more shows have been added,
and in some cases it's standing room only. Planxty was one of the greatest Irish
folk/traditional groups in the pivotal decade of the Seventies, where along with
The Bothy Band, they fused traditional with folk and popularised it to a huge
new audience.
In 1971, folk singer Christy Moore gathered some musicians
- old school friend Dónal Lunny (bouzouki), uillean piper Liam O'Flynn,
and former Sweeney's Men multi-instrumentalist Andy Irvine - to work on his album
'Prosperous'. The foursome decided to continue working together, calling themselves
Planxty, and they released three albums before going their separate ways in 1975.
In 1979, they returned with 'After the Break'. Two more critically-acclaimed
Planxty records, 'The Woman I Loved So Well' (1980) and their final LP, 'Words
and Music' (1983) were released before they parted company for the second time. Last
October, the band spent time rehearsing in North Clare and performed at the Royal
Spa Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, leading to Planxty's "Third Coming." That
included recent gigs at the Glór Irish
Music Centre in Ennis, Co. Clare. Check Vicar
Street for February's gig dates at VicarStreet.com,
as well as Ticketmaster.ie For
details about the birth of Planxty, click
here for some great info at AndyIrvine.com.
• • •
To see our
Buzz for Nov. 6-Nov. 19, click here.
To
see our Buzz for Oct. 12-Oct. 31, click here.
To
see our Buzz for Sept. 14-Oct. 9, click here.
To
see our Buzz for August 26-Sept. 12, click
here.
To see our Buzz for August 3-12, click
here.
To see our Buzz for July 20-July 31, click
here.
To see our Buzz for July 6-July 19, click
here.
To see our Buzz for June 22-July 5, click
here.
To see our Buzz for June 8-June 21, click
here.
To see our Buzz for May 25-June 7, click
here.
To see our Buzz for May 11-24, click
here.
To see our first-ever Cafe Buzz items, click
here. •
• •
Feature: Bernadette
Price
Original Web Design: Alexander
Servas
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