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:
A new page for Cafe Buzz items will appear approximately
every two weeks.
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 page of "newsy tidbits," click
here. • • • July
19 JEAN BUTLER
TEACHING AT MILWAUKEE SUMMER SCHOOL - AUGUST 10-15 Today's
Cafe Buzz item is related to yesterday's, but it's about the Summer School leading
up to the Milwaukee Irish Fest!
"Based on the continued interest in the festival, Irish Fest established
a summer school program at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. The summer
school, which provides a week of courses prior to the festival, offers a showcase
of workshops in Irish dance and music, crafts, lectures, Gaelic language instruction
and a historical overview of the Irish heritage for children as well as adults.
The school continues to draw hundreds of individuals from all over the world to
teach and participate in this annual favorite prior to the festival." One
of the instructors is none other than Jean
Butler, whose step dance classes are open to competitive Irish dancers
only. Those classes run Monday-Thursday, 10:30-11:45 a.m. Step Dance, Novice Level;
1:00-2:15 p.m. Step Dance, Open Solo/PC (class is full -- waiting list) and 2:30-3:45
p.m. Step Dance, Championship. Jean Butler's site is at JeanButler.com.
Click here
for more information and a downloadable brochure for the Milwaukee
Irish Fest Summer School. General information: IrishFest.com •
• • July 18
MILWAUKEE IRISH FEST - AUGUST 14-17 Smithsonian Magazine
calls the Milwaukee Irish Fest
as "The Superbowl of Irish Music." After perusing the website,
we would have to say that they're on to something! Click
here for the entertainment, spread across 15 stages over the four days,
which includes performers such as Altan, Leahy, Tommy Makem, Gaelic Storm, La
Bottine Souriante, Barra MacNeils, Slainte Mhath, Flook, The Cottars, Afro Celts,
Flook, Brigid’s Cross, North Cregg with Karan Casey, Charlie Piggott, Liz
Carroll, Tommy Peoples, Kim Robertson and many more!
Spirited steppers
Cashel Dennehy Irish Dancers, Glencastle Irish Dancers and Trinity Irish
Dance Academy will perform, while fest-goers can dance to the music of Barefield
Ceili Band, Public House Ceili Band and Toughlamore Ceili Band in the Sprecher
Dance Pavillion.
The Irish Fest Choir and the Omagh Community
Choir will partner for several performances. After touring on the east coast
of the United States for several days preceding Milwaukee Irish Fest, the choirs
will participate in an international youth exchange including an extended stay
in Milwaukee for Irish youth. “Irish and Irish-American music is very popular
with the younger generations, and that trend is reflected in some of the groups
coming to Milwaukee Irish Fest,” says Milwaukee Irish Fest Executive Director
Jane Anderson. “All of the members of the Barefield Ceili Band, the
Omagh Community Choir, The Cottars and our own Irish Fest Choir are still in their
teens. They’re very talented and a lot of fun to see.”
“More
than 50 groups will be performing at Irish Fest this year, so there’s a great
blend of contemporary, traditional, folk and rock music,” adds Ward. “There’s
really something for everyone to enjoy.” We'll be bringing
coverage of the festival to the Celtic Cafe, but in the meantime, see the official
Milwaukee Irish Fest site at IrishFest.com
•
• • July 17
KEREM GOGUS - VIRTUAL ART We have in our Celtic Cafe community
a young man who has been sharing some of his art, created through the influence
of Celtic-inspired music -- such as that of Enya,
Anúna and Secret
Garden! Kerem Gogus
has just created a lovely piece (Gloria
Mulhall, seen on the right) because of his passion for the music of Rua,
the duo who is no stranger to the Celtic Cafe! We're big fans, and soon will have
the latest feature on them here at celticcafe.com. One can hear their music at
RadioCelt.com, and also samples
at their website, RuaWorld.com. A
full MP3 track of Fill a Rúin Ó can be heard in our original
Celtic Cafe feature... click here. Meanwhile,
peruse Kerem's fantastic work at his website: virtuallegacy.netfirms.com •
• • July 16
TONDER FOLK FESTIVAL - Denmark, August 28-31 "Like
folk festivals used to be..." So it says at the official Tonder
Folk Festival site, and judging by this year's line-up, those must have
been some great folk festivals! The festival is organized by the Tønder
Festival Foundation with three full-time employees and a staff of 1700 volunteers!
On Altan's official site (Altan.ie)
they have a listing of festivals that they play at, and the notation by the Tonder
entry is "Is there a better festival than Tonder in Europe?"
This year's performers include: Riverdance;
Altan; Eileen
Ivers and Immigrant Soul; Oysterband & The Big Session; Eddi Reader; Wolfstone;
Liam O'Flynn & The Piper's Call Band; Karan Casey; Plainsong; Chip Taylor
& Carrie Rodriguez;) Shooglenifty; Slàinte Mhath; The Paperboys; Flook;
Blazin' Fiddles; David Francey; J.P. Cormier & Dave Gunning; Cara Dillon;
Niels Hausgaard; The Deep River Quartet; Chuck Brodsky; April Verch; Colin Reid;
Boo Hewerdine; ULC; Corquiéu & Anabel Santiago; Haugaard & Høirup;
The Cottars; Ron Kavana & Brian McNeill; Danny Thompson; John Spiers &
Jon Boden; Jens Lysdal Trio, sp - just - frost; H.P. Lange & Troels Jensen;
Les Haricots Rouges; Phønix; Zar; Neanders Jazzband; Studerende fra det
Fynske Musikkonservatorium.
They even have camping available
near the festival grounds! Check the official site -- www.tf.dk
-- for more information and updates to the artists' roster by clicking
here.
• • • July
15 NIAMH PARSONS TOURING
NORTH AMERICA If you live in one of the cities on Niamh
Parsons' latest tour in North America, or even if you have to make a special
effort and travel to see her, don't miss out on the opportunity to hear this incredible
voice LIVE. She's one of the finest Irish singers of her generation. "Niamh's
passion for singing blossomed naturally into a penchant for collecting songs.
She is always on the lookout for songs, new and old, that speak to her - listening
to new albums, scouring the Traditional
Music Archives in Dublin, sharing notes with a network of friends and
other singers. Once she discovers a song she likes, Niamh views herself as the
vehicle for the music. 'For me the song is more important than listening to my
voice,' she says. 'I consider myself more a songstress than a singer - a carrier
of tradition.'" Click
here to listen to her latest album, Heart's
Desire, in RealAudio -- scroll down the page to the "Listen"
link. She won the AFIM 2003 Indie Award for Heart's Desire, produced by Dennis
Cahill, and it was named "Female Vocal Album of the Year"
by the Irish-American News. That voice lends itself extremely
well to three songs on a beautiful new CD, "Contradiction," by
Fromseier Rose, who have been
the subject of a recent Cafe Buzz item. Click
here to see that, and check out Ditte and Michael's website at FromseierRose.com
-- there's no doubt you'll be hearing more about this CD -- it's a winner!
Niamh's
tour started last weekend at the Winnipeg
Folk Festival and continues today in San Jose, California and moves back
up the West Coast to British Columbia, where she will be performing at the Vancouver
Folk Music Festival. The folks there are "celebrating 26 years of
presenting the world's finest traditional and contemporary folk and roots music."
The site is at thefestival.bc.ca
Niamh will also be performing at the Calgary
Folk Fest on the 26th and 27th of this month. Niamh's
official site is at NiamhParsons.com
See the Green Linnet tour
schedule for many more dates by clicking
here, and mark your calendars! She's the real deal! •
• • July 14
FIONA RITCHIE NOW HEARD "IN" THE AIR, NOT JUST "ON" THE AIR! Kudos
go out to the folks at Hemispheres,
the magazine of United Airlines, who asked
Fiona Ritchie, of NPR's "Thistle
and Shamrock" program, to host part of the "Rhythms of the
World" audio channel (see her playlist below). Those sounds, along with
her commentary, are available this month on United's 777 aircraft not only in
the U.S., but around the world, helping to commemorate the 20th anniversary of
Fiona's great radio show. Award-winning Editor Randy
Johnson has an in-depth interview with Fiona in this month's Hemispheres
about Celtic music, and why it appeals to so many of us. Click
here for the online version of it, where it is also revealed that we can
look forward to her book in the Spring of 2004 -- entitled "The NPR Curious
Listener's Guide to Celtic Music." Fiona says in part, that "Celtic
music really is a window onto something very old and very real that speaks to
people as no other art form can. There is nothing quite like folk music, because
it explores the intimate nature of everyday life and celebrates the trials and
tragedies of regular people. The history books talk about huge movements of people
and powerful individuals. They don't always speak for the common person. And that's
something that I think is very worth preserving." Fiona also speaks about
the impact that modern technology has made upon the ability for artists to record
their own music. Her answer to the interviewer's question "What do you think
of the widespread use of the umbrella term, 'Celtic,' for this music?" is
most intriguing... read her answer at Hemispheres.com! "Hemispheres
is the Greensboro-based inflight magazine of United Airlines and the United States'
most award-winning airline publication. It is the current holder of the 'Folio
Editorial Excellence Award' as the United States' best airline magazine. Hemispheres
has also been named the United States' best travel magazine, and has won national
journalism awards in competition with Newsweek and other major magazines. Hemispheres
is the only inflight magazine ever to win a James Beard Culinary Journalism Award.
In 2002, articles from Hemispheres were honored in compilations of the nation's
best fiction and travel writing." We are very pleased that Randy Johnson
has done some coverage for us about the Grandfather
Mountain Highland Games... feature coming soon. Meanwhile, check out his
very interesting article about the musical traditions of the Blue Ridge Mountains
area for the Charlotte Observer by clicking
here. He mentions Fiona Ritchie there as well, and her listeners know
that she divides her time between North Carolina and Scotland! So
what are some travelers listening to IN the air this month? The musical line-up
Fiona chose for the United Airlines audio channel is as follows: Sult
Theme: Donal Lunny with Nollaig Casey; Turning Away: Dougie
MacLean; The Wild Goose: Kate Rusby; Waves of Rush/The Duke
of Fife's Welcome to Deeside /Touching Cloth: Tabache; Tá
Sé 'na Lá (It Is The Day): Cathie Ryan; The Earl of
Hyndford/Open the Present: Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, and Edgar
Meyer; Sail On: Dick Gaughan; The North Sea Chinaman/The Linguist:
Easy Club; Two Waulking Songs: Tha Mulad, The Fadachd, Tha Cnàmh Orm/Chuala
Mi'n Dè: Maggie MacInnes; An Irishman in Brittany/A Breton
in Paris: Moving Hearts; Forfar Sodger/Trip to Skye/The Bridie:
Old Blind Dogs; The Curra Road: Karan Casey; and The Cockerel
in the Creel: Capercaillie Fiona's "Thistle and Shamrock"
radio program site is at: npr.org/programs/thistle/index.html Randy
Johnson's personal site is at RandyJohnsonBooks.com
-- where one can find information about travel books he's authored, including
the area around Grandfather Mountain! What a help in planning a trip to attend
the 2004 Highland Games in this gorgeous part of North Carolina!
•
• • July 12
CATSKILLS IRISH ARTS WEEK - July 13-19 East Durham, New
York, as it says on the east-durham.org
website for the 2003
Irish Arts Week, does indeed seem to be the place to be on the third week
of July! Artistic Director Ged Foley invites us to "...grab your instrument,
your dancing shoes, your throat lozenges and your alarm clock and join us for
a great week of playing, singing and dancing!" Ged Foley (member of Patrick
Street and a former member of both the House Band and the Battlefield
Band) has brought together a staff of 42 world-class musicians from Ireland,
England, and the United States that includes Seamus Connolly, Mary Bergin,
Jackie Daly, John Carty, Tommy Keane, Paddy O'Brien, Patrick O'Dea, Billy McComiskey,
Tommy Peoples and Mike Rafferty among others. Click
here for the instructors' page for more, along with links to their websites.
After classes each day, students and teachers alike attend concerts, dances and
sessions throughout the town of East Durham in more than a dozen pubs and restaurants
along Rt. 145 and the week ends on Saturday, July 19th with the Traditional
Irish Music Festival on The Cultural Centre festival grounds with music, dance,
crafts, food and beverages all day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Both students and teachers
participate in music and dance in the pavilion and under tents. For much
more information, including about the Laverty Cottage with the thatched roof and
the plan for an Irish village there called Ballygreene -- the only Living
Irish History Museum in the country -- go to the website at:
east-durham.org
• • • July
11 BERNADETTE
FLYNN AND DAMIEN O'KANE It's official! Two of our favorite
leads from Lord of the Dance
will be dancing down the aisle together, and we wish Bernadette Flynn and
Damien O'Kane every happiness! The announcement of their engagement was
just made at the LordoftheDance.com
website -- and we have an earlier romantic story about this oh-so-talented young
couple.
Click here to read it at our MIKEroCosm.
Click here
for the Celtic Cafe's tourdates for LOTD Troupe 1. Congratulations
and Best Wishes from the Celtic Cafe, Bernie and Damien! •
• • July 10 JOHN
WHELAN AND THE MIDSUMMER NIGHT SWING The
Midsummer Night Swing at the world-famous Lincoln
Center in New York City is an annual event featuring different kinds of
dance, and tomorow, Friday, July 11th, those in the area don't want to miss the
opportunity to "Jig, reel, and waltz to button-accordion virtuoso John
Whelan, his longtime bassist Tom Wetmore, and an ensemble of young
talented players accompanied by special guest banjo player Eric Weissberg."
The dance lessons start at 6:30 p.m. and beginners and experts alike can dance
away the evening. Click
here for all the details at the Lincoln Center site and check John's website
for a slew of Celtic festivals he'll be at this summer.! John
Whelan is so special an artist that rather than try to encapsulate his
talents and contributions to Celtic music in such a short "Cafe Buzz"
item, we encourage you to check out his most impressive biography by clicking
here. John (seven time All-Ireland
Champion on the button accordion) was our Featured Artist of the Month
at the Celtic Cafe in March of 2001, when we did a photo caption contest... the
results were a hoot! Click
here to see the pics and the winning captions. By the way, folks who saw
that great Folger's Coffee commercial
featuring Irish dancers should know that you heard John Whelan there! John
is involved in organizing special events as well, and has set up Whelan
Entertainment to help put together shows and manage artistic talent. We're
particularly interested in learning more about his Purely
Irish Tour (still in the planning stages) in 2004! Contact him through
his official website at JohnWhelan.com We
may not all be in NYC on Friday to catch John live, but we are absolutely delighted
that along with music samples at his website, you can hear that incredible talent
on Internet Radio -- check out RadioCelt.com
• • • July 9 THE
GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES - July 10-13, 2003 Held
every year, the second full weekend in July, near Linville, North Carolina amidst
spectacular mountain scenery, the Grandfather
Mountain Highland Games is the largest assembly of clan society members
in the world. Scottish-Americans, Scotch-Irish Americans, Scots and would-be Scots
converge each year on two rock-strewn pastures, known as MacRae Meadows, in the
shadow of the tallest peak in the Blue Ridge chain, the 5,964-ft. Grandfather
Mountain. Attendance figures have soared to between 30,000 and 40,000 from a start
of approximately 1,500 in 1956. The Games were started as a one-day event, but
have since been extended to three days of traditional entertainment and competitions.
Read more about the Games by clicking
here. Alasdair
Fraser is but one of many great Scottish additions to the entertainment
line-up. Click here
for the page listing all the musicians. What's particularly exciting is that the
official GMHG site has for sale a DVD of the Celtic Jam at the Highland Games
in 2000. The groups included are Guitar Express with Colin Grant Adams; Ed
Miller; Slainte Mhath; Celtic Soul; Full Moon Ensemble; Clandesdine; Bad Haggis
and Seven Nations. Learn much more at the Grandfather Mountain Highland
Games official site: gmhg.org
•
• • July 8 PADDY
KEENAN AND NINE FINE IRISHMEN Oh, there's some serious
craic happening on the Las Vegas strip right about now! The folks behind the authentic
Irish pub called "Nine Fine
Irishmen" flew over King of the Pipers Paddy
Keenan and other traditional musicians to help inaugurate the launch at
the New York-New York Hotel and Casino...
familiar to many in the Celtic Cafe community as the former home of Lord
of the Dance. Odd name for an Irish pub? Inspired by a group of nine extraordinary
Irishmen in the 1800s who led lives of great adventure and achievement, the "Nine
Fine Irishmen" were Thomas Francis Meagher, Governor of Montana and
Brigadier General, US Army; John Blake Dillon, Brigadier General, US Army;
Richard O'Gorman, Governor General of Newfoundland; Thomas D'Arcy Magee,
Member of Canadian Parliament, Minister of Agriculture; John Mitchel, prominent
publisher and politician; William Smith O'Brien, author, Principles of
Government; Patrick O'Donoghue, author Irish Exile; Terrence Bellow
McManus, leader of Liverpool Irish and Charles Gavan Duffy, Prime Minister
of Australia. These Irishmen solidified their places of honor in not only
the history of their own country, but in the histories of the United States, Canada
and Australia. Their story is one of great adventure, fueled by the political
upheaval in Ireland that sent them on their incredible journeys around the world.
Click here for
the information about these stalwart gentlemen at the Nine
Fine Irishmen website. “Our goal was to make it genuinely
Irish – in bricks, mortar, food and entertainment,” said Thomas J.
McCartney, Sr. Vice President of Marketing for New York-New York. “Nine
Fine Irishmen will be a place to relax, have fun and enjoy the Irish spirit and
camaraderie.” It will also give visitors the chance to sample the diverse
regional specialties that Ireland has to offer. The menu is a collaboration of
nine of the finest chefs from great restaurants across Ireland, under the direction
of noted Executive Chef Kevin Dundon. Each chef will provide their signature
dish using only the best of Ireland’s natural foods and the freshest ingredients,
and will reflect everything from pub favorites to the more sophisticated cuisine
of the country’s various regions. Naturally all manner of authentic Irish
drink will be flowing in the 9,000 square-foot establishment that can seat up
to 350 people, including outdoors, overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. Uniquely
Irish song, dance and storytelling will blend with late night entertainment at
the pub that features modern dance club music mixed by Ireland’s best deejays.
Considering that Cirque du Soleil's "Zumanity" will be opening
in the vicinity very soon, I think that we can expect a tremendous number of folks
checking out the food, drink, music and craic at Nine Fine Irishmen, and hopefully
delving further into "Celtic culture" as a result. The folks
behind this pub have made a great start by inviting Paddy Keenan to help kick
things off! See our feature on him at the Celtic Cafe by clicking
here. Paddy's site is at: PaddyKeenan.com
and the Nine Fine Irishmen
site is at: NineFineIrishmen.com
-- the Celtic Cafe wishes the Pub every success!
•
• • July 7 THE
GALWAY FILM FLEADH - July 8-13, 2003 Tomorrow begins six
days of The Galway Film Fleadh,
an international film event held every July in Galway, the westernmost point of
Ireland. (Next stop after Galway is Boston!) First and foremost, it is a film-makers
festival offering the best world cinema. Besides Master Classes for Directors
(Abbas Kiarostami, Anthony Minghella, Walter Salles, Michael Winterbottom,
Stephen Frears, Arthur Penn, Jim Sheridan, Mira Nair) and Actors (Donal
McCann, Aidan Quinn, Gabriel Byrne, Woody Harrelson, Colm Meaney), it is also
Ireland's only film market. The Film Fair invites top financiers from America
and Europe "to interface in a structured environment with producers who have
projects in development." Click
here for the page at the Galway Film Fleadh website to see the focus on
the Irish films, including one that Jean
Butler has an acting role in, Goldfish
Memory. One of the most interesting offerings at the Film Fleadh
is an acting Master Class led by none other than Pierce Brosnan... who
although perhaps best-known for his role as James Bond, has earned many
new fans here as a result of his Irish Dreamtime film Evelyn.
Click here to see our special feature
about that. The official site for the Galway Film Fleadh is at: galwayfilmfleadh.com •
• • July 6 A
TOUCHSTONE FOR THE TRADITION: The Willie Clancy Summer School The
Willie Clancy Summer School has been at the heart of Irish traditional
music for over three decades, and musicians come to Miltown
Malbay from all over the world in early July to take part in workshops,
classes, recitals and concerts. "The crowded main street echoes with a plethora
of languages and dialects, the bars are full to bursting point, and the sounds
of hornpipes, jigs and reels fill the summer air." Named
for one of the greats of Irish music, the Willie Clancy Summer School (known locally
as "Willie Week")
each year offers a line-up of talented musicians... click here for the
Miltown Malbay official site for Willie Week (July 5-13) to learn more about who,
what and when! This year something very special indeed is
taking place there... the official launch of a book about Willie Week!
With remarkable black-and-white photos by Tony
Kearns, and text by Barry Taylor, it's entitled "A Touchstone
for the TRADITION: The Willie Clancy Summer School." This book is "an
evocation in pictures and words of this remarkable community of Irish music enthusiasts.
The text explores, describes and assesses the musical rise of Miltown Malbay;
the origins of the Willie Clancy Summer School and its development over thirty
years; the teaching of traditional music and dance, and the contribution of the
School to traditional music." See many of the truly special
photos that Tony Kearns has taken, at his site: TonyKearns.com
-- where you can also get all the details about the book. The official Miltown
Malbay Tourism site for Willie Week is at: miltownmalbaytourism.com/willieclancy •
• • Read the first-ever Cafe Buzz items by clicking
here.
Read the second page of Cafe Buzz items by
clicking here.
Read the third
page of Cafe Buzz items by clicking
here.
Read the fourth page of Cafe Buzz items by clicking
here.
Read the fifth page of Cafe Buzz items by clicking
here.
Feature: Bernadette
Price
Original Web Design: Alexander
Servas
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