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Well, it's 2001 and time for me
to do my "Space (filling) Odyssey" for the Jan-Feb program
guide.
A decade ago, most Americans experience with
things Celtic was limited to mispronouncing the word as the name of
Boston's NBA franchise. Then came Riverdance and the resulting
frenzy for all things Irish/Celtic. I think the new Millennium
heralds a return to normalcy, and in a way that's a relief. The
traditional music has gained some new fans that will stay devoted as
it returns to its more comfortable, less glitzy format. Perhaps we
can all get back to enjoying the simple pleasures of Celtic folk
music. There most certainly have been changes in instrumentation and
style, but that's only appropriate. Traditional music always has and
always will be in a state of transition as it most properly should
be!
In that light, we've signed up some of today's
most skilled performers of this music to continue our series of
Celtic benefit concerts. On January 5th, Jez Lowe and the Bad
Pennies will return to the Wilde Auditorium. Patrick Street make
their second trip to the University of Hartford's Millard Auditorium
on March 1st, a pre-St. Patrick's Day treat for us all. A week after
the "big holiday", we present a unique event for your
enjoyment, a triple bill of Celtic musicians including Scotland's
Old Blind Dogs, the Niamh Parson's Band from Ireland and Irish
American fiddler Liz Carroll and her band. On June 1st, we'll
present Cherish the Ladies, complete with all their dancers on the
larger stage of the Millard Auditorium. You may recall their
memorable but scaled down performance in the Wilde Auditorium a few
years ago.
Tickets for all these shows went on sale in early
November '00, reserve yours soon by calling the University Box
Office at 1-800-274-8587 or 1-860-768-4228.
Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies are from
Northumberland, an area on the Scottish borders. Jez plays guitar,
cittern and harmonica while singing in a fine, clear, tenor voice.
Band mate Judy Dining chimes in with a lovely pure soprano and plays
keyboards and percussion as well. Her fellow Bad Pennies include
Billy Surgeoner on fiddle, whistle, keyboards and backing vocals and
Simon Haworth on bass and keyboards. Together, they sing and play
with a luminous spare ness and emotional directness that rises above
the trendiness of Celtic music of the late 1990's and harks back to
the wild heart of the tradition.
Surprisingly, most of their material is not
traditional but instead
springs from the fertile mind of Jez Lowe, "the best songwriter
to come out of the UK in a long time" according to no less an
authority on such matters than the revered Richard Thompson. Jez's
songs sound traditional, but it's a new tradition he's making up as
he goes along. Often, it's hard to tell when he's stopped singing
traditional songs and started on his own self-penned material! It's
a skill to be treasured. Like the best of the tradition, these are
songs full of ironies, pathos and practical jokes. Perhaps his
greatest strength is conveying the reality of ordinary lives.
He's becoming a grand master of songwriting, his
talents recognized by more and more artists eager to cover his
material. This growing list includes The Black Family, The McCalmans,
The Dubliners, The Tannahill Weavers, Fairport Convention and Gordon
Bok.
I hope you'll come to the Wilde Auditorium on
January 5th to hear first hand what all these well known bands have
already recognized, the songwriting genius of Jez Lowe.
We're very fortunate to be able to present Irish
"super group" Patrick Street on March 1st. These elder
statesmen of the Celtic folk revival have been together long enough
that they'll be introducing a "Greatest Hits" album on
this tour.
Andy Irvine, vocalist, bouzouki, mandolin and
harmonica player began his folk career with the band Sweeney's Men
then became a founding member of Planxty, one of the most famous
bands of the early Irish traditional revival. He and band mate
Johnny Moynihan, from Sweeney's Men, are credited with introducing
the bouzouki to Irish music.
Other now legendary Irish folk bands sprang up in
parallel with Planxty, including the Bothy Band, DeDannan and the
Battlefield Band from Scotland. Sadly, the Bothy Band disappeared in
the mid 1980's, but DeDannan and the Battlefield Band continue to
evolve and are still thrilling audiences all over the world to this
day! Founding members of these bands now grace the Patrick Street
lineup. From the Bothy Band we have fiddler Kevin Burke. Jackie Daly
was the original button accordion player for DeDannan. One of the
earliest Battlefield Band lineups included the talents of Ged Foley
on guitar, vocals and Northumbrian smallpipes before he moved on to
form The House Band.
With such a wealth of talent and experience on
stage at one time, it's no wonder that Patrick Street is still one
of the most popular bands on the Irish folk music circuit today.
Avail yourself of this unique opportunity to see some of the best,
up close and personal, in the Millard Auditorium, March 1st at 7:30
pm.
There will most certainly be further additions to this
schedule of
concerts for the first half of 2001. To stay abreast of what we're
offering, add your name to the Celtic Concert Mailing List by
returning the coupon on this page. Better yet, tune into Celtic Airs
every Tuesday from 6:00- 9:00 am for all the latest developments in
our concert series.
Copyright©WWUH: July/August Program Guide, 2000 |
