Galway trio, We Banjo 3 selected to participate in Music Network’s unique professional development award programme

www.musicnetwork.ie

“We Banjo 3 are terrific. There really isn’t a better way to say it. Wonderful musicianship of the first order. Best of all, they are different.”

Bill Margeson, Irish Music Writer

Music Network is delighted to announce We Banjo 3 as awardees of Young Musicwide 2011, a unique professional development programme designed to support musicians in the early stages of their performing career. We Banjo 3 from Galway features Enda Scahill, Martin Howley and David Howley playing tenor banjos, mandolins, tenor guitars, guitars, banjolin and vocals. Playing with swing and soul, We Banjo 3 effortlessly combines the best of Irish and Bluegrass banjo music, mining the rich vein of the American Old Time tradition and thoroughly reinventing the banjo band sound. Modern rhythms, traditional melodies, virtuosic technique and innovative arrangements of music and song add up to an incredible feast of banjo and mandolin music.

Enda Scahill has been at the forefront of Irish banjo playing for some time and is highly regarded for his technical wizardry and innovative style. His debut album ‘Pick It Up’ is one of the top rated and largest selling banjo albums on the market. In 2010 he recorded ‘Green Grass Blue Grass’, a collaboration between Brock McGuire Band and Ricky Skaggs, an album which has been recognised as one of the most important collaborative recordings in many years. His album ‘Humdinger’ with Paul Brock was awarded Traditional Album of the Year by the Irish Times. In 2008 Enda published his Irish Banjo Tutor book and CD to rave reviews. He has been a member of the Brock McGuire band for over ten years. They were recently voted Instrumental Band of the Decade by Irish American News.
(more…)

www.altents.ie

South county Dublin’s foremost traditional and folk music festival, the Des Carty Sessions, presented by Alternative Entertainments Arts Group, is returning to venues around the south county this October for its 8th annual session.
(more…)

www.stephenleeson.com

Multi talented Irish Folk Singer Stephen Leeson officially launched his album “Isle of Hope” (2011) in O’Shea’s Merchant, Merchants Quay, Dublin on Tuesday September 13th at 9.30pm.
(more…)

www.sligolive.ie

NEW 3 STAGE SLIGO LIVE FESTIVAL CLUB TO BE THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL

PRESENTS

HAYSEED DIXIE
ODDSOCKS REVIVAL
THE BARLEY MOB
& FESTIVAL ARTISTS

The 3 Stage SLIGO LIVE FESTIVAL CLUB rocking the Model is a new concept this year.  This is the Model but not as we know it!  Each night the Club will feature performances on the 3 stages.  It will have a Main Stage in the Black Box with the seats removed and bopping to each night’s headline acts followed by DJ mixes.  A second Acoustic Stage in another room will be hosted by the amazing Billy Fitzgerald and featuring a selection of Festival artists you may have missed at other venues.  The lobby will host The Session Space anchored by Glasgow’s three Friel Sisters, and friends from all over Ireland and Scotland.  All of this will centre around a pop-up bar serving beer and wine at reasonable prices.  Tickets are priced very moderately continuing the Sligo Live tradition of giving good value for money.   The FESTIVAL CLUB will be the meeting place for all Sligo Live Festival Artists at the end of each day with many artists taking to the acoustic stage to perform a few numbers.
(more…)

www.pipers.ie

A date for your diary - A worldwide celebration of the Uilleann Pipes. Uilleann piping events are planned at a host of locations around the globe.

Na Píobairí Uilleann will be holding an international day of uilleann piping activity on Saturday, October 15, 2011 to promote awareness of and interest in the playing of the instrument.
This co-ordinated day of piping activity organised by Na Píobairí Uilleann, an association of uilleann pipers with over 3,000 members worldwide, is aimed at raising awareness of this iconic Irish instrument in local communities.
(more…)

October 5th

Bert Jansch has died in London aged 67, he had been battling cancer for many years. Jansch was active until very recently, he played support to Neil Young on his Twisted Road solo acoustic tour in the US and Canada in May of 2010 and followed this by an appearance with Eric Clapton at the Crossroads festival in June 2010. Jansch will be forever associated with the group Pentangle and the singing of Jaqui McShee. With Pentangle Jansch brought a unique and hugely influential guitar style to the folk music of the British club circuit in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
(more…)

www.christymoore.com

OUT FRIDAY, 28th October 2011

CHRISTY MOORE’S NEW ALBUM ‘FOLK TALE’ WILL BE RELEASED ON FRIDAY, 28TH OCTOBER 2011 ON THE COLUMBIA LABEL AT SONY MUSIC.

‘FOLK TALE’ is a mixture of tragedy, poetry and humour. “My Little Honda 50” is an ode to the impact of the Honda 50 on rural Ireland in the 80s. “Easter Snow” is a tribute to Seamus Ennis. “Farmer Michael Hayes” is the tale of an evicted farmer, a story which resonates with Irish history. “On Morecambe Bay” is the tragic story of the Chinese cockle pickers drowned for profit. “Weekend in Amsterdam” conjures up images of a wild weekend in Amsterdam – WILD!

One of the most compelling and inspirational musicians Ireland has ever seen Christy Moore has a universal fan base and still continues to entertain, cementing him as an Irish icon. It is his deep urge to connect with the listener and to transmit the meaning of the songs he sings that has endeared Christy to his audiences and helped to create and develop a faithful following that quite frankly alludes most other artists.
(more…)

www.returntocamden.org

The number 13 is thought to be unlucky, but in the case of the 13th Return to Camden Town Festival, nothing could be further from the truth. The line up of this year’s Irish traditional music and dance extravaganza in London is so strong that the answer to the question, “Who is headlining the Festival?” is debatable.
(more…)

- musical gatherings hosted by GAEL LINN
Bewley’s Café Theatre, Grafton Street
6p.m. – 8p.m.
( Doors open from 5.45p.m. )

TUESDAY, 25 October 2011
An evening with Mayo musicians
Julie Langan ( fiddle ) &
Verena Commins (button accordion)
in the company of Westmeath’s
Freda Nic Giolla Chatháin (harp)
– a real treat !

ADMISSION: €15 ( includes complimentary finger food )
Bar open/tea and coffee available
BOOKING ESSENTIAL ( LIMITED SPACE ! )
087/2547574