Friday, May 29, 2009

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Fiddlin', No Foolin'

Brian McNeill.

What else can I say? The man is a legend! Founding member of the Battlefield Band, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and singer. He can be as traditional as they come, then turn around and rock the place down! In a festival setting, Brian may start off playing solo, but soon the stage is buckling from the musicians joining him. Some of my favorite moments at festivals involve Brian McNeill.

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Friday, May 8, 2009

Feel Good Friday - Celtic Style

This week, I'm going back a bit, to Cathie Ryan with Cherish the Ladies. The Cracker and I have had the immense pleasure of hearing Cathie live at festivals and concerts. She is truly a wonderful singer and makes you feel like you're in an intimate environment, even when it's a huge hall. My favorite venue to see her in was at the Celtic Classic, in the Icehouse. Man, what awesome acoustics! Plus she had the full band with her.

Unfortunately, I only heard about the set the evening before. It was Seamus Kennedy's set, but he was joined by Ed Miller, Cathie Ryan, some former Clandestine members (this was right after they took a break) and a few others for a great big sing-a-long. I cannot remember what group I was listening to, but I'm sure it was equally great.

Anyway, here's Cathie Ryan: