SMITHFIELD FAIR coming to Blytheville NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT!

Our friends from Baton Rouge are playing the O'Susanna concert at THAT BOOKSTORE IN BLYTHEVILLE next Friday night at 7 PM.  it's just a short 75 miles and little over an hour, why not come on up?  I called, and tickets are $10, but none are sold in advance, so show up and have some fun with SMITHFIELD FAIR next Friday!

ClanJamFry Preview - Smithfield Fair

In my craziness, I forgot shoot video of them last weekend at CelticFest, but Smithfield Fair should be familiar to veteran ClanJamFry attendees; the Baton Rouge-based trio has appeared at ClanJamfry more than any other group.

They are Dudley-Brian Smith on guitar and vocals, Jan Smith on guitar, accordion and vocals, and Dudley's brother Bob on guitar and bass.

Enjoy!

Feel Good Friday!

Please enjoy this selection by Smithfield Fair from the Scottish Festival in Arlington, TX. "Long Ships" is always a crowd pleaser and encourages participation.


The Cracker & I are on the road to the North Texas Irish Festival today. We have a full weekend of good music, good food, good friends, good craic! Hope to see you there!

Feel Good Friday--Holiday Style!

In order to get you into the holiday spirit, here are our good friends Smithfield Fair singing "Deck the Halls".

FGF Celtic-Style

Okay, folks, get out your hankies. I've chosen Smithfield Fair's Greyfriar's Bobby, about a Edinburgh constable and his loyal canine companion.



This wonderful song is based on a true story.

Kulá & Tröen Tore It Up!

Kulá & Tröen were blazing last night at the Levitt Shell! If you missed the concert, boy did you miss out!

It was a beautiful night, just cool enough to be comfortable and to keep the mosquitos away. We brought our chairs and sandwiches to enjoy before the music started. It was a nice crowd, if a little sparse. When we arrived a little after 6 pm, the crowd was mostly familes who must have come for the earlier "Makin' Music Muscles" workshop. People started filling in as it got closer to 7 pm. It was a mixture of people in chairs or on blankets. Many of the folks with school-age kids left when the band took a break about halfway through the evening, but quite a few stayed to the end.

This group of musicians continues to amaze us! It seems like each time we see them, they get better and even more amazing. The music was a mixture of traditional tunes and their original music, which was mostly composed by the members of Tröen. Tröen is a group of 5--2 from Kula and 3 of their proteges. In this case the students are definitely pushing the teachers. While the larger group is fantastic, the smaller group is truly pushing the boundaries.

My only regret of the evening was that WindDance was not performing as well. I hope that the Levitt Shell will have them perform next time. The venue would be excellent for a dance show.

Speaking of which, I noticed on the Shell's schedule that the Memphis Youth Symphony and the New Ballet Ensemble are presenting "Peter and the Wolf" on September 27th at 5 pm. When I was a kid, we had a recording of this composition that was narrated by Captain Kangaroo (olay, so I'm dating myself). I would highly recommend this for anyone with children. It's such a wonderful presentation!

Keep in mind that Clanjamfry is this weekend! Rose Creek Village is hosting Village Fest next weekend, featuring performances by Smithfield Fair, in addition to Kulá and Tröen.

An Event-Full September!

The schedule is up for CelticFest Mississippi! Go here to plan your listening pleasure for the weekend. www.celticfestms.org/schedule.htm

If you can't get away, here are a few other options:

Sunday, Sept. 14 at 7 pm, Kúla is playing at the newly renovated Levitt Shell in Overton Park. This is part of a month of free music being offered at the Shell. For more information about the Levitt Shell or their schedule of events, go to http://www.levittshell.org/.

Sept. 19-21 is Clanjamfry: A Scottish Festival.
Friday (19th) Ceilidh
Saturday (20th) 5K Run, Faire, and an Evening Concert featuring Old Blind Dogs!
Sunday (21) Kirkin' of the Tartans and Dinner on the Grounds

The Faire offers games, dancing, vendors with crafts and food, children's area, sheep herding demos, Scottish Clans, and music from Kúla, Hooligans and Border Collies. For schedule and more information, go to http://www.clanjamfrymemphis.org/.

The Evening Concert with Old Blind Dogs should be absolutely wonderful! I saw them last September in Bethlehem at the Celtic Classic with their new line-up. Excellent! As a friend of ours said in introducing them, "They're not old; they're not blind; and they're definitely not dogs. And their music is good too."

If you are a fan of Kúla and other world music, you might enjoy their VillageFest on Sept. 27. There's more information about this event at http://www.rcvvillagefest.com/. I can tell you that Smithfield Fair will be there to perform. Other performers include the talented folks of Rose Creek Village Arts. Selmer is just a couple hours from Memphis, and worth the drive.

As some of you may know, the last weekend of September is also the Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, PA. This one of the largest Celtic Festivals in the US, gathering crowds of over 260,000 people and it's FREE! Of course, it is a little far afield. An excellent line-up usually makes it a worthwhile trip. Check their website for more information: http://www.celticfest.org/.

For non-Celtic music, check out the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival this weekend in downtown Memphis. http://www.southernfolklore.org/