All advertising is free till May 1st 2008. Please contact Webmaster@CraicOn.com

Moville Traditional Music Festival in Feb

Posted Friday, February 23, 2007

 E-mail this page    Printer-friendly page

Moville Traditional Music Festival

The 2nd Moville Traditional Music Festival will take place on the weekend of the 23rd / 24th of February.

Four pubs have been selected to host it this year, Rosatos, Rawdons, The Aqua Bar (Eggman) and The Foyle Hotel which will double up as the main place where the visitors will be accomodated.

It seems that 16 traditional musicians have been booked for the four pubs, with four playing in each. Other musicians are welcome to join them - bearing in mind that these are top class musicians.

Stacked Out

Last year was very popular, when the town of Moville was stacked out with visitors to the Traditional Music Festival.

You couldn't possibly pick a worse month to hold an event and yet the Moville pubs where the 'action' was taking place were filled to the rafters.

It wasn't even well advertised, with no stories or ads beforehand in the Derry Journal or Inish Times.

Word of Mouth

It was all word of mouth amongst the Traditional Music community with many arriving from the UK and from all over Ireland.

So, one wonders what would happen with a bit of publicity.

The traditional music was on all day in the pubs selected last year.

Being traditional music it was all unplugged, i.e. without amps etc.

Good Time

Both visitors and Moville townies moved around from pub to pub to 'sample' the music from the different bands.

There were also a number of guest folk singers and players.

It sounds as if this is going to be a great regular event in Moville.

So, Who is Playing?

Here are some of the Traditional Music players that will be playing at Moville's Traditional Music Festival in February,

Sean Fitzpatrick- Guitar

Sean Fitzpatrick played at the Gig'n The Bann.

Noel Ryan - Guitar

He toured worldwide as guitarist with Danu. His style lends itself particularily well to laid-back music. When required to fire on all cylinders however, he can energize the music and give that bassy rythmical drive which gets the audience off their seats.

Noel is from Tour, Co.Tipperary and comes from a very musical background.

With an older brother and sister (Murty on accordeon and Breda on banjo) both accomplished and well known musicians, it was inevitable that he would follow in their footsteps and he began playing the guitar some years ago.

Totally self-taught, but with many influences (especially Arty McGlynn), he has a style of accompaniment which lends itself particularily well to laid-back music.

When required to fire on all cylinders however, he can energize the music and give that bassy rythmical drive which gets the audience off their seats.

A quiet man on stage, Noel appears to be the serious introvertive type, but is actually the life and soul of the band on the road.

He keeps the band sane with his wry sense of humour on long and tiring tours abroad and in his spare time, he is a keen sketch artist and composer of tunes.

Dave Sheridan - Fiddle

Dave plays for Geantrai who played the Festival of Intangible World Heritage in Tokyo.

Michelle Powderly - Fiddle

Michelle also plays for Geantrai and also played the Festival of Intangible World Heritage in Tokyo.

Marcus Maloney - Banjo

Banjo player Marcus Moloney is an East Limerick man.

He has toured the U.S., Australia and Europe with various bands. Marcus' distinctive style is unique and his dexterity amazing.

He has appeared on several albums and is held in high esteem for his imaginative, percussive improvisational style.

Marcus is in huge demand for his flambuoyant technique and eclectic repertoire of foreign and Irish material.

He made his debut with the Brian Roebuck Band in 2004 joining the band for a series of Luke Kelly tribute concerts in Ireland and the UK which turned out to be a huge success.

Brendan Hendry - Fiddle

Brendan plays with the White Hare band from Co. Derry along with Jim McKee (guitar, vocals) and P.J. McDonald (whistles).

This Northern Irish trio describe themselves as "from the heart"

They won the prestigious Danny Kyle award at Celtic Connections in 2006.

Here is what the site Fiddle Workshops said of their success.

It was good to see an Irish contingent amongst the winners this year. The White Hart Band travelled to Celtic Connections especially for the opportunity to play the Danny Kyle Open Stage.

They have the distinction of being the first group from Northern Ireland to win the Award

The White Hare Band is made up of Brendan Hendry on fiddle, Jim Mc Kee with guitar, and harmonica and PJ Mc Donald on whistles, with Jim and PJ adding vocals.

They hail from Derry and Tyrone. These three session musicians came together playing music in Hayden’s Bar, Pomeroy.

This band are somewhat longer in the tooth than most of the finalists, but they are deeper in experience.

Well known in Ireland, and having played individually with most of Ireland’s top musicians, it took a long time in coming, but they finally got together to produce a unique sound.

Very much in the Northern Irish tradition they ‘tend to pick out old standards and favourites, but put a new face on them.’

Their sound which stretches from the haunting to exhilarating, playing tunes and singing songs they have learned from the generation of men and woman who came before them, and who helped them plot their course.

Since forming, they have played numerous local festivals and their electric performances have gained them bookings elsewhere, and an increasing fan base.

The band has performed at the Galway Arts Festival, where they packed a ‘serious punch.’ Describing their music as ‘from the heart’, they champion traditional style playing, clearly seeing them selves as part of a long standing tradition.

The White Hare Band champion both song and tunes and deliver a rapturous and infectious performance.

The band were particularly noticed at the 2005 GigN The Bann Festival when they appeared on the Ann O Brien tribute Stage.

Brian McCart chairperson of GigN The Bann said ‘It is a great achievement for The White Hare Band and I hope this award will bring them future success. Maybe their success will also help raise the profile of GigN The Bann festival!’

Kevin Ryan - Flute

Originally from Crewe, Kevin Ryan now plays most of his music in Quin, Co. Clare.

On alternate Saturdays you can often hear Crewe exile and flautist extraordinaire Kevin Ryan showing off his pride and joy (his flute) along with one or two other guest musicians sometimes Josephine Marsh, sometimes Tola Custy and sometimes others.

On Wednesdays, flautist Kevin Ryan is aided by Box player John Lyons with fiddler Pat Mullins at the Monk’s Well (formerly Power’s bar) for a very good session of traditional music.

 

Carmel O'Dea (Celtic Fiddle)

Carmel O'Dea, famous fiddler from County Clare, Ireland, often sits in with The Blair Band while they are on tour in Ireland and occasionally joins them in the U.S. as well. Carmel has established a name for herself at a young age.

She has played with numerous Celtic giants like Tommy Peoples of The Bothy Band and The Chieftains.

Gerard Thompson - Guitar

Gerard Thompson from Lurgan, Co. Armagh, plays guitar for the Tennessee Hennessees.

Traditional music afficionados may remember Gerard from the Dusty Millers days.

The Henessees play hard-driving bluegrass, with original instrumentals and interesting song choices.

Also Added

Also added late on, on fiddle Ruari O'Kane and Geraldine Clancy, on flute Jim Lawlor and Desi Adams, on box Tom Lawlor and Damien McKee and on banjo Stevie Dunne.

More Info

For more information look here Moville Music