Tony DeMarco: The Sligo Indians Tony DeMarco’s fiddle is something of a modern legend in the New York City traditional Irish music scene. His new CD, The Sligo Indians, demonstrates why with several lively reels, jigs, some heart-wrenching slow airs and a polka just to maintain that twist on the tradition that DeMarco has become known for. Born in 1955 and raised in East … [Read more...] about Music Reviews
Music
The Maestro: Kenneth Montgomery
Santa Fe Opera House is truly one of the wonders of the world. Perfectly situated on a mesa a 30-minute drive from historic downtown, and offering breathtaking views of the Jemez Mountains to the west and the Sangre Cristo Mountains to the east, its state-of-the-art design – open at the sides and back of the stage – allows not only great comfort and acoustics, but also glimpses … [Read more...] about The Maestro: Kenneth Montgomery
Andrew Strong: Life After The Commitments
It is difficult to think back to the Irish film The Commitments without remembering the stunning vocals by Andrew Strong playing the character Deco Cuff, the lead singer in the film’s eccentric Dublin band. At the ripe age of sixteen, Strong began filming the drama based on a novel by Roddy Doyle. His distinct voice quickly became associated with the most memorable scenes of … [Read more...] about Andrew Strong: Life After The Commitments
Frankie Gavin Back with De Dannan
De Dannan, along with The Bothy Band, Planxty and The Chieftains, is one of the seminal super-group Irish traditional bands that started up in the heady days of the 1970s and have powered along in various incarnations to this day. Hailing from Spiddal, Co. Galway, and originally made up of Frankie Gavin on fiddle, Alec Finn on bouzouki, Johnny “Ringo” McDonagh on bodhrán and … [Read more...] about Frankie Gavin Back with De Dannan
The History of the Clancy Brothers
As Liam Clancy remembers it, being asked to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show did not seem like a big deal. “We just did not understand the significance,” he told Irish America in a recent interview, during a publicity tour to promote a brilliant rerelease of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performing live at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in 1963. Two years before that … [Read more...] about The History of the Clancy Brothers