Folk centre

Well, you can do one of two things, I suppose. You can sit tight and let it come to you or you can get yourself a passport and follow it around.

As some of the country's best bands get ready for the annual exodus which will see them play anywhere except Ireland on Paddy’s Day we can expect to see them blowing kisses across airport transfer lounges at the crowd flocking in.
One man who doesn’t grace Irish stages as much as he might is Kieran Halpin but he’s planning to put that right with a ten date tour that kicks off in Portadown on the 1st March and takes him to to Ballyferriter via a few more populous locales. Audiences in Limerick and Galway will not be neglected as they get their shot before proceedings come to a conclusion in Mother Redcaps in the Dublin foray on March 13th. Full details are to be found on www.kieranhalpin.com

Scullion said goodbye to their happy hunting ground Mother Redcaps with a gig there on the 18th February and now that that ghost has been laid to rest we might expect to see something of a Tir na nOg revival as Sonny Condell and Leo O’Kelly continue to dust themselves down and get fit for the fight. With the classic eponymous first album available for quite some time now and selling steadily it was fitting that Beat Goes On decided to re-release the bands two other studio albums ‘A Tear And A Smile’ and ‘Strong In The Sun’ as a double set. Always quirky in their approach, the duo have been flying under the radar with some low key live appearances but there is definitely something bubbling under there and a resumption of greatness would seem probable as the year moves forward.

Heading down the travelator in the opposite direction will be Dervish and Lunasa as both bands hit the US for extensive tours including a couple of double headers – so if you have a valid passport and a bundle of cash you could do a lot worse than get yourself across to BB King’s New York club for what promises to be a rare night on March 2nd. Both bands have extensive touring commitments this year and in fact Dervish have already packed in visits to China (with the Taoiseach thank you very much – and yes he does listen to the album in the car!), Luxembourg and a seven date jaunt around Ireland. Having field tested the thermals in sub-zero Beijing, they’re well prepared for Alaska where they’ll be winding up their US blitz with a show in Anchorage.
Teada got a head start and their US tour is already well under way and continues until late in March.
Other exodees are heading, like Grada and Four Men and A Dog, for Europe as the continent braces itself for Green Beer Day. Flook will be among the bands plying their wares in Europe as part of an extensive tour. Funny to see that they have been together for ten years now, they have that new kids veneer but there is an assuredness to their playing that reinforces how long they’ve worked together.
Still, if you’re stuck here, have your turf all dug and you’ve been barred from the local for vicious use of a concertina then you could have a quiet night in with a few good records. Top of the pile would have to be Paul Brady’s new offering. Never one to disappoint ‘Say What You Feel’, written and recorded in Nashville, is a particularly strong collection of songs. The album was recorded for Compass Records in the US which is home too to Dervish and Lunasa. The label’s commitment to good Irish acts has helped create an awareness of Irish music in Nashville where there is a growing receptiveness to Irish acts and a tacit acknowledgement of the strength and quality of the label’s Irish signings.
Paul Brady also guests on a track on the new album by ‘The Duhks’, one of Canada’s best kept secrets. Featuring a blistering instrumental line-up and the highly distinctive voice of Jessica Havey, the Duhks have carved out a healthy following in North America and it can only be a matter of time before their particular charms start to make people sit up and notice over here.
With albums imminent from Altan and Solas there should be no shortage of quality recordings this Spring. The second edition of the Rough Guide To Irish Music has just appeared and features pretty much everyone you would expect: Altan; Lunasa; Dervish; Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola as well as a few more idiosyncratic choices such as Helen Roche’s take on ‘As I Roved Out’. For the most part the choice of tracks is a little left of centre so the pitfall of producing another identikit Irish folk or trad compilation has been avoided. Although a lot of the tracks will be in your record collection already there is enough out of the way material to justify the asking price and as an introduction to those unfamiliar with what’s going on in Irish folk and trad at the minute this album will definitely hit the mark.
Also on the horizon from Clo Iar Chonnachta is ‘Within A Mile Of Kilty’ an album featuring a panoply of talent including Ben, Charlie and Maurice Lennon, Seamus Quinn, Brian Rooney and John Gordon all from fiddle, Ciaran Curran on cittern, Gabriel McArdle on concertina and Frank Kilkelly on guitar.
Later in the year the Meitheal Trad Summer School 2005 will be offering a chance for traditional performers to soak up some top class tuition with fiddle players Maurice Lennon (Stockton’s Wing, Ragus) and Tom Morrow (Dervish) along with Harry Bradley and Michel Sikiotakis on flutes, Tim Collins (Kilfenora Ceili Band) on concertina, Marcus Moloney on banjo and Fergal O Murchu (Ragus) on squeezebox. This year's school will take place from July 18th – 22nd on the outskirts of Limerick and will be an intensive experience.
One of the most vital sources of traditional tunes and folk songs has been the Travelling community and no-one perhaps epitomises this strand of the tradition more than Pecker Dunne. With a career spanning more than half a century he played a defining role in the folk revival of the early '60's, collaborating with the Dubliners and Luke Kelly as well as Margaret Barry, who, like himself travelled from place to place performing at fairs, race meetings and social gatherings – anywhere where he might find a ready audience.
This life has now been recorded in Micheal O hAodha’s book ‘Parley Poet And Chanter – A Life of Pecker Dunne’ which was launched in the Irish World Music Centre of the University of Limerick on the 18th of February with a rare appearance by the man himself, aided and abetted by staff and students from the IWMC.