Spring fever

It comes hot and heavy this weekend at the Cobblestone, where Gael Sli get the party started on Thursday February 9, fresh from their assault on the world’s music business in Cannes, where they played during the MIDEM international showcase.
Na Bac take care of business on the evening of Friday 10 and Peter Mulvey blows in from the USA for the evening of Saturday February 11.
Martin Donohoe was honoured late last year with what amounted to the award for being the most enthusiastic player on earth and it cemented his reputation as one of the country’s most fervent champions of traditional music.
Therefore, it’s fitting that, when his new album is launched at the Cavan Crystal Hotel on Friday March 10 as part of the NYAH festival, he’ll be joined on stage by possibly the largest collection of musicians ever to huddle together under a set of lights.
Amongst the impossibly long list of guests on the night will be Frankie Gavin, Tim Edey, Brendan Larrissey and Fintan MacManus.
This will be the focal point of the 2006 festival which takes place throughout the months of March and April in Cavan. An early highpoint of what is a packed-to-the-teeth programme will be Seamus Fay and special guest, former Mama’s Boy Pat McManus on fiddle and guitar, in the Farnham Arms Hotel on Wednesday March 8.
Friday March 10 sees an after midnight folk club kick in. I dread to think what state the devotees will be in by the time morning comes around ( there’s a lecture, ‘On Tradition’, at 11am the next day!).
The afternoon of Saturday 11 sees an ambitious programme of one-on-one instrument masterclasses getting underway. Singing workshops will be available with Mattie-Jó Shéamuis Ó Fátharta, Aoife Murray, Stephanie Makem and Seamus Fay.
There will be a piano workshop with Padraic O Reilly, a banjo workshop with Kieran Hanrahan and a fiddle workshop given by Seamus Creagh.
The festival, which runs until March 18, also has events in Belturbet, Maudabawn, Killeshandra and Virginia, so everyone gets a fair crack of the whip.
The climax of activities is the awarding to Antoin MacGabhain of the NYAH Hall of Fame accolade, which takes place on the evening of March 18 at the Ramor Theatre in Virginia and which will hinge around a gala concert featuring a host of performers.
When Darren Maloney released his critically acclaimed debut album Who? in November 2004 he was the first tenor banjo player to record using a Deering banjo.
Late last year he became the first Irish tenor banjoist to be endorsed by the prestigious California based Banjo Company.
The endorsement raises him to the ranks of artists of the calibre of Béla Fleck, Garth Brooks, John McEuen, Roy Clark, Joe Satriani, Keith Urban and the Oak Ridge Boys.
Over in Dundalk, meanwhile, the Spirit Store is going from strength to strength with an encouraging number of shows selling out well in advance.
With Derek Turner having helped so many musicians get a foot in the door, either live in the Spirit Store or in his Tumbleweed Studio, it must be gratifying to see them returning the favour.
There are still tickets available for a huge array of great shows and as the next couple of months lean fairly heavily towards rootsy acoustic music Dundalk is becoming a bit of a musical sweety shop.
The Guggenheim Grotto come to town on Friday February 10 as part of a jaunt round Ireland which will serve to warm the band up for their trip to the US in March.
Guest on the night will be Marc Cullen’s Pony Club in a rare-as-hen’s-teeth acoustic performance of tracks from his forthcoming album.
February 17 sees Colm Quearney weave a little bit of magic with support on the night from the debonair Tadhg Cooke whose set was one of the high points of the No Room At The Inn charity gig in Whelans just before Christmas.
On Sunday February 19 the hugely infectious Liam O Maonlai will be playing material from his Rian solo album, with perhaps a few good time tunes thrown in as well – he does like to keep the crowd happy!
There’s also a trad session downstairs earlier in the day. Given his love of trad it would neither shock nor stun anyone to find the Hothouse Flowers frontman taking that in before he heads off to get ready for his own show.
March brings some of the best performers in the country to the Spirit Store with Sean Keane in on Saturday March 11 and Frankie Gavin following close on his heels on Sunday 12.
Once again you’ll be able to warm yourself up for that one with the afternoon session featuring Philip Hickey, Aine McGeeney and Henry McDonald.
St. Patrick’s night will be a chance for the good people of Dundalk to live it up in the company of hometown boy Stewart Agnew, who never fails to ignite the crowd.
He’s been fairly quiet recently, so there could be some new songs. With two great albums worth of tunes already under his belt, the north east’s answer to Springsteen won’t be short of material.
One of the country’s best troubadours Roesy will be paying a midweek visit on Tuesday March 21 and the Saw Doctors round out the month with an appearance on Thursday March 30.
Gemma Hayes and Rodrigo Y Gabriela are also performing at the Spirit Store but tickets for both shows are long gone.
Rod and Gab’s Dublin date on February 19 is also sold out, but they have added an extra show on April 2nd.
With the eponymous Rodrigo Y Gabriela set for release on February 17 and a slew of tour dates on the David Gray rollercoaster under their belts Ireland’s favourite imports look like they’re going to move up a gear with this release.
Putting heavy metal, jazz and flamenco through the blender, they’re one of the very, very few acts to have more or less invented a fresh genre of music. Having wowed the crowds at Glastonbury, they seem set now to open up new audiences all over Europe with licencing deals in the offing in a number of territories.
Friday 10 February also sees John Spillane in town for an evening at the Green Room venue in the Holiday Inn on Pearse Street. Always unmissable, so what more can I say – don’t miss it!
Prison Love are shaping up to be a fine example of what the US calls a good time band and they’ll be proving their worth in Whelan’s on February 11.
The amazing Buddy Miller will be there Friday 17 in what should be an early contender for gig of the year.
If you don’t fancy a trip to Dundalk then you should catch Liam O Maonlai in Whelans on Monday February 20. The following Monday sees the launch there of the latest solo offering from the Kila camp.
This time it’s Eoin Dillon’s turn to step up to the mark with the enigmatically titled ‘The Third Twin’. I’m sure that, in the best Kila style, the event will be as much a party as a gig and the stage will probably get fairly full as well. Should be mighty.