October

New October Songs

/ mrbaxteria2008 / Leave a comment

New music from Rachael McCormack and Cheers!

The exciting month of October is here! So how’s everyone? I am starting to bring out my Halloween decorations. I hope you are enjoying your time embellishing your houses with creepy and eerie goodies. This month is exciting because lots of music have arrived. And you will read about them soon. First of all let me showcase my own Halloween thingy:

So what do you think about that picture? Anyway, like I have mentioned exciting musical things are coming. Take a look at this wonderful soundcloud page by Czech group Cheers! The have new music up and watch out for these tunes via soundcloud as well as their official page.

The exciting month of October is here! So how’s everyone? I am starting to bring out my Halloween decorations. I hope you are enjoying your time embellishing your houses with creepy and eerie goodies. This month is exciting because lots of music have arrived. And you will read about them soon. First of all let me showcase my own Halloween thingy:

mrbaxteria's goodies.

mrbaxteria’s goodies.

So what do you think about that picture? Anyway, like I have mentioned exciting musical things are coming. Take a look at this wonderful soundcloud page by Czech group Cheers! The have new music up and watch out for these tunes via soundcloud as well as their official page.

Their new tunes retain that Celtic punk spirit but they always add new things to the mix.

 

 

 

Our Irish chanteuse is making waves in the music scene! Rachael McCormack has a new video out. It is an uplifting tune with a nod to the flower power spirit. It is called Stand Up, Be Counted [Ft. Deanie]. Ms McCormack has earned her star as she worked for it, starting her career performing live all over Dublin. Karma has been kind to her as I can see she in on her way to stardom. She keeps me updated and with that I will keep you all updated about her.

 

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But what is Autumn without the spirit of Celtic music huh? Here’s Loreena McKennitt for you with The mummer’s Dance.

Scoil Cheoil na Botha(7th Annual Traditional Irish Music Festival)

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Scoil Cheoil na Botha

 Scoil Cheoil na Botha is here!!!

So I just got off from a skype interview with Dónal McCague who recently won the TG4 Young Musician of the Year and the award was presented by trad legend Matt Molloy of The Chieftains. I think it is quite an achievement because it is rare to get an award like that.

The skype interview will be available in my radio show on the 12th of October. Donal is down to earth and pleasant to talk to. I think this is also due to the fact that he teaches traditional music to aspiring artists. Like the festival I am writing about.

It’s going to be a big week for lovers of traditional Irish music as something exciting is happening. It is called the  Scoil Cheoil na Botha, the 7th Annual Traditional Irish Music Festival. This event is happening in the 11-13th of October 2013 in Scotstown, Co. Monaghan. It will feature artists like Laura Beagon (fiddle), Fionnuala Rooney(harp), Gerry Murray (piano accordion), Darren Breslin (button accordion), Stevie Dunne (banjo), Rona Denkin (concertina), Tommy Fitzharris (flute), Monica Beagon-Treanor (traditional singing), Maire Nic Thaidhg (cohmra gaelige), Michael McCague (bouzouki/guitar) and of course Donal McCague!

If you are near the venue please drop by and experience great traditional music. Also make sure you look at the poster carefully for instructions.

For past videos, here’s the youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ScoilCheoilnaBotha

For the official website: http://anbhoth.ie/

October Rising

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 4 Comments

Hi CMFs!  The month of October is going to be exciting because there will be more music . As the cold season sets in and there are less sunlight , there are people who get moody. Wanna hang out with me? Wanna have a walk on the foggy side? Just listen to my lists of bands and you will know what is it to be in this mind.

To be honest, it’s been more than two years when I set this site up, but whenever I face the screen and start to touch the keyboard, I still don’t feel that confident. I have done interview with musicians-which is easy because I know the formula. But doing something in between. Like covering music or writing a feature is something else.  I don’t want this site to be too ‘academic’ not too informal. I also don’t want this to be just a blog where I confess my sins. I want this to be a lot of things. But I really don’t know what to expect after typing away and sending my message in a  bottle.

I have been moody all day which explains why I have been away from facebook. If I am there all I’d do is post sad songs and that is not helping either. It’s just something in me that I can’t explain when the season is in transition.  There is a risk involved though. I don’t know how many friends are going to be put off by this. It’s the dark months-ah wonderful mysterious time of the year.

My friend Fiach Moriarty is releasing an album and he needs your help. Please go ahead and listen to his songs by visiting his website and his facebook page. I made an interview with him which i enjoyed so much. Fiach is truly a hard working irish musician and he deserves the love:

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Fiach Moriarty-Be a part of my second record

Location
In Studio
Created by:
More info
About a year ago I signed up for www.slicethepie.com, a site where you upload your tracks and allow other members to rate them. If, after a certain period of time, your songs are rated above 75% you qualify for a showcase. I was lucky enough to qualify and got to choose an amount to raise from other members to record my second record. I opted for €3000 which translates as $4000 according to the people who run the website. You can pledge as little as $5 or go up to $500. In exchange for this there are a list of treats such as free gig tickets, signed copies of album, your name on the album sleeve, free download of all tracks on slicethepie.com and more. If the target is not hit, everyone that supported will get a full refund. Check it out here:
http://backstage.slicethepie.com/artist/fiach

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Caladh Nua at ChristChurch Waterford

One of those traditional Irish bands I love to follow. Be part of their performance:

Time
01 October · 20:00 – 23:00
Location
Created by:
More info
See http://www.caladhnua.com/christchurch.pdf for booking information

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Moya Brennan, Cormac De Barra LIVE VOICES & HARPS, Liffey Bank Sessions

Ah yes the First lady of Celtic music is promoting her latest album and please please do check it out because it’s worth your money and time. Now is the time to promote Celtic music because I noticed the decrease of sales due to the popularity of mainstream music. So get off your coaches lazy bears and go out there on the street and do your souls a favor by supporting and promoting these artists I mention here.  Yes Moya and Cormac will uplift your spirits.

Time:11 October · 20:00 – 23:00
Location:The Grand Social
Created by:Moya Brennan
More info
Moya and harpist, Cormac, continue their series of extraordinary performances.


The Craic in Cape Breton.

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 5 Comments

October 8 is the date to watch out for!!!

I received another Newsletter from Celtic Colors International Festival. It looks like we have a lot to look forward to in our way to Cape Breton. Ah the lads and lassies are gonna be making sweet music ’till the wee hours of the morning again.,..

Ok let me copy and paste everything here so that you will know in detail what’s up:

14th Celtic Colours International Festival begins October 8th!

Ticket sales brisk as music lovers grab chance to come home to Cape Breton.

We’re celebrating ‘home’ this year at Celtic Colours welcoming back Cape Breton artists like Rita MacNeil and Bruce Guthro, and longtime festival friends like Irish fiddler Liz Doherty and Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser.

Other names who will be familiar to Celtic Colours’ audiences include Scottish guitar whiz Tony McManus; Prince Edward Island singer-songwriter Lennie Gallant; Irish flute player and Gaelic singer Nuala Kennedy; Irish-American guitarist-singer-songwriter John Doyle; Donnell and Erin Leahy from the popular Canadian family band Leahy; Acadien group Vishten; and Cape Breton’s own rising stars, The Cottars.

Special concerts will also pay tribute to tradition bearers, celebrate the music of Brenda Stubbert, and see Festival favourites Beòlach reunited.

Visit our website to read all about the hundreds of returning artists and new friends we’re welcoming home in 2010!

Three creation projects showcase exciting new collaborations

We see our festival as much more than a venue to experience music that is already available. Culture is a living, breathing thing that matures and evolves over time. We believe it is our role to facilitate the composition of new music and bring together artists who can collaborate and create music together.

For many years now Celtic Colours has supported creation projects and in 2010 we have three projects underway. In each case the new music will be showcased in a concert toward the end of the festival. The process of composition is assisted more this year by technology, which allows the artists to work together via the internet leading up to the festival.

Our Artists in Residence are taking the lead on two of the projects: Tunes gu leòr, and Making Songs: A’ Dèanadh Òran while the third, Roots to the Future, features a crop of young, cutting-edge songwriters and tunemakers.
Catriona McKay and Chris Stout

Tunes gu leòr

The Gaelic “gu leòr”–meaning: many, much, plenty–is actually the root of the English word “galore” which means, well, basically the same thing. In Cape Breton, where the Gaelic still has relevance as a basis for some of the most traditional music of the island, it is only fitting to recognize this connection to the past.

Saturday, October 9th at the Wagmatcook Culture and Heritage Centre Tunes gu leòr Volume I will mark a beginning, a meeting of artists who are working together to create new tunes. Artists in Residence Chris Stout and Catriona McKay are working with Troy MacGillivray, Andrea Beaton, Colin Grant and Nuala Kennedy in the months leading up to the Festival to come up with some new tunes together. On Friday, October 15th at the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay Tunes gu leòr Volume II will showcase what their collaborations have produced. This concert will also feature Chris and Catriona, backed by a string orchestra, playing some newly composed tunes from their latest album White Nights.

Chris and Catriona are so excited about the project they’ve produced a video inviting everyone to come celebrate the Tunes gu leòr collaboration.
Goiridh Dòmhnallach

Making Songs: A’ Dèanadh Òran

When songs and tunes are composed in Cape Breton we say they are “made”. That goes back to the earliest Gaelic settlers, many of whom didn’t read music and may not have been able to write down their creations. They passed them down orally and often “made” them as gifts for friends and loved ones. One of the consequences of the decline in Gaelic speakers is that very few new songs are being “made” in the language. This concert is the result of a project we have undertaken to encourage the creation of new Gaelic songs and poetry.

Artist in Residence Lewis MacKinnon is both a poet and a songwriter. He is guiding this project along with Cape Breton songwriter Goiridh Dòmhnallach and Gaelic singer Mary Jane Lamond. Across the ocean in the highlands of Scotland, the band Meantime is actively writing and recording new songs. Working together via very modern technology, the two groups have been collaborating on new songs to share with us. They have also been working with new Gaelic speakers from the North Shore who want to preserve the songs from their area. Supporting the singers will be instrumentalists Chris Stout and Catriona McKay and Rachel Davis. Special guests T with the Maggies will show us how Irish Gaelic songs are thriving in their capable hands. This one is history in the making.

Read more about Making Songs here.
Carmel Mikol

Roots to the Future

This concert is the result of a special collaborative project that looks at how Cape Breton’s young cutting-edge songwriters use our traditions in their contemporary work. The project pairs up songwriters with composers and has them write new songs based on traditional tunes and vice versa. Each of these young artists is a performer and composer in his/her own right. They cover a wide variety of musical styles from traditional fiddle music to very contemporary rock and pop.

Songwriters Steven MacDougall, Carmel Mikol, Carleton Stone and Fiona MacGillivray have paired with tunesmiths Colin Grant, Ryan J. MacNeil, Rosie MacKenzie and Rachel Davis and have been working together all summer and we can’t wait for the results.

Read more about Roots to the Future here

See the future of our traditions at The Archie Neil Stage

Archie Neil Chisholm was a man who recognized the importance of the next generation’s role in keeping traditions alive. To many young musicians he played an important role in the development of their performing abilities, making sure that young players were included in the lineup of local concerts and square dances.

The Archie Neil Stage features up-and-coming fiddlers, guitarists, pipers, singers, and stepdancers, will take place in the Greenwood United Church in Baddeck on Monday, October 11, Tuesday October 12, and Wednesday, October 13 at 3:00 pm. Following the show there will be a traditional Session.

To participate contact Yvette for an application: yvette@celtic-colours.com or (902) 562-6700.  Deadline for applications is September 15.

Festival goers save with the Celtic Colours Friendly Businesses program.

Friendly Businesses across the island provide visitors with information on Festival concerts, community events and more. They also offer a 15% discount in their shops and restaurants to those who present a Celtic Colours ticket stub when making a purchase. Friendly Businesses are identified by a large banner or sign and a “Friendly” sticker in entrance windows. This list of participating businesses can be found in the 2010 Festival Program, Map Guide and on our website

Purchase tickets by phone, online or at our box office!

Purchase online 24/7 at: www.celtic-colours.com

By Phone: 1-888-355-7744 (toll free in North America)

At the Box Office: Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion, 74 Esplanade, Sydney (head for the Big Fiddle). Our Box Office and phone lines are open Monday-Saturday 9am-5pm ADT.

If phoning to reserve tickets we ask that you have your wish list and a valid credit card handy. We accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express for all phone and internet orders.