Written on 17 October 2016
By Michael
in Celtic music, Concerts, Irish music
Indigent Row provide Celtic Progressive Rock, and Irish Trad Fusion. Get up off your arse and dance!
Indigent Row will play at The Barrel, 1710 29th Street, Suite 1048, Boulder, Colorado 80301, from 5-8 pm for the Grand Opening of their Boulder location.
Indigent Row are Liam O’Beirne (tin whistle, bodhran & vocals), Jennifer Lee (fiddle), Jesse Mitchell (bass, guitar, mandolin, & vocals), and Joe Nicholson (drums). Indigent Row injects energy and passion into music both centuries old and newly conceived, remaining true to the traditional Irish tunes while breathing fresh life into all that they play. Meter shifts, alternative harmonies and driving rhythms are the cornerstone of their approach as they nimbly dance the line between traditional and progressive music, blending rock, funk, jazz, folk and Celtic styles to make the songs their own. Combining original compositions with their own arrangements of traditional music, the band’s performances weave Celtic session tunes with songs of heroes and thieves, saints and scallywags, damsels and flea bitten tramps, breaking the rules and delighting their audiences.
Written on 13 October 2016
By Michael
in Celtic music, Concerts
Jerry Barlow will captivate you with his outstanding mastery of the Celtic fingerstyle guitar.
Jerry Barlow will be performing this Saturday (October 15th) at the beautiful Georgetown Heritage Center in Georgetown, CO. It’s worth the trip just to see what has been done with the restored Georgetown School Building, and check out all the cultural education going on there. Location is 809 Taos St.
The music will be great, too. For the first time, Jerry will be presenting selections from his just-released album, VOYAGE OF HOPE. This is his fifth album, and he says he thinks it’s his best work so far.
The concert is to benefit the Friends of the John Tomay Memorial Library in Georgetown. We will get things started at 7:00 and tickets are $15.00 at the door.
Acclaimed Celtic fingerstyle guitarist Jerry Barlow is a virtuoso musician, a warm and accessible performer, and a world-class storyteller. His repertoire is composed of a synthesis of traditional music from the British Isles and his own original Celtic-inspired compositions.
Barlow’s music transports the listener across time and space on an imaginary journey to a rustic Irish fishing village or the misty Scottish Highlands or an enchanted English forest. In concert, Barlow brings the songs alive by sharing the history, legend and
humor behind the music. His expressive arrangements have been described as “music to soothe the soul, warm the heart, and lift the spirit.”
Written on 9 October 2016
By Michael
in Celtic music, Concerts, Events, Irish music
The ever talented Beth Gadbaw will be joined by some excellent musical friends in December.
Renowned bouzouki player Roger Landes will perform three shows with singer Beth Gadbaw in his first Colorado visit since 2012. Visit bethgadbaw.com to purchase tickets or to find out more about upcoming shows in Denver, Allenspark, and Boulder.
November 4, 2016 (Friday) 7 p.m. The Old Gallery in Allenspark, 14863 Peak to Peak Highway, 303-747-2906. With Roger Landes on bouzouki and Sandra Wong on fiddle.
November 5, 2016 (Saturday) 8 p.m. Swallow Hill, 71 E. Yale, Denver CO. With Roger Landes on bouzouki and Sandra Wong on fiddle. Tickets $12-$16 on sale now.
November 6, 2016 (Sunday) 1:30 p.m. Concert Series at Nevei Kodesh, Boulder CO, 1925 Glenwood Drive, 303-443-4567. With Roger Landes on bouzouki and Sandra Wong on fiddle.
Described by The Redstone Review as “a Celtic angel…with all her heart in it,” and by Sing Out! as “lovely, with a light, bouncy energy…her voice often acting as an instrument in itself,” folksinger Beth Gadbaw grew up singing harmonies with her triplet sisters in a musical household in Western Colorado. Gadbaw came of age singing in Irish pubs and English folk clubs, and is a former Fulbright scholar and award-winning singer and teacher. She lives in Lyons, Colorado with her husband and two daughters.
Well-deserving of accolades for Gadbaw’s singing and songwriting skills, Gadbaw’s debut solo album The Green Fields and the Mountains High is a compelling collection of traditional and original songs in English and Irish Gaelic. Some tracks, including the lively opener The Birds in the Spring, are richly accompanied by guitar, fiddle, and Gadbaw’s rhythmic bodhrán drum. Irish flute and Celtic harp also make appearances throughout the record. Other tracks, in the old Irish style known as seán nos, are sung acapella. Gadbaw’s own Thomas Watsonis a captivating guitar-driven ballad taken from the letters of her New York Irish grandmother’s great uncle, who came to Montana via Troy, New York from Ireland during the Great Famine. Another Gadbaw original, Grania’s Song, is a bold, beautifully melodic, anthem-like homage to Irish Pirate Queen Granuaile, and is accompanied only with bodhrán and hand claps.
Beth Gadbaw’s music can be heard on RTÉ’s Raidió na Gaeltachta and Radio 1, as well as on Colorado Public Radio, Folk Alley, and more. She performs as a solo artist, with high-energy traditional band Take Down the Door, and ethereal Celtic harp and vocal duo Gadbaw & Krimmel.
Of ZoukFest founder and director Roger Landes, Celtic Heritage Magazine said: “Not only is Landes helping to legitimize the instrument — he is taking it to a whole other level.” Roger took up the bouzouki in 1981 and quickly set about learning Irish tunes, playing tenor banjo, mandolin, bodhran and uilleann pipes; as well as co-founding the popular Celtic band Scartaglen. When that group disbanded after a decade, he decided to concentrate on exploring the melodic capabilities of the bouzouki. His critically acclaimed CD Dragon Reels is the result of his work mastering the intricacies of Irish traditional music. Since releasing Dragon Reels in 1997, Roger has produced several recordings for other artists, performed in a duo with singer Connie Dover and recorded The Janissary Stomp, a collection of mostly original duets for two bouzoukis with folk and roots musician Chipper Thompson. In 1998 and 1999, he hosted the first international gatherings devoted to the Celtic bouzouki, “ZoukFest, ” in Weston, Missouri. Late in 1999 he relocated to Taos, New Mexico, where he maintains a busy schedule performing, producing, composing and organizing ZoukFest. Roger appeared in and contributed to the soundtrack of the 1999 film Ride with the Devil, directed by Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). He has appeared on the National Public Radio shows Mountain Stage and A Prairie Home Companion. In April 2001, his music was featured in a PBS documentary, Last Stand of the Tallgrass Prairie. In October 2002, Roger joined Galician piper and Chieftains alumn Carlos Nuñez in his first US tour, and in December of that year he toured in a trio with Irish fiddle phenom Frankie Gavin (De Dannan) and harmonica virtuoso Rick Epping (Pumpkinhead). In April of 2004 he had the pleasure of accompanying legendary Irish fiddler Tommy Peoples (Bothy Band) for a week of concerts during Tommy’s first visit to New Mexico.
Written on 2 October 2016
By Michael
in Celtic music, Concerts, Events
Angus Mohr broght their own brand of Highland Rock and Roll to Oktoberfest in Arvada.
Yes, that’s the way it was billed. “Irish Oktoberfest.” Hosted by Odyssey Beerwerks in Arvada, the event kicked off the month of October in style. Angus Mohr (“Highland Rock and Roll”) are always entertaining, and this night was no exception. Always fun to see people in jeans mixed with people in kilts or lederhosen.
Odyssey made a really nice Märzen beer for the event, a traditional brew made in spring and stored in cool caves until harvest time. Several patrons also spread the praises of “Clan Warrior” a strong Scotch Ale that won gold at the 2016 World Beer Cup.
Angus Mohr revitalizes traditional Celtic music’s brogue with an American blues accent while rejuvenating rock ’n roll’s broad spectrum with bagpipes and pennywhistles. No one is ever going to mistake Angus Mohr for a cover band. Sure, they play songs like “Foggy Dew,” the 1916 Easter Rising ballad, and “Whisky in the Jar,” a sixteenth century tale of love and betrayal, and their set list is peppered with songs penned by Dylan, Pink Floyd, Johnny Cash, and the Ramones. But you’ve never heard “Ring of Fire” or “I Wanna Be Sedated” until you’ve heard it with the pipes’ spiraling keen.
Angus Mohr’s piper, Matthew McDaniel, plays penny-whistles, guitar, and keyboards–sometimes all in a single song. He also shares lead vocals with bassist and frontman Paul McDaniel. Drummer Steve Mossholder takes a turn at the mic as well, lending his tawdry rasp to “Drunken Sailor” and Flogging Molly’s “Devil’s Dance Floor.” Michael Aggson wields his guitar with precision and grace.
Written on
By Michael
in Celtic music, Concerts, Irish music
Wild Mountain entertained the faithful at Clancy’s Irish Pub Saturday night.
The brainchild of Mike Nile and Renee Fine, Wild Mountain describe their music as “Greengrass,” apparently some kind of Irish/Bluegrass fusion. Whatever you call it, they’re improving all the time. Mike and Renee are extremely talented musicians in their own right, and the band has been adding more original music to their repertoire, without losing the Irish standards that have become favorites among their fans. They’ve also been featuring Sarah Jones on vocals more and more, and this lady can really belt out a song. With David Potter on banjo, guitar and vocals, and Dave Sweeney on bass, the sound gets even better, driven by the talented drumming of John Ware.
The thing I noticed more and more on Saturday night was that the group is coming together in a really nice way. They obviously spend a lot of time in rehearsal, and their timing and harmonies show it.
If you get a chance to hear Wild Mountain, do it. It’s a driving, entertaining sound you will enjoy.
Written on
By Michael
in Celtic music
Michael Thompson, Denver’s Celtic Music commentator.
As many of you know, I was the Denver Celtic Music Examiner from 2009 until Examiner.com folded. Since then, I’ve been working on a new medium for news and events in the Celtic music scene in Denver and the Front Range. Well, here it is. I intend to post notices and upcoming events about performances, concerts, album releases, and any news of interest to the Celtic music community, as well as reports and photos from live events such as concerts, festivals, etc.
If you are an Irish, Scottish, Welsh, or other Celtic performer, musician, band, or the like, please notify me of your events. The more details you can supply, the better. “We’re happy to be playing at such and such a pub, please come out.” is not really sufficient for a news story.
Please also direct any questions, comments, or the like here as well, using the contact form at the left. And thanks for being part of the Celtic Music Community!
