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MUSICAL PERFORMERS 2008 |
LIZ CARROLL and DAITHI SPROULE |
Liz Carroll Since she was 18, when she astounded the Celtic music world by winning the Senior All-Ireland Championship, Liz and her fiddle have been amazing audiences around the globe. Her recordings and appearances on concert stages, television and radio, have established Liz as one of traditional music's most sought after performers. "lost in the loop," released in 2000, won Liz new fans around the world, as it garnered an Indie Award and Liz being named Traditional Performer of the Year. But it is Liz in concert that has entranced audiences throughout the States, and also in tours of Ireland, Europe, and Africa. In 1994, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Liz a National Heritage Fellowship for her great influence on Irish music in America, as a performer and a composer. Daithi Sproule Dáithí Sproule of Derry, whose first group was the legendary Skara Brae, has lived for many years in Minnesota. He is one of Irish music's most respected guitar accompanists, and one of the first guitarists to develop DADGAD tuning for Irish music. He is also a fine singer in English and Irish. Dáithí has performed and recorded with two highly influential traditional music trios: Bowhand (with James Kelly and Paddy O’Brien) and Trian (with Liz Carroll and Billy McComiskey), as well as providing accompaniment for recordings by Tommy Peoples, Seamus and Manus McGuire, Liz Carroll, Paddy O’Brien and others. |
Andy M. Stewart Called one of Celtic music's most gifted singers and arguably the best songwriter in the entire folk tradition, Andy M. Stewart has been delighting audiences with his music and humour for more than 3 decades. Born in Perthshire, Scotland, he first drew the attention of the music world with his work as lead singer and instrumentalist for Silly Wizard, with whom he toured until their break-up in 1988. |
Gerry O'Beirne Born in Ennis, County Clare, along Ireland’s music-rich west coast, Gerry O’Beirne is a renowned singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (6 and 12 string guitar, tiple, and ukulele, slide guitar among others). Gerry grew up in Ireland and in Ghana in West Africa, and has since lived in England, California, and Mexico. Gerry’s own compositions blend the passion found in traditional music with the freshness of contemporary song. |
ANDY M. STEWART and GERRY O'BEIRNE |
ED MILLER Ed Miller has been hailed as "one of the finest singers to come out of the Scottish Folksong Revival" and as "one of Scotland's best singing exports." Originally from Edinburgh, he has for many years been based in Austin, TX where he gained graduate degrees in Folklore and Geography at the University of Texas. |
SILVER THISTLE PIPES & DRUMS Austin's own Silver Thistle finished 7th in the Grade 3B contest at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Their smashing finish included a 5th (in the world!) from ensemble judge T. Dear! |
DOC GRAUZER Thomas “Doc” Grauzer is a self-taught harper and storyteller of the Irish tradition, including in his repertoire a variety of stately airs, lively dance tunes, and amusing anecdotes about the tunes, and their history. |
RISING GAEL is a young Irish band that is setting the standard for modern Celtic music. The driving rhythms played on guitar and drum race with the fast fingers and electrifying bowing of the fiddle. This mix is paired with pure, powerful vocals, resulting in a rich and innovative sound. Rising Gael plays original and traditional Irish music in new, exciting arrangements. |
THE PINE BEETLES As Austin's only TinPanCeltiCowboyFolkGrass trio, the Pine Beetles tear it up on the songs you love to hear, from Celtic ballads to Tin Pan Alley jazz. The trio cumulatively plays 12 different instruments, including ukulele, walkabout dulcimer, English concertina, clawhammer banjo, tenor guitar, octave mandolin, and bodhran. |
GILMER & MOORE Heather Gilmer & Jeff Moore are a traditional Irish music duo, specializing in a variety of tunes and songs that extend beyond the average dose of jigs and reels commonly found within the genre. Particularly interested in dance music from the Sliabh Luachra region of Ireland. |
THE PRODIGALS An Austin favorite, The Prodigals, return to ACF bigger and better than ever with new members Dave Fahy and tenor banjo superstar Darren Maloney. Bass master Ed Kollar returns and filling in for current member Chris Higginbottom will be drum star Eamon Ellams. The Prodigals are one of the most successful bands to emerge from the East-Coast Irish scene. The band members grew up largely in Ireland; their original songs blend a funky and anarchic energy that is pure New York with a genuine passion for the traditional music of Ireland. They have played throughout the United States, from Los Angeles and Las Vegas to Chicago, Boston and Maine, as well as abroad in Canada, Germany and Ireland, but they remain firmly rooted in Manhattan. "Big Apple cockiness fused with traditional tunes wends its way back home this week, as New York's answer to The Pogues lands on solid ground. Having detoured to Chicago (via Cavan) these boys' navigation skills leave nothing to chance. Gregory Grene's accordion calls many of the shots, fuelled by the kind of percussive force that NASA would pay dearly for....Swivel the amp right up to eleven and submit to the manic rhythms." - the Irish Times, Ireland "Grene's expertise on accordion and his understanding of Irish music elevates the group as one of the premier Celtic rock bands leading into the 21st century" - All Music Guide "Kollar's bass playing emits a controlled ferocity combining technique and rootsiness that prospers jaw-dropping bewilderment." - Irish Music Magazine |
SEAN ORR Sean and his band are a fiddle and percussion driven powerhouse, Celtic music with a Texas brogue. Spanning both Rock and Traditional settings, they connect and blend the musical traditions of Ireland, Scotland and Texas. There is also a good dose of original music as well. It is a good fix for your craic addiction! |
BOURREE TEXANE Bourrée Texane plays mostly French folk music from southern and central France, Brittany, Québec and Louisiana. Bourrée is the name of an old French folk dance.Our instrumentation includes accordions, hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, dulcitare, drums and percussion, vocals.Bourrée Texane is Serge Laîné, Heather Gilmer, Lisa Whatley, and Glenn Ríos. |
NEEDFIRE Needfire's music is a unique mix of all original high energy modern rock and traditional Scottish and Irish music. This five-piece Texas-based Celtic-rock band combines the talents of an award-winning Grade I Highland bagpiper, Celt-rock fiddle, and tribal didgeridoo with electric guitars, bass and drums. |
JOHN WILLIAMS AND DEAN MAGRAW John Williams is one of the most exquisite musicians within and beyond Irish music circles today. With five All-Ireland titles to his credit, John is the only American-born competitor ever to win first place in the Senior Concertina category. His additional talents on flute, whistles, bodhran, and piano distinguish him as a much sought after multi-instrumentalist in the national acoustic scene. As a founding member of the groundbreaking band Solas, Williams received wider recognition playing to sold out audiences internationally and earning two NAIRD awards and Grammy nominations for the ensemble's 1996 and 1997 releases Solas and Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers. The Irish national broadcasting network RTE has featured Williams as the subject of the radio program The Long Note, the television series The Pure Drop, and the Christmas special Geantrai. A casual glance at Dean Magraw’s career as a guitarist, composer, arranger, and producer reveals an artist uniquely consistent in his ability to rise to the highest level of musical expression in a dazzling array of contexts. |
JIGGERNAUT Jiggernaut is not your typical Celtic band, nor are they your typical rock band. Formed in 2000, Jiggernaut is a powerful combination of Celtic, rock and folk music. Drawing from years of experience playing rock and roll, and blues, the rhythm section lays down a solid foundation that allows the bagpipes and vocals to soar. |
SHIFT has been an active part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Celtic music scene for the last two and half years. All three members of the band have a background in traditional music and lend their talents to this trio’s exhillarating blend of tunes and songs. |
Amberhawke is known for their wide variety of Celtic music and unique musical treatments - lively pub tunes guaranteed to have you singing along, stirring marches, beautifully sung ballads and toe-tapping tunes. Their arrangements vary as much as the musical selections - sing along songs share the stage with intricate four part harmonies and traditional tune sets line up next to mouth music back-ups for a sometimes surprising, always entertaining and wonderfully spirit lifting performance. |