The 2006 Baltimore Fiddle Fair
by Declan McCarthy
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| Session at the Algiers |
I'm sitting here listening to a recording of the World Fiddle Concert from Fiddle Fair '06 and it's taking me right back there - the buzz from this year's festival is still alive here in Baltimore. What music! What a weekend! I am thrilled with the way everything panned out and it certainly augurs well for what Tim O'Brien called "the new and improved fiddle fair".
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| Liz Carroll |
I think I knew all was going to be well when I saw the large crowd in The Algiers for the opening session on Thursday evening (even though there was no sign of Christy and Nigel). Up at the Baltimore Harbour Hotel, The Polskadots got things going and really charmed everyone. Then the Queen of the Fiddle, Liz Carroll, rocked the place with trad guitarist John Doyle. What a beautiful lady! A super start to the Fiddle Fair and it just got better and better.
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| Madviolet at the Glebe Amphitheatre |
3 long, hard but totally enjoyable days followed for me as I shuttled around from class to session to gig to session to gig - I was extremely grateful to have the official Fiddle Fair Courtesy Car at my disposal along with the official chauffeur Archie. So many highlights - the two shows at Dun na Sead castle and the one at the Glebe Amphitheatre really worked well and hopefully these two stunning venues will be part of the Fiddle Fair forever. I think God was on our side because the sunshine was there just when we needed it most and we were able to deliver on our promise that "the sun always shines on the Fiddle Fair"
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| Tim O'Brien's Master Class at Inish Beg |
The sessions also worked really well and I'm only sorry that I didn't see most of them. As anyone who was here at the weekend will testify though, the village was *hopping* with music everywhere all day and all night. The Master Classes with Liz Carroll, Tim O'Brien, Sammy Lind, Kevin Burke, and Siobhán Peoples went down very well and each of them took place in beautiful settings like Inish Beg and The Glebe. We'll have a lot more next year.
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| Buille, Tim O'Brien, Liz Carroll and John Doyle |
The gigs at the hotel were all truly exceptional. In past Fiddle Fair's there was often a *weak* gig but I can honestly say that we had a 100% success rate this year as each one was amazing. I was delighted that most of the musicians stayed around for the weekend and there was some serious "jamming" on the main stage long into the night.
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| World Fiddle Concert compere's Kevin Burke and Tim O'Brien |
I couldn't pick a favourite but I suppose the World Fiddle Concert, which I'm still listening to, is a great "taster" and of course it featured two of the world's great compere's in Grammy (and Fiddle Fair '06 *Granny* winning) Tim O'Brien and Fiddle Fair "regular" Kevin Burke.
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| Marja Tuhkanen (Polskadots) and Declan McCarthy |
Some serious brains were in action for the inaugural Fiddle Fair quiz and some brains were seriously out of action on Monday morning around the hotel lobby.
It was great to see so many familiar faces again and also to see so many new ones. I was amazed by the amount of different nationalities I met during the festival and I was also delighted to see so many children listening to the music around the village - we'll have a trad band in Baltimore yet!
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| The Armagh Piper's Club |
We also raised €500 from the auction off of the large fiddle Fair '06 poster. The Foghorn String Band helped out by hosting the auction during their set on the last night. Promoter Larry Roddy came up with the winning bid. Along with the poster, we raised over €1,550 to help build a playground for the children of Baltimore. We are ever thankful to the generosity of everyone who contributed to the raffle.
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| The Foghorn String Band and Declan present the poster to auction winner Larry Roddy |
All in all then I think Fiddle Fair '06 was a great success and I'd like to thank everyone who helped in making it an unforgettable start to it's new life. I would especially like to thank our sponsors The Arts Council, The Baltimore Harbour Hotel, The Cork County Council, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Inish Beg, Ballyburden Meats, and the West Cork Arts Center.
Thanks to everyone on the Fiddle Fair '06 Committee (you know who you are) for helping make Fiddle Fair '06 one of the very best. Roll on Fiddle Fair 2007, May 10 - 13.
See you then.
Declan McCarthy