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Prepare for an amazing Fiddle Fair 2009
Hello and welcome to the website for Fiddle Fair 2009.
After the tough winter that we've all had you'll be delighted to know that we've managed to secure an amazing line-up for this year's festival, which is now only a few short weeks away.
We're a little bit behind schedule this year in announcing the programme because we have been busy trying to secure a venue and the good news is that all of the concerts will once more take place in Baltimore.
For the first time our main venue will be a Fiddle Fair Marquee, at the back of Casey's Hotel and we will also be using our other amazing local venues including Glebe Gardens Amphitheatre and Dún na Séad Castle.
Every year it gets harder to match the quality of the previous years festival and especially after the phenomenal success of last year but we honestly feel that this year's line-up is extra special.
We kick off on Thursday 7th of May with the visit of two true legends of traditional Irish music. Liam O'Flynn and Sean Keane.
In the pantheon of traditional Irish groups they don't come much bigger than Planxty and The Chieftains and these two brilliant musicians have been spreading the gospel around the world for over 40 years. We are delighted to welcome Liam and Sean to Baltimore for their 1st Fiddle Fair appearance.
On Friday we have a mind-blowing array of Old Time and Cajun musicians from all over the States. One of our all time favourite groups is The Foghorn String Band and we're delighted to have Sammy and Caleb back again this year with some very special guests.
Joining The Foghorn Trio will .be the amazing fiddler from The Wilders, Betse Ellis. And then the incredible multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, accompanied by Joel Savoy from Louisiana will bring us the music of the Cajuns. Make sure to bring your dancing shoes.
On Saturday we move to the historic Dún na Séad Castle for the first of our lunchtime concerts, with Niamh NÍ Charra and Mike Galvin. An All-Ireland Champion fiddler and concertina player from Killarney, Niamh takes a break from touring with Carlos Nunez to play her first show at the Fiddle Fair.
On Saturday afternoon in Glebe Gardens Amphitheatre we are paying a small tribute to our great friend Seamus Creagh who sadly passed away just a few weeks ago. A master fiddler and storyteller, with extremely strong local connections, Seamus played at lots of Fiddle Fair's over the years and was a major help to us in the early days back in the bar.
It is as a teacher that many of us will remember him best though and today there are countless fiddle players of all ages in Cork city and county who were taught by Seamus. His spirit will live on always through their music.
For today's concert we are delighted to welcome back three great friends of his who also have very strong Fiddle Fair credentials, Matt Crannitch, Dave Hennessy and Mick Daly otherwise known as Any Old Time, This legendary Cork based trio still hold the record for most consecutive Fiddle Fair appearances and are my Dad's all-time favourite band.
On Saturday night back at Fiddle Fair Marquee we have two very exciting boy bands. Fidil are 3 young lads from Donegal. Fiddlers Ciarán O Maonaigh, Aodan O'Donnell and Damien McGeehan are rapidly forging a reputation for exhilarating and challenging music that draws on the rich heritage of their native place.
Lau are a formidable union of three of the finest and most innovative exponents of modern traditional music in Scotlland today and have just won Best Group for the second successive year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
They are Kris Drever, Martin Green and Aidan O'Rourke - absolutely not to be missed
The last day of Fiddle Fair 09 kicks off with an 'Early Music' concert at Dún na Séad Castle. Long time Fiddle Fair collaborator Marja Gaynor of Polskadots and Interference fame and her 4-piece Taffel Consort will perform early 17th century music on Baroque Violins, Lutes Viols and Medieval Harp. This will be the first time we feature this music at the Fiddle Fair but perhaps not the first time it's been played on this historic site.
On Sunday afternoon back at the amphitheatre we feature what must be the largest group ever to appear at the Fiddle Fair - Les Violons du Rigodon are an 18-piece fiddle band from the Alpine region of France. No matter where you go in the world, Mountain Music is usually where it's at and this spectacular group will certainly make a large impression.
Spoken of as 'the next big thing' Sam Amidon is an American Singer and multi-instrumentalist who's repertoire is made up of adapted American folk songs, but he puts a unique stamp on the material with his gentle, eerily deadpan voice and subtle arrangements. We're delighted that he's heard of us and even more delighted that he's coming.
On Sunday night we have yet another amazing concert at the Fiddle Fair Marquee. We have always wanted to have a Swedish act at the festival and particularly one featuring the Nykleharpa (a keyed fiddle exclusive to Sweden).
For over 20 years Vasen have been enchanting audiences around the world and more than one critic has dubbed them 'the best band in the world'.
Shamefully they have only ever been to Ireland once before so we are especially delighted to welcome them to Baltimore.
And finally, we have a World Premier to bring the curtain down on Fiddle Fair 2009.
Created by brothers Niall and Caoimhín Vallely, Buille are a 4-piece band that also includes Flook's Ed Boyd on guitar and Brian Morrissey on bodhrán. While based in traditional Irish forms, their music draws on a wide range of influences from the worlds of jazz and classical music and they are one of the most exciting Irish bands to emerge in the last 10 years
Especially for Fiddle Fair 09 the lads have put a show together with a stellar string section comprising of Zoe Conway, Oleg Ponomarev (who played at Fiddle Fair no.1 with the Russian band Loyko), Cian O'Duill and Kate Ellis
Buille with Strings should provide a cracking finale to this year's festival.
I hope to see you here in May.
Declan McCarthy