Issue 19 9/2001
FolkWorld News
FolkWorld Advertising
FolkWorld/UK. For anybody from the United Kingdom interested in advertising
in FolkWorld, we have the good news that from now on FolkWorld has an account
in Britain. With that, UK residents can benefit from easy payment via the most
common British cheques or via transmittance. Hopefully this makes advertising
more interesting for some of you out there. FolkWorld's advertising rates are
as low as always; you can get an idea at our Advertising
in FolkWorld page.
Happy
news from John and Kate...
Scotland/England. Congratulations to John McCusker and Kate Rusby, as they are
getting married this August. Along to this, John is leaving the Battlefield
Band, to have more time at his new home in Yorkshire. John wants to spend now
more time involving in Kate's music.Kate has, by the way, just recently published
a new album, where of course her soon-to-be husband is once again heavily involved.
To keep in touch with John's and Kate's news, you can check out their website
: www.johnmccusker.demon.co.uk
(if it gets updated) and www.katerusby.com
Photo: Kate Rusby, photo by The Mollis
Battlefield
Band's new fiddler
Scotland. Alasdair White is the newest addition to one of Scotland's most established,
and still one of the best, folk bands. Replacing John McCusker (see above),
Alasdair plays fiddle as well as diverse other instruments, and composes also
himself music. Alasdair comes from the Island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides,
the Gaelic speaking islands off the north west coast of Scotland, and has been
making his mark on the music scene for many years now. In 1997, in an article
about Gaelic language and culture "The Scotsman" (Scotland's National newspaper)
notices him at a music session on the island:- "... on a stool to one side of
the dancers was a 13 year-old maestro of the Highland fiddle playing surging
strathspeys and reels with maturity and expertise beyond his tender years. Tapping
his Nike trainers on the floor was Alasdair White from Stornoway - the island
of Lewis's young musician of the year". But it's not only on the fiddle that
Alasdair shines - he also plays Highland and Small pipes, whistle, banjo, cittern,
bodhran.
He is joining (just for all those who have problems to keep track with the many
changes in the band) Alan Reid, piper and flautist Mike Katz and singer and
guitarist Karine Polwart. No doubt this will be another strong line-up.
See www.battlefieldband.co.uk
Photo: Alasdair White; from www.battlefieldband.co.uk
Brian McNeill to be become Head of Scottish Music
Scotland. Going one more generation back in Battlefield Band fiddlers, ex Battie
Brian McNeill has also some news. Brian has become Head of Scottish Music at
the RSAMD (Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama). He'll work on a flexible
basis which will allow him to continue performing, although on a more restricted
schedule. This imaginative appointment continues the current trend of support
for traditional music within academia, along with the new folk music degree
starting at Newcastle University this coming September. (News item from BBC
Radio 2 Folk Pages)
Photo: Brian McNeill, by The Mollis
Penguin Eggs
Canada. Our collegues of Penguin Eggs, Canada's up-to-now-internet-only folk,
roots and world music magazine, moved to print this summer with a bumper issue.
Good luck to that venture! Who knows, maybe FolkWorld gets at some stage inspired
by that idea.... but definitely not now!We've also updated our web site
For Pengiun Eggs, check out http://www.penguineggs.ab.ca.
Greentrax birthday
Scotland. Scotland's favourite folk music label, Greentrax, run by the wonderful
Green family and extended by some more personal during the last years, celebrates
this year its 15th birthday. As a prezzie to themselves, and all of their friends,
they are releasing on the 1st of September a 15th Anniversary compilation which
comprises 20 tracks showcasing artists who have recorded for Greentrax in the
past 5 years but not included on previous showcase compilations. The main event
in this Greentrax year of celebration will take place on Saturday, 27th October,
2001 with a spectacular showcase concert in the Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, commencing
at 7.30p.m.(to 11.00p.m.). Tickets can be booked now: Queen’s Hall Tel: 0131
667 7776.
Happy birthday and all the best to Greentrax! You might now be interested to
read again the interview with Greentrax
published last October in FolkWorld.
Photo: Ian Green, Andrew Green and Brenda McCulloch in front of the Greentrax "Wall of Sound", photo by Peter Grant
New World Music Mag website
England/Internet. There is a new world music web-site called 'worldmusic.org.uk'
which features short reviews, news and resources on a range of traditiaonally-based
music from across the world. The site incorporates 'Spire Folk' the local folk
site for North Derbyshire which will continue to provide local folk news and
gig information. More features shall be added in near future.
High Profile Irish Festival in Holland
Netherlands. Watch out for the first november weekend (3rd and 4th November
2001): In Vlaardingen in Holland is then a big fundraising Irish Music festival
taking place, featuring the likes of Maire Brennan and band, Liam O'Flynn and
friends, Tommy Sands band, Marian Bradfield, Bumblebees with Triona Ni Dohmnail
plus plenty of Dutch Irish bands. The festival starts on Saturday at 3, Sunday
at 2 pm, and finishes both days after midnight. Be careful though, as the programme
is on both days the same! Tickets and infos from Tel. 010 4093200, 010 4340500
or 0186617663.
Photo: Liam O'Flynn, photo by The Mollis
Tinto on tour - new concept
for the festival
Scotland. This year Tinto is going on Tour. Instead of a happening at Wiston
Lodge, its customary home, on the first weekend in September, a series of concerts
have been planned to take Tinto Folk Festival to parts of South Lanarkshire
it would not normally reach, to the North, South, East and West of the county.
New Lanark (1 and 2 September 2001), Crawfordjohn (5 October 2001), Douglas
(2 February 2002) and Biggar (13 April 2002) were the 4 venues chosen to host
each event that will make up ”Tinto 6”, (Tinto on tour) culminating in ”Tinto
7”, (Tinto Back Home) in 2002. All four events take place in cooperation with
local folk branches. THe main event seesm to be the New Lanark one, coinciding
with the Victorian Fair in the charming town of New Lanark, famous for being
an utopia for an autarc workers city. The Douglas event is dedicated to Robert
Burns, and incorporateds also a Burns Supper.
Tinto 7 will be back in Tinto, in September 2002. Complete information at http://www.tinto-folk-festival.com
mad for trad - Irish Music
Internet. "mad for trad" is the name of a new recommended website
presenting itself as "Home of Irish Traditional Music on the Web".
With simple navigation you find all areas of interest for Irish Trad fans (although
up to now in most areas still not a too huge data base). In the news section
you find e.g. short reviews of festivals, at artists you can check out biographies
(and buy CDs), at festivals you find short info of the festivals worldwide.
A data base for Irish Musicians is being built up. bei Artists und Festivals
kann man Kurzinformationen zu den Festivals bzw. Biographien der Künstler
finden. Eine Tourneedatenbank für irische Musik ist in Planung. Ein CD-Mailorder
ist ebenfalls an die Website angeschlossen.
For musicians you find a tune archive, as well as tutorials of famous musicians
such as Karen Tweed, Gerry O'Connor or Karan Casey for diverse instruments (the
tutorials are not free though).
Still building up its content, but definitely already now worth a visit. Go
to www.madfortrad.com
Musicians' wedding
Scotland. The Scottish virtuoso concertina player Simon Thoumire got married
to Deaf Shepherd's fiddler Clare McLaughlin. There was great ceilidh with the
fantastic Fire in the Bog and lots of alcohol consumed...
Congrats from FolkWorld!
Photo: Claire with John Morran in Deaf Shepherd 1998; photo by The Mollis
Pure Irish Drops "sounds
from the north"
Europe. The Pure Irish Drops tour in Germany and surrounding Europe has this
year the theme Northern Irish music traditions. Organiser Florian Fürst chose
for this tour Desi Wilkinson (Vocals, Flute, Whistle) from Belfast, Cathal Hayden
(Fiddle, Banjo) and Jim McGrath (Accordeon) from Derrygonnelly. They will play
at the concerts both solo and as an ensemble. Well worth to see!
On tour between 20. September and 14. October. Infos and tourdates at http://www.ffmusik.de
Traditional Folk &
Music Directory: call for entries
Ireland. Lacethorn, the publishers of the well known Irish Music Magazine, are
about to publish a DIRECTORY for Traditional and Folk Musicians. The Directory
will be available free to key people in the industry world wide and will be
distributed through book stores in Ireland, the UK, and in specialist Irish
shops in the US As the majority of Folk Musicians have to play an International
Circuit to make a living, the Directory will take a global view of Traditional
and Folk Music. The directory's sections are as follows: Musicians, Music Shops,
Instrument Makers, Recording Studios, Record Labels, Promoters & Agents, Media
(Print, Broadcast and Journalists), Festivals, CCE, Set Dancing, Venues, Official
Bodies, Internet Resources, Miscellaneous. Irish Music has an EXCEL form for
each of these categories, which Sean Laffey can send to you should you wish
to have an entry in the directory. All entries are free and the Directory will
be circulated free to all Irish based musicians who appear in the listings.
THE DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES IS OCTOBER 15. The directory goes to layout on October
28th and will be available free to musicians and the Irish Music Industry at
the IMM Awards night in Dublin in the second week of December.
Interested parties can contact Irish Music Magazine, Sean
Laffey
Snapshot
- the Fun Photo Competition
Strange percussion instruments - but of which band or which musician?
All correct entries take part in a competition where you can WIN
3 CDS at once (of your choice out of a selection of six folk music
(promotional) CDs)!!!!
Answers until 20.11.2001 to FolkWorld.
Click here to read the conditions
of FolkWorld competitions.
In the German news you can find as additional news:
To the (older) FolkWorld
News of Nr. 18
To the (newer) FolkWorld
News of Nr.20
To the content of FolkWorld
online magazine Nr. 19
© The Mollis - Editors
of FolkWorld; Published 9/2001
All material published in FolkWorld is © The Author via FolkWorld. Storage for private use is allowed and welcome. Reviews and extracts of up to 200 words may be freely quoted and reproduced, if source and author are acknowledged. For any other reproduction please ask the Editors for permission.
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