Across the Pond #10 - July 2000
Fri 7th Chris Bartram & Keith Holloway
http://www.chris-bartram.co.uk/bahindex.htm
(Court
Sessions, Balham SW12)
Fiddler Chris and melodeon player Keith play and sing
traditional music from southern England, mainly from
their home communities in the Vale of White Horse, an
area named after the 3000 year old image cut in the chalk
of the Berkshire Downs above the village of Uffington, and
collected on their recent CD 'From the Vale' (Wild Goose).
Sat 8th Liz Carroll
http://www.lizcarroll.com/
(Hammersmith
Irish Centre)
Top fiddler, based in Chicago, described by Sing Out! as
"Dazzling...her inventiveness and creativity are astonishing.
And her playing is impeccably clean, intense, and altogether
brilliant." 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 many recordings and appearances both live and
on television and radio, have established her as one of
traditional music's most sought after performers. Q Magazine
called her new CD, 'Lost in the Loop' (Green Linnet ) an
"Exquisite performance - a set of real class."
Mon 10th Suzanne Vega
http://www.vega.net
(Richmond Theatre)
also Sun 16th Womad Festival at The Globe Theatre
Her most recent album, 1998's 'Tried and True' (A&M) is
a
'best of' collection featuring mainly the singles, from 'Marlene
on the Wall', 'Luka', etc but also including the DNA version
of 'Tom's Diner' and two new songs ('Book & Cover' and
'Rosemary'). Reviewing her last album of all new material,
1997's 'Nine Objects Of Desire' (A&M), Enternainment
Weekly said, "Vega and husband/producer Mitchell Froom
have returned with her finest album, a stunning collection
that's simultaneously sensuous and thought provoking."
Tue 11th David Rovics
http://www.davidrovics.com
(The White Swan,13 Blackheath Rd., Greenwich)
US singer songwriter, often compared to Phil Ochs, whose
repertoire ranges from "topical ballads and soothing love
songs,
to protest songs designed to rouse revolutionary fervor in the
soul of a couch potato." His most recent recordings are 'We
Just Want the World' (1998), a collection of original topical
ballads, and 'Pay Day at Coal Creek' (1998), a collection of
old work songs, labor songs and hobo songs.
Thur 13th The Posh Band
http://www.poshband.clara.net/
(Hale End Folk Club)
Described by Mel Howley in The Living
Tradition Magazine
as "straight down the middle English Dance Music - and they
play it well, you know that the band just loves what its doing
-
playing with verve & vitality. Nicely done, extremely enjoyable,
and very English!" Their new CD 'English' (X-Tradition Records)
features twenty one tunes from the last few hundred years to the
present day.
Mon 17th Keith and Julia Christmas
http://freespace.virgin.net/magic.christmas/htm/main.htm
(Croydon Folk Club 020 8688 3580)
Recently described by a major festival promoter as "a
songwriter at the peak of his powers" Keith recorded his
first album 'Stimulus' back in 1969 when he also played
the acoustic guitar on David Bowie's first album 'Space
Oddity' and appeared at the first Glastonbury Festival.
Julia Christmas (formerly Julia Howe) is a singer songwriter
who made a name for herself singing in the Northern folk
clubs of the seventies singing and playing traditional and
contemporary acoustic music. Playing together since 1997
as 'Magic', they are currently working on a new CD.
Mon 17th Bill Caddick
http://wkweb1.cableinet.co.uk/realisations/Pics/BCaddick.html
(Herga Folk Club)
One of the great figures of the British folk scene over the
last two decades. A past member of Magic Lantern,
Albion Band, and Home Service, his songs have been
recorded by likes of June Tabor and Christy Moore,
amongst others.
Wed 19th Karyn Black
http://www.karynblack.com/
(Borderline)
Nashville-based singer songwriter in the UK to promote
her album, 'Beneath the Sheltering Sky' (Fennessey Records),
described by Time Out Magazine as "Glorious crossover
country... a tough and tender collection of melodically
charged songs, elegantly and sensitively performed.
Fri 21st Flowers and Frolics
http://www.efdss.org/flowers.htm
(Cecil Sharp House)
One of the seminal bands in the English Country Music
revival of the 1970s, they made two LPs - 'Bees on
Horseback' (Free Reed Records) and 'Sold Out', which
was released by the EFDSS in 1985 and produced by
Eddie Upton, who was often the caller when the band
played for ceilidhs. Twenty- five years after inception,
the original line-up has decided to reform for a limited
number of gigs over the summer of 2000. This ceilidh
will also be a launch of their new CD, 'Reformed
Characters'.
Friday 21st The Groundhogs
http://www.groundhogs.net/
(Borderline)
Legendary British blues band, started in the early 60's by
guitarist Tony (T.S) McPhee, they soon became the first
choice backing band for visiting American bluesmen like
Champion Jack Dupree, Jimmy Reed, Memphis Slim,
Little Walter and even John Lee Hooker, from whose
song 'Groundhog Blues' they took their name, and with
whom they later recorded. Their most recent CD, 1999's
'The
Muddy Waters Songbook' (HTD) includes To
(TS) McPhee on guitar, Eric Chipulina on bass and Pete
Correa on drums. See this biography.
Sat 22nd Donal Lunny's Coolfin
http://www.ceolas.org/artists/Donal_Lunny.html
(Queen Elizabeth Hall)
One of the most influential people on the Irish traditional
music
scene, he has been a member of several groundbreaking Irish
groups including Planxty,
The Bothy
Band , Moving
Hearts,
and more recently, Coolfin.
A renowned bouzouki player and
world-class producer, whose credits include albums for the
likes of Christy Moore, Clannad, Paul Brady, The Indigo Girls,
Kate Bush and many others. "He celebrates Irish music at
its
most vital... he plays it gentle, he plays it hard, capturing
the
timeless sound of soulful yearning and unbroken spirit."
[The Guardian]
Mon 24th Maggie Boyle and Gordon Tyrrall
http://www.folkmusic.net/htmfiles/webrevs/prcd05.htm
http://www.rootsworld.com/harbourtown/peters-tyrrall.html
(Croydon Folk Club)
Mel Howley writes in The
Living Tradition , "Maggie Boyle
has long been one of my very favourite singers and has always
done superb work, but here on 'Gweebarra' (Pure Records)
her exquisite singing shows maturity and sophistication, giving
what is, without doubt, her best recording ever, and sounding
like one that she has been waiting to make for some time."
Gordon, known for his work with melodeon-player Brian
Peters, has been described as "a brilliant and original guitarist
and flute player equally at home with Irish reels and old English
dance music."
Mon 31st The Kate Rusby Band
http://www.purerecords.demon.co.uk/
(Queen Elizabeth Hall)
Still riding high on the success of her last two solo albums,
'Hourglass' and the BBC Award-winning 'Sleepless', Kate
brings together this unique line up of the Battlefield Band's
Spirit of Scotland winner John McCusker on violin, whistle
and cittern, Capercaillie's Mike McGoldrick on flute and
pipes; on diatonic accordion Andy Cutting, alongside guitarist
Ian Carr and John Tams' bassman Andy Seward.
Mon 31st Solas
http://www.shanachie.com/exec/catalogue/artist/35.html
(Jazz Cafe)
Described by the Boston Herald as "Not merely America's
best Irish traditional band, but maybe the world's" Solas,
feature multi-instrumentalist and producer, Séamus Egan,
Dublin-born guitarist, John Doyle, New York-born All-Ireland
champion fiddler, Winifred Horan, and Mick McAuley, one
of Ireland's finest button accordion players. Having toured the
States supporting Mary Chapin Carpenter in 1999, they have
recently been appearing at the Threatre Royal in Drury Lane,
Covent Garden, in Colin Dunne and 'Riverdance' star Jean
Butler's new Irish dance show 'Dancing on Dangerous Ground'.
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