The Living Mountain, an album inspired by Nan Shepherd's iconic nature book, was released to rave reviews in October of 2020. At the time, I was mentally trying to adjust to the then raging global covid surge and the insecurity and uncertainty it caused - it's a blessing I could not foresee then that only … Continue reading Jenny Sturgeon’s “The Living Mountain”: a meditation
Category: Artists – J
Celtic Connections 2023: Carty & McGoldrick, Ryan Young, Sarah Markey
Tuesday night, Jan 31, saw a feast of fully acoustic Celtic music at the RCH Strathclyde Suite. The excellent flute player Sarah Markey opened the evening with a solid set of Irish and Scottish tunes - very nice! The headliners, John Carty and Mike McGoldrick, were as good as you’d expect; it’s always a pleasure … Continue reading Celtic Connections 2023: Carty & McGoldrick, Ryan Young, Sarah Markey
Celtic Connections 2023: Jenna Reid with Harris Playfair
Shetland fiddler Jenna Reid has for a long time been one of the most visible and impressive of Scottish fiddlers. As a member of Blazin’ Fiddles and with already a few solo albums in her catalogue, she is a household name among the Celtic music community. In 2022, Jenna recorded, with pianist Harris Playfair, an … Continue reading Celtic Connections 2023: Jenna Reid with Harris Playfair
Celtic Connections 2023: John McCusker and friends; Beth Malcolm
Our Sunday’s CC menu consisted of two concerts decidedly less loud but just as enjoyable as the gigs on two previous days. Celtic Connections’ New Voices series has always showcased brilliant upcoming artists and Beth Malcolm’s song cycle on theme of growing up and finding yourself was no exception. She is an immensely talented songwriter: … Continue reading Celtic Connections 2023: John McCusker and friends; Beth Malcolm
Jeremy Kittel: my latest fiddle fave!
Sometimes you just remain unaware of great music and musicians for years. And when you do discover them, there’s always a great “where has this stuff been all my life!” moment. This happened to me a few days ago when I first heard the Michigan fiddler, composer, all-around great musician Jeremy Kittel. I was totally … Continue reading Jeremy Kittel: my latest fiddle fave!
Listening Diary for June 6-12, 2022: Natalie MacMaster, Mishra, James Harper, the olllam, Eabhal
Master fiddlers are one of my favorite things in this world and Natalie MacMaster 🇨🇦 is one of the greatest. I love the energy in her playing; so much light and joy there. Her 2019 album Sketches was just the right soundtrack for a leisurly walk in the sunny and warm Finnish Saturday. I've never … Continue reading Listening Diary for June 6-12, 2022: Natalie MacMaster, Mishra, James Harper, the olllam, Eabhal
Listening diary for May 23-29, 2022
If anything here seems interesting, go to your streaming service and try it out. And if you really, really like it, go to the artist’s web site or Bandcamp or iTunes or Google Play or Amazon or wherever and buy it in your preferred format - musicians need food too 😉 The Halton Quartet: Based … Continue reading Listening diary for May 23-29, 2022
Album Review: A John Doyle Double Feature
John Doyle, Ireland’s great gift to guitar in folk music, has obviously been a busy guy lately. His latest solo effort, Path Of Stones, came out in the spring and the collaboration album with a certain Mr. McGoldrick was released just a wee moment ago. Since I was not writing here too much during spring, … Continue reading Album Review: A John Doyle Double Feature
Album Review / Joy & Andrew Dunlop: Dithis
The vastly gifted Scottish siblings have released their first album together. They have collaborated more before on Joy’s albums but this is the first full joint release. Joy naturally takes care of all vocals and Andrew, a classical pianist, brings in a few other instruments to color his beautiful piano performance. I have to admit … Continue reading Album Review / Joy & Andrew Dunlop: Dithis
Album Review / James Elkington: Ever-Roving Eye
Let’s take care of one thing first. So okay, Mr. Elkington has lived in the US for over 20 years but he is from England and his music has a definite connection to British folk roots, so this album is just fine to be reviewed here. Right, then. I also wanted to review it because … Continue reading Album Review / James Elkington: Ever-Roving Eye
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