Finally, the much-anticipated duo project from Karan Casey and John Doyle, “Exiles Return” on Compass Records, will be released on Feb. 16, 2010. If you’ve never heard of these two founding members of Irish supergroup Solas, crawl out of your cave and check this out. If you have heard their previous work, you know why Fiddlefreak is excited about this release.
With guest appearances from producer Dirk Powell (banjo, couble bass) and Michael McGoldrick (flute, whistle), Casey and Doyle forge an Irish-American folk music that transcends its genre to become great. Karan Casey’s little-girl vocals float like a seagull above Doyle’s guitar, which dances upon the surface of the sea, both stormy and serene. His oft-imitated trademark strummage and fingerstyle remain, as always, unnassailable; likewise his voice both strong and smooth. The mostly-traditional material is lively and bittersweet, as good Irish music should be, and one of the songs (Exiles Return) is a rare John Doyle original. Arguably the top Irish vocalist and the top Irish guitarist offer here a poignant collection of songs that is already garnering airplay from folk DJs. Fiddlefreak recommended!
The 11th annual San Francisco Bluegrass & Old-Time Festival (SFBOT), a nine-day festival occuring at various locations around the Bay Area, will happen February 12-21, 2010. Featuring some of the most talented musicians on the Americana and roots music scene today, the Festival comprises over 30 shows at numerous small clubs around the Bay Area, welcoming more than 5,000 attendees each year.
On the docket this year are nationally-known acts that include Loudon Wainwright III, Peter Rowan, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Asylum Street Spankers, and Red Molly. West Coast bands to watch out for include the Stairwell Sisters, Crooked Jades, Water Tower Bucket Boys, and Black Crown String Band. Many other bands are scheduled.
With events that range from concerts and dances to workshops and jams, spanning traditional bluegrass, old-time, blues, ragtime, Cajun, gospel, and alternative bluegrass, this festival reflects the eclectic outlook of the SF acoustic music scene. Ain’t it great that bluegrass and old-time music is alive and well on the Left Coast!
For Americana fans who have been curious about Sarah Jarosz but haven’t taken the plunge and bought the record… Sarah Jarosz’s Grammy-nominated debut “Song Up In Her Head” will be available on AmazonMP3 for $2 this Thursday only (it’s the Daily Deal).
Fiddlefreak previously reviewed Sarah’s debut album here. It was listed at #17 on Amazon’s top albums of 2009, with “Tell Me True” being their number one country song of the year. Additionally, the title track “Song Up In Her Head” was Folk Alley’s #3 folk song of the year, and the track “Mansinneedof” is a Grammy nominee for Best Country Instrumental. Keep in mind though that this is not a country record — think Nickel Creek/Gillian Welch. $2 album download on Thursday 1/21/10 only!
Fiddlefreak was fortunate to hear and meet Shaun Cromwell at the FARwest convention in Irvine, CA. Shaun Cromwell’s one-man acoustic blues connect the modern world to a long-lost southern Gothic past. On guitar and banjo, his fingerstyle approach lifts a soulful vocal delivery, and the gripping songs tell stories of murder, love and loss. Death is a recurring theme for Shaun:
“Recognizing and accepting that you will die is a very practical way of loving the hell out of your life and trying to fit all that you can into that life. It’s what makes it possible to even consider writing music. That’s why I wanted this to be the underlying theme of the album; it’s not to be morbid or profound, it’s hopefully very simple and optimistic, maybe even uplifting at times.”
Here’s a traditional song from his release “The Turning of Clocks,” and a new unreleased single. Enjoy!
Fiddlefreak is a music blog dedicated to exposing good folk music: the music of the people. MP3 samples are provided for preview purposes only. Please support folk musicians by buying the music you enjoy. If for any reason you want something taken down, let us know.
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