Is this the first time in almost four years of Fiddlefreak reviews that I’ve let an entire month pass without a post? Gack! So here we go with the first review of 2012, and by God it was worth the wait. Scotland’s Aaron Jones and his partner Claire Mann make up half of a brillant… Continue reading Litha: Dancing of the Light (MP3)
Portland singer Colleen Raney is a rising star on the West Coast Irish music scene. (Previously reviewed HERE.) Her new record, titled Cuan, is a duo project with Seattle-based Colm MacCárthaigh, who plays guitar and cittern. Together they cover a nice range of Celtic material with style and grace, bringing a lovely lift to both… Continue reading Colleen Raney & Colm MacCárthaigh: Cuan (MP3)
The dark and rainy Pacific Northwest continues to produce an endless stream of brilliant folk music, and it was on display everywere at the recent Northwest Folkife Festival. The seething mass of humanity that is NW Folkife was held recently in downtown Seattle, in the shadow of her famous landmark, the Space Needle. Folkies came… Continue reading Colleen Raney: Lark (MP3)
Unlike here in the States—where trad folk and indie-pop are separated by a Berlin Wall of narrow thinking—folk music in Scotland and Ireland thrives in an environment where a rich hybrid of old Celtic and new folk can interbreed. From this fertile brew comes Heidi Talbot’s second solo album The Last Star, set to be… Continue reading Heidi Talbot: The Last Star (MP3 Download)
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. One of the best things about being a music blogger is when one of my friends releases a record that turns out to be Fiddlefreak-worthy. Such is the case with the album “Inspired,” a lovely new collaboration from champion Scottish fiddler Rebecca Lomnicky and piper David… Continue reading Brewer and Lomnicky: Inspired (MP3)
The top dogs in the Scottish trad music scene will release their eleventh album on September 7 on Compass Records titled “Wherever Yet May Be” (COM 4542). Old Blind Dogs members Jonny Hardie (fiddle), Aaron Jones (bouzouki), Ali Hutton (pipes and whistle), and Fraser Stone (percussion), prove again that they rule the roost where Scottish… Continue reading Old Blind Dogs: Wherever Yet May Be (MP3)
Julie Fowlis has the voice of a Celtic angel. With her ancient Scots Gaelic songs of earth and sky, she calls up a salty North wind that whistles through the mossy crags of remote, forgotten islands. On her latest release Uam (Cadiz Music/Shoeshine Records) she harnesses a stable of veteran musicians, including her Dublin-born husband… Continue reading Julie Fowlis: Uam (MP3)
