Celtic MP3s: January 2005

Welcome to the Celtic MP3s Archive and thank you for subscribing to the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. Below you will find Celtic MP3s from bands I've featured over the years. Some MP3s are time sensitive. So download them now. All of the latest MP3s are available for at least a month. As always, if you like an MP3, then please help the artist out and buy their CD.

"The Irish Volunteers" by Mick Moloney

Mick Moloney is the author of "Far From the Shamrock Shore: The story of Irish American History Through Song" released by Crown Publications in February of 2002 with an accompanying CD on Shanachie Records. He holds a Ph.D. in folklore and folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught ethnomusicology, folklore and Irish studies courses at the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown, and Villanova Universities, and currently teaches at New York University in the Irish Studies program.

He has recorded and produced over forty albums of traditional music and acted as advisor for scores of festivals and concerts all over America. Mick also served as the artistic director for several major arts tours including The Green Fields of America, an ensemble of Irish musicians, singers and dancers which toured across the United States on several occasions.

He has hosted three nationally syndicated series of folk music on American Public Television; was a consultant, performer and interviewee on the Irish Television special "Bringing It All Back Home"; a participant, consultant and music arranger of the PBS documentary film "Out of Ireland"; and a performer on the PBS special "The Irish in America: Long Journey Home." In 1999 he was awarded the National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts - the highest official honor a traditional artist can receive in the United States.

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Similar Artists: Cherish the Ladies, Emmet Folk Group, Greenfields of America, Planxty, The Bothy Band, The Johnstons, Eugene O'Donnell, Robbie O'Connell, Jimmy Keane, Seamus Egan

Website: Mick Moloney
Download: "The Irish Volunteers"
Buy CD: Far From the Shamrock Shore

--posted by Marc Gunn of the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, Subscribe for Celtic Free Music Downloads, Thursday, January 27, 2005

"Paddy Canny's Castle (jigs)" by Time To Time

First half of the Twentieth Century... The Irish Republic took advantage of its recent independance and its role as a stepping stone between Europe and the New World to wipe out memories of crisis years to take artistic achievements to their heights. This effervescence produced great musicians, masters of their craft, who went to the USA, where, thanks to the rising phonographic industry, they aroused a new interest in traditional Irish music.

Some years later, fiddlers Paddy Canny, PJ Hayes, Bobby Casey, Paddy Fahy, Ed Reavy, Sean Ryan or Junior Crehan, as well as accordionists Paddy O'Brien and Joe Cooley were to become legendary. Not only were they great performers, they were also composers of genius who inspired generations to come. It was the Golden Age of Irish music.

Time To Time tries to be faithful to the traditional feel, playing music as it used to be played in the heart of post-war rural communities in Ireland. Lively, spontaneous, profound and joyful, Time To Time's music resembles that of the great masters of the past whose music we have all inherited.

Time To Time mingles the sounds of fiddle, accordion - and its cousin the melodion - cello and guitar with the warmth of the human voice, in a repertoire that has its roots deep in the west of Ireland, County Clare, Galway and Tipperary to be precise; for that is where the most beautiful traditional tunes originated.

Time To Time will carry you through time and space into the warmth and friendliness of the Irish pubs and dance-halls of bygone days. The free style of accompaniment on melodies played strictly in the west of Ireland traditions create the original sound of Time to Time.

Hometown: Paris, France
Similar Artists: Clare and East-Galway musicians, Paddy Canny, Paddy Fahy, Paddy O'Brien, Bobby Casey, Ed Reavy

Website: Time To Time
Download: "Paddy Canny's Castle (jigs)"
Buy CD: Irish traditional music from Clare and East-Galway

--posted by Marc Gunn of the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, Subscribe for Celtic Free Music Downloads, Thursday, January 27, 2005

"Blue Ribbon" by Queen's Gambit (parody of The Scotsman)

One of the first "Celtic" songs I remember hearing growing up was "The Scotsman." It was written by Mike Cross and made popular by Bryan Bowers. It's ever a favorite among kilt-o-philes.

Bruce the Bruce from Queen's Gambit was a fan of that song too when he heard the Bedlam Bards performing it. He asked a different question: what happens to all those blue ribbons that come off Scotsman. The answer is quite twisted and amusing.

Queen's Gambit is an Oklahoma-based Celtic band specializing in Irish and Scottish traditional music, with a side order of English Folk, dance, and Renaissance music for entertainment at any function. You can find them performing at Renaissance Faires, Irish/Scottish Pubs, Educational Assemblies, Historical Re-enactments, Scottish Games, Weddings, and even Corporate Christmas Parties.

Hometown: Coweta, Oklahoma
Similar Artists: Bedlam Bards, The Gaels, Andy M. Stewart, Andrew Scarhart, Ralph McTell, Brobdingnagian Bards, Jolly Rogers, Bedlam Bards, 3 Pints Gone, Tullamore

Website: Queen's Gambit
Download: "Blue Ribbon"
Buy CD: Opening Move - Take Two

--posted by Marc Gunn of the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, Subscribe for Celtic Free Music Downloads, Tuesday, January 18, 2005

"Sovay" by Paisley Close

Cidnie MacNamee and Amy Price met in the mid-1990s and formed the Celtic group Gordian Knot. They garnered critical acclaim, and made many loyal fans and wonderful friends before the band broke up in 2001.

When Cid and Amy met guitarist Bernard Schreiber in 2003, musical sparks flew. They added drums and bass, and thus was Paisley Close born. Going on the "throw-the-baby-bird -out-of-the-nest-and-see-if-it-flies" theory of emergence, their first public performance was at the 2004 nationally lauded St. Patrick's Day Festival of Houston's Mucky Duck.

Paisley Close takes Gordian Knot's energetic Celtic Pop feel and soars with it to fresh, lyrical heights. Their material covers a broad spectrum, including traditional and modern songs arranged in the group's unique idiom; timeless poetry set to original music; and new compositions written by the band. Uncommon musicianship and storytelling are the common threads that run through the music of Paisley Close.

Hometown: Houston, Texas
Similar Artists: The Levellers, Niamh Parsons, Steeleye Span

Website: Paisley Close
Download: "Sovay"
Buy CD: All On A Day

--posted by Marc Gunn of the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, Subscribe for Celtic Free Music Downloads, Tuesday, January 18, 2005

"Stairwell Time Set" by Jeremy Kittel

Jeremy Kittel is a phenomenal fiddler, equally adept at a wide range of styles including Scottish, Irish, jazz and bluegrass. He is a three-time US National Scottish Fiddle Champion and has won national awards for jazz and improvisation. Jeremy's performances include the Kennedy Center, "Prairie Home Companion," Chicago Celtic Fest, Milwaukee Irish Fest and Bethlehem Musikfest. Jeremy's CDs have received rave reviews in newspapers and magazines, and he recently won 2nd place for Celtic Instrumental Album in a national competition of 10,000 CDs.

You can hear is toe-tapping blends of styles in this powerful set of tunes--a great introduction to some amazing fiddling.

Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Similar Artists: Liz Carroll, Solas, Martin Hayes, Alasdair Fraser, Jerry Holland

Website: Jeremy Kittel
Download: "Stairwell Time/The Slipping Jig/Sky Paint"
Buy CD: Roaming

--posted by Marc Gunn of the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, Subscribe for Celtic Free Music Downloads, Wednesday, January 12, 2005

"If We Don't Help Them Now" by Pol Mac Adaim

Pól MacAdaim is 30 years old and was born in Belfast. He first became involved in playing music at the age of 9. Through the years he has learnt to play in a wide range of styles including Folk, Appalachian, Cajun, Rock, Soul and Contemporary. He is also skilled in a variety of instruments ranging from tin whistles, Traditional Irish flute, Low whistles, Uilleann pipes, harmonicas, guitars (acoustic/Bass), Mandolin, and the Tenor banjo to Bodhran and general percussion in rhythm section. He has also developed vocals in backing and lead modes.

He tours throughout Europe playing mainly traditional Irish music and has also toured in America. His music addresses various issues and his lyrics carries a radical punch like in the song "If We Don't Help Them Now." Pól Mac Adaim's voice is so pleasantly filled with passion it begs for action in support of Human Rights. Outstanding!

Hometown: Belfast, Ireland
Similar Artists: Woody Guthrie, Christy Moore, Planxty, Dick Gaughan

Website: Pól Mac Adaim
Download: "If We Don't Help Them Now"
Buy CD: If We Don't Help Them Now