Changing the way you hear Celtic Music
A weekly ezine of free Celtic MP3 downloads.
March 17, 2004
Celtic Music Contents:
1. Celtic Music News
2. Celtic Music CD Store - Songs of Ireland St Patrick's Day Music
3. Celtic Music Band Feature - St Patrick's Day Music Celtic MP3s
Don't just download.
Support artists you like & Buy.
Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday from Ireland. Happy birthday to me...
Yes, it's that time of year again--St. Patrick's Day--when everyone is Irish. This year, I actually finished my St. Patrick's Day music edition of the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine.
I started off planning on finding seventeen great Celtic music downloads, but I got side-tracked by all the great music and found a bunch more--22 in all. I also decided to split it up into different types of music from Irish drinking songs to Celtic dance tunes to Celtic rock. Overall, I'm really happy with the 2004 selection of Celtic music for St. Patrick's Day.
A ST PATRICK'S DAY POEM
Written in 2003, we had a wonderfully busy St Patrick's Day performing throughout Central Texas and experiencing a wide variety of entertaining as people define what St Patrick's Day means to them. And it is both silly and grand.
If ye like what you read and hear,
please forward this newsletter to your friends.
CELTIC MUSIC NEWS
Got a new Celtic music CD? Heading out on tour? Get a great review. Share it with our anxious readers.
SUBMIT YOUR CELTIC BAND FOR A FEATURE
It's easy to get featured in the Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. Submit your band and be patient.
17 Celtic Music Downloads for St. Patrick's Day 2003
A list of some of my favorite Celtic music downloads from 2003. Many of the free MP3s are no longer available since the demise of MP3.com. But the CDs are well-worth the purchase.
_____________________________________SPONSOR__________
Celtic Open Knot Drop Earrings
The Celts used haunting melodies to enrich their lives and enhance spiritual powers. This visual interpretation of a Celtic melody will enrich your wardrobe and enhance your style. On sterling silver shepherds hooks. (Dim: 35mm x 15mm dangle). For over twenty years, Kit Heath has pursued his passion for design, creating elegant fashionable sterling silver jewelery for all occasions - from the casual and light-hearted to the sophisticated and sensual. Crafted in the UK.
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Free Celtic Music for
St Patrick's Day
Below is a current list of some of the best free Celtic music downloads online. Go download some music. If you like what you hear, support the artists and buy the CD!
Eight Great Irish Drinking Songs
1. "The Parting Glass" by Marc Gunn
At the end of October, I went to a Celtic Reels, and event sponsored by the Gaelic League of Austin. They showed The Quiet Man and Waking Ned Divine. After the later, I couldn't help, but sing this song. And when I got home, I recorded it and decided it'd make an excellent addition to Soul of a Harper.
Buy CD "Soul of a Harper"
2. "The Unicorn Song" by Brobdingnagian Bards
The Brobdingnagian Bards are the number one Celtic music group online offering free Celtic music downloads. You can download an album of Celtic MP3s and then scan a list of ten albums to choose from featuring The Bards music. Also, download "Whiskey in the Jar" and "Danny Boy".
Buy CD "Songs of Ireland"
3. "Fire In The Head" by Emerald Rose
Emerald Rose is a high energy Celtic folk rock band that blends harmony vocals, pennywhistle, world percussion and driving guitars and bass. Their music ranges from traditional jigs and reels to original folk rock and pop songs. Emerald Rose successfully draws from Celtic myth and legend to create a unique and accessible sound.
Buy CD "Fire In The Head"
4. "Whiskey Island " by Toraigh
Toraigh (pronounced Tore'-ee) is a Gaelic word meaning "search" or "seek" and represents the search for great foot-stomping, toe-tapping, heart warming music in the traditions and culture of Ireland. The band consists of Mary Dennis, Bob Midden, and Tom DelGreco from Bowling Green, Jack McMahon from Toledo and Mick Gilliam from Findlay, Ohio. Other musicians from the region who have played with the group on occasion include Dave Hawkins from Cincinnati, Peg O'Callan from Columbus, Rick Nelson from Westerville, Ohio, Dave Reddick from Jenera, Ohio, Bill Reeder from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Cole Latimer from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dancers from the Heinzman School in Toledo often perform with this group and those in the audience who can't resist the call are invited to clap and sing along.
Buy CD "Tripping Up The Stairs"
5. "How Are Things in Glocca Mora" by Ian Gallagher
Ian Gallagher is a performer equally at home singing traditional Irish folk tunes
and contemporary music including blues, rock, jazz, country and soul.
Though his music is firmly based in Irish tradition, Gallagher is interested in
performing all kinds of music.
Ian Gallagher has heart and soul deeply rooted in Irish tradition
and talent as eclectic and bright as tomorrow.
Buy CD "My Ireland"
6. "Annochie Gordon" by David Kilpatrick
David Kilpatrick has been writing and playing songs for around 30 years in folk clubs and pubs. David runs the weekly club in Kelso, Scotland, and visits Edinburgh and regional clubs when time and $5 a gallon petrol permit.
Buy CD not currently available
7. "Botany Bay" by King Laoghaire
KING LAOGHAIRE is a group of six people who share a mutual interest in traditional Irish/Scottish ballads and dance music. Based in Vänersborg, Sweden, the band first started in 1991 as an acoustic experiment in a rock bands (the Ex-Junkies) regular repertoire. In early 1992 the acoustic side of the band had taken over.
Buy CD "Courtin' The Ginger Lady"
8. "Back Home in Derry" by Jonathan Ramsey
Choirboy looks betrayed by gritty, over-the-top musical play. The music is Irish. The genealogy is Irish. The outcome is a definite party - with lots of happy songs about death, mutilation, lost love, and betrayal. Called upbeat, animated, and often just crazed, Jonathan Ramsey is always in motion onstage. Still, in spite of his highly energetic and playful performances, his musical style remains true to the nature of Irish folk songs.
Not one to weep into a beer, he builds up from warm ballads to rebel songs, then on to pint-banging pub songs. Soon, everyone is grabbing an empty glass and joining the percussion.
Buy CD "Jonathan Ramsey"
Seven Great Celtic Traditional Tunes
1. " The Blackbird" by Eileen Hadidian
Eileen Hadidian has appeared in concert throughout the Western United States. She is the founder as well as artistic director of Hausmusik, an early music concert series in Albany, CA. Her involvement with music for healing grew out of her own experience with breast cancer, in 1994 and again in 1997. She used music for her own healing, and began to play for other cancer patients. She has been exploring ways in which music can be used to help soothe critically and chronically ill people.
2. "My Friend Buddy" by Natalie MacMaster
I won't claim to be an expert on Natalie MacMaster's music though. I saw her a year ago at a Chieftains concert. And she blew me away. Now listening to some of her free MP3s has me more amazed than ever. She is the Celtic Pop hero of our time, performing music that crosses musical boundaries from traditional to modern. And she has the vitality that is only heard in bubble gum pop, but here you have good music.
3. "Planxty Irwin & Fanny Power" by Straight Furrow
Straight Furrow started life in 1990. Their hallmark sound is the atmospheric interpretation of traditional melodies and is derived from a unique blend of acoustic and electric instruments. Whether your feet are forced into a jig by the "rumpty-tump" of the dance tunes or you feel the hairs on your neck rise to the lilt of the slow airs, you cannot fail to respond to Straight Furrow.
4. "The King of the Fairies" by HarpSong
A Pacific Northwest flute and harp duo featuring musicians Jennifer Grady, flute, and Karen Almquist, harp and soprano. HarpSong has performed together for eight years throughout the Greater Willamette Valley region of Oregon for a variety of venues such as weddings, receptions, private parties, and public concerts. Their music is a wonderful addition to any special occasion.
5. "Alex MacDonnell's Favourite" by Buddy MacMaster
In 1938, fiddler Buddy MacMaster boarded The Judique Flyer to return home from Troy after playing his first dance. From that time Buddy's reputation as a fiddler spread up and down the Judique line. In 1943, Buddy took a job as a telegrapher and traveling station agent with the CNR (Canadian National Railroad) working in stations from Truro to Inverness. For the next forty years the railroad would nurture his reputation as a generous fiddler and today he is recognized as the world's leading exponent of the Cape Breton fiddle style. Joining him on this recording are many of the fine accompanists he has played with throughout his sixty-year career as a master of the fiddle.
6. "Garry Owen" by Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a trio that focuses on traditional Celtic music. We seek to honor the original intent of the song while at the same time make it accessible to a contemporary audience. Much of our music tells stories of love, loss, and war. These are the songs of the common man, his struggles, his triumphs, his faith, and his fantasies.
The majority of our music has vocal line, although in keeping with the spirit of Celtic music, we offer dance pieces as well. Additionally, we perform a large selection of original material that is written in the traditional style.
7. "See Spot Run" by FiddleSticks
FiddleSticks is a family musical group that performs folk songs and traditional tunes from the Celtic lands, from England, and from America. The band is made up of three teenaged sisters, Rebecca, Kathryn, and Elizabeth Davis, and their father Mark.
FiddleSticks' music is a lively mix of traditional Celtic and English dance music, together with original pieces by the group's composer and fiddler, Kathryn, as well as plenty of storytelling songs of life, love and laughter. A typical performance also includes a few sets containing Klezmer (Jewish), continental European, contemporary American folk, and Mormon Pioneer music.
Six Great Celtic Rock Songs 1. "Amazing Grace" by The Rogues
The Rogues are the Nations Premiere Pipe and Drum quartet and have earned several Grammy nominations for their incredible albums.
Buy CD "Made In Texas"
2. "Toss The Feathers / The Battle Of Auchrim" by Green Man
Green Man delivers traditional and contemporary Irish / Scottish/ Appalachian music, with a twist. Blending these works with techno beats, sequencers, bass and drum loops, Eastern percussion/ intervals, lush three-part harmonies, and heavy rock guitars -- the band also incorporates more traditional instrumentation such as wooden/silver flutes, tin whistle, accordion, acoustic guitar, cittern, and sitar. The result is a unique sound that is smart, fresh and exciting -- while honoring the timeless depth and beauty of traditional Celtic music.
3. "ATHOLL HIGHLANDERS" by Wicked Tinkers
WICKED TINKERS perform the kind of music you might have heard hundreds of years ago at a Scottish wedding, ceilidh, or around the campfire of a Highland raiding party. Since 1995 they've brought their vitality and humor to stages across America. They have been blending the emotion and power of the Great Highland Bagpipe with the pounding of raw tribal rhythms for over seven years and have recently added the haunting sound of the Bronze-Age Celtic Horn - a sound lost for over a millennium. They play the music of the Scottish Highlands, spicing it with the Celtic tunes of Ireland and the many lands graced by the Gaelic people. Touring the U.S. for most of the year, WICKED TINKERS has made friends and fans of folks from all over the world.
4. "End of the World" by The Willow Band
Fresh & engaging Celtic music, beautifully played by some of the top musicians on the scene...
Here are three musicians who encompass a great variety of music in the Celtic genre: a competition piper (Highland pipes, border pipes, bombarde, flutes, whistles), a top-notch fiddle player (in the Irish and Cape Breton traditions), and a virtuoso guitar player (6 string, 12 string, slide, ukulele, mandola) who has also written some of the best-loved songs in the contemporary Irish scene. Great music, engaging personalities, and an entirely fun show.
5. "The Butterfly" by The Irish Experience
The Irish Experience is a Blarney Phoenix, that rises up on Saint Patrick's Eve and brings bountiful cheer to all the little people at heart. The Irish Experience is a festive force, an insatiable "jig". The Irish Experience is renewed vigor. They perform Celtic and Appalachian music on traditional and electric instruments.
6. "Moreton Bay" by The Volunteers
South Florida's only original Celtic rock band. In their electric rock'n'roll stage-show, they are a full-throttle, guitar-driven, runaway locomotive. As Miami's New Times has put it: "From their first bottle-rattling gig at Churchill's, it's been no secret that the Vols are a great party band ... Put this crew and free-flowing alcohol in a club setting and you never know what will happen next ... This is a band capable of raising the roof in the best Celtic tradition."
Buy CD "The Volunteers"
© 2000-2004 Bard Marc Gunn of the Brobdingnagian Bards
PO Box 4067 Austin, Texas 78765 Ph 512.470.4866
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