MATT CRANITCH, JACKIE DALY & PAUL DE GRAE
The words ‘Button Accordion’ and ‘Jackie Daly’ are synonymous in the world of Irish traditional music. Described in the New York Times as “probably the best accordionist in Ireland”, Jackie was born in Kanturk, Co. Cork, where he grew up surrounded by the rich music tradition of Sliabh Luachra. One of the greatest influences on his early musical development was Ballydesmond fiddle-player, Jim Keeffe, a pupil of the renowned Sliabh Luachra fiddle-master, Pádraig O’Keeffe. Over the years, Jackie’s lifelong affinity with fiddle-music has resulted in highly- acclaimed albums featuring fiddle and accordion – with the late Cork-based musician Séamus Creagh, with Kevin Burke, and now with Matt Cranitch.
Matt Cranitch is renowned as a fiddle-player and teacher, both at home in Ireland and abroad. He has performed extensively at concerts and festivals, on radio and television, and has presented lectures, master-classes and workshops on various aspects of Irish music. He has won All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles, as well as The Fiddler of Dooney and Oireachtas Crotty Cup. Author of The Irish Fiddle Book, first published in 1988 and now in its fourth edition, he has also contributed to other books on Irish traditional music. He is an authority on the music of Sliabh Luachra, and received a Ph.D. from the University of Limerick for his study on the fiddle-playing tradition of this region.
Paul de Grae is a Dublin-born guitarist (and occasional singer), living in Kerry for many years. He has recorded with Jackie Daly and Matt Cranitch, The Smoky Chimney, Eoin Duignan, Paudie O’Connor and others. In 1989 he published "Traditional Irish Guitar", the first such tutor, re-issued by Ossian in 1996 with a companion CD. He wrote most of the entry on "guitar" in The Companion to Irish Traditional Music, edited by Fintan Vallely. He has a particular interest in the music of Sliabh Luachra, plays regularly at sessions, concerts and festivals throughout Ireland (particularly in Kerry, Cork and Clare) and teaches guitar workshops in Ireland and the USA.
THE CAME THE DAWN BAND
The Came the Dawn Band is a newly formed group composed of 5 veterans of the St. John’s traditional music scene. The namesake of the band comes from the solo album by Seamus Creagh which was recorded in the early 1990s. Composed of Bryan Poirier (fiddle and bouzouki) originally from Moncton, New Brunswick; Don Walsh (guitar) from St. John’s, Gerry Strong (flute and whistles) from Freshwater (Carbonear); Paddy Mackey (bodhran) from St. John’s and Nadine Hollett (keyboard and vocals) from St. John’s. You’re really going to enjoy their interpretation of some of the music from Seamus’ album!
EOIN O RIABHAIGH, JOHNNY McCARTHY & AOIFE BLAKE
Uilleann piper and pipemaker Eoin O Riabhaigh is the son of the late, well known Cork piper and teacher, Micheál O Riabhaigh. He began his piping career at the tender age of 9 under his father's watchful eye and has enjoyed a very varied career as a piper, having performed and recorded with, among others, Dolores Keane, Mary Black, Iris Demente, Tom Russell, Matt Cranitch, Frankie Gavin and Tim O Brien. He has played and taught throughout Europe and the U.S., and currently plays a regular gig in Cork's premier traditional music venue “The Corner House” along with Johnny McCarthy, Aidan Coffey and several friends who drop in regularly.
Johnny McCarthy is a fixture on the traditional music scene in Cork. A singer, flute and fiddle player, Johnny plays regular traditional music sessions in the Corner House and is a member of the traditional group The Four Star Trio which has recorded two albums The Square Triangle (1997) and Magnetic South (2014). Johnny lectures in Traditional music at MTU’s Cork School of Music. In 2023 Eoin and Johnny released the wonderful recording titled “Under the Stairs” which Custy’s music calls “sweet music with gentle lift and beautiful balance between the reed and string”.
Aoife Blake is a traditional harper / singer / fiddle player from Co. Galway, based in Cork. Her passion for traditional music developed from childhood to her time at UCC studying Music and Gaeilge, and later at MTU’s Cork School of Music. Although rooted in Irish music, she takes influence from other music traditions, especially Appalachian (old-time) and Scottish music. Her playing and arrangements for harp and ensemble reflect her love for the purely traditional, as well as more contemporary sounds. She graduated from CSM with an MA in Music Performance, and in 2020 released her debut album, The Green Hills.
ANITA BEST & SANDY MORRIS
Anita Best was born on the island of Merasheen in Placentia Bay on Newfoundland’s south coast the year before Newfoundland joined Canada. When she was a child, television had not yet taken over as the primary source of entertainment, and for many homes on the island, electricity was provided by gas-powered generators. Singing, dancing and storytelling were the main forms of recreation and when the nights grew longer and colder and the fishing season was over, people would gather in each others homes and take heart in one another with tunes, songs and stories. Anita performs the traditional songs and stories from her childhood, as well as ones she learned later from people in Bonavista Bay, Cape St. Georges and the communities in and around Gros Morne National Park.
Sandy Morris is an accomplished and multi-talented musician, producer, and engineer based in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Picking up his first guitar at the age of 15, Morris has made his living as a versatile and ingenious performer since 1965. An original member of the legendary Wonderful Grand Band, Sandy has contributed his own compositions, his performances, and his musical expertise to film and television projects for more almost 50 years.
ELEANOR DAWSON, LINDA BYRNE & JOE BYRNE
Eleanor, Linda and Joe are among the finest traditional singers from our province and between them hold a massive repertoire of traditional (and contemporary) songs. Eleanor Dawson grew up in Bay Roberts, where she developed a lifelong interest in the history, folklore, and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador. One of the founders of the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, Eleanor has a particular interest in traditional singing and has a vast repertoire of songs from the English, Irish, and Newfoundland traditions. She is currently co-host of the monthly St. John’s Song Circle at the Crow’s Nest Officers’ Club in St. John’s.
Linda Byrne was born in Kingwell, Placentia Bay and resettled to Arnold’s Cove in the mid 1960’s. As a teenager she had a keen interest in learning songs, particularly traditional ballads, and she recorded many of the older folks from a number of Placentia Bay communities singing in the traditional unaccompanied style. Linda also has a keen interest in the country and western songs which she learned from the radio stations being broadcast during her youth. Currently living in St. John’s she continues to sing these songs at music festivals and song circles as well as at informal gatherings.
Also from Placentia Bay, Joe Byrne is singer and former member of The Breakwater Boys (along with his brother Pat, Rufus Guinchard, Baxter Wareham, and Clyde Rose), which performed across the country in the 1970s promoting the Newfoundland publishing company, Breakwater Books. Joe was also a member of the Pat and Joe Byrne Band (which included accordion player/singer Baxter Wareham) and released the seminal album Towards the Sunset in 1983.
LEE DUNNE, BRAD KLUCOWICZ, DARREN BROWNE WITH MAXINE DUNNE
Lee Dunne hails from Ferryland - a place well known for its music and close ties to the Irish tradition. His love of music was passed down from both sides of the family and was influenced by his Mother, Father and Grandparents. After releasing from the military and moving back to Newfoundland, he began to focus more on music in his spare time, and in 2014 released a CD with The Dunne Family. Lee's smooth style of playing and natural, warm delivery reinforces the characters, tales and events that occupy his music.
Originally from Toronto, Brad Klucowicz moved to St. John’s in 2018 and quickly became immersed in the traditional music scene of the city. With familial roots in Fox Harbour, Placentia Bay, Brad learned the basics of the button accordion as a child by watching his Grandfather and uncles. Moving to Newfoundland rekindled his interest in traditional music, deepened his connection to Newfoundland and stoked his interest in the musical connection between Newfoundland and Ireland.
Well-known in St. John’s as the #1 side man, Darren “Boobie” Browne is more than just a side man! A careful, meticulous musician with a deep understanding of the music he plays and its importance to the listener, Darren has garnered a lot of respect as “a musician’s musician”.
The boys will be joined by Maxine Dunne - respected singer from Ferryland and a member of The Dunne Family band. You won’t want to miss this act!