Its that time of the month again where we pick our album of the month. The start of 2013 has been pretty good for music and while one or two of the albums are from last year, delayed due to the volumes we have been getting through they are still included in January. February's Album of the month will be the new banjo album by Stevie Dunne. Simply titled "Banjo" it is a…

"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy". 

Ludwig Van Beethoven

I just moved to the Washington DC area this month. It is a wonderful change of pace (and elevation and humidity and temperature) from the mountains of Colorado! I have completed my New Tune A Day project, and have since posted three tutorial videos, meant mostly for people who are already familiar with the instrument but interested in getting into the Irish tradition. I'm looking for jobs now in my other, non-music field (the field I went to graduate…

We notice that compass Records have uploaded some great sound files onto their Soundcloud page.  There is a whole range of samples from Solas, Liz Carroll, Bothy Band, Andy Irvine and lots more.  

If you don't have some of these classic albums its a…

So it's all go at the moment with the new album. Mixing and mastering is nearly finished and the balance of the tracks and instrumentation is coming along nicely. I find the best place to listen is the car stereo. So I'm not completely big headed listening to my own music in the car! It's all about getting a good balance. I suppose…

Press release : The Irish Music Association Announces the 5th Annual Irish Music Award Recipients. The Awards Recognize the Irish Music Industry's Most Accomplished Artists and Performing Groups. The Irish Music Association has released its list of The Best of the Best in…

It's done! The Keymaster: Patrick Olwell's Story is officially finished, and the masters have been sent off for DVD and Blu-ray duplication. The premier screenings are set, Feb 28th in Boulder, CO, March 1st in Lyons, CO, and March 16th in Charlotesville, VA.

Here is the official teaser, and if you'd like to pre-order DVDs or Blu-rays, just go to …

In a week that saw The Temple Bar Trad Fest take on an international flavour with performances from overseas artists, it should be no surprise that one of the highlights came from new London band Crossharbour.  Performing as part of the London Calling show Crossharbour are a new five piece that comprise of Órlaith McAuliffe -…

In one of  the grandest halls in the land The Pride of New York came out to play.  The hall for all its beauty is not acoustically designed to host events like this and while it took  the musicians, the audience and the sound engineer a couple of sets to get comfortable, the show settled in very nicely…

North is the much anticipated new album from Mary Dillon who has been absent from the music scene for a number of years. As a former member of Déanta in the 1990s, the Derry singer had developed quite a following. This release will very quickly bring her back to the mainstream…

With the Temple Bar Trad Fest now in full swing, here are five unmissable acts that you can catch over the weekend. Firstly let’s focus on some fiddlers because we have the cream of the fiddling elite on our doorstep  including the Godfather of fiddling himself Brian Rooney.  Brian is now an internationally recognised fiddler known for his pure…

We have previously highlighted a new album release by Emer Mayock, piper Mick O' Brien and fiddle player Aoife Ní Bhriain. Entitled Tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts, the repertoire is drawn from original sources collected by Canon James Goodman in the mid 19th Century in his native province of Munster. From these manuscripts, Mick, Emer and Aoife have chosen music…

Pangea as an album is high on imagination and creativity. It is modern traditional and displays the music of the artist who should be more of a household name.  This album may bring about a change on her horizon, but for now her present landscape looks fine to me.  It's the touches, the intros and the little sparks of magic that make a track or an…

Highland based Gaelic singing quartet - Cruinn, are set to launch their debut album at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow on the 31st January and then perform at the festival the following night. It's release comes exactly a year since the band performed their debut concert at the prestigious winter music festival. 

Cruinn brings together four of Scotland's…

Compared to other instruments there has been a shortage of banjo albums in the last year or so. While accordions, flutes and fiddles dominate the Tradconnect review archives we have, to date only reviewed three banjo albums.  Check the latest releases on the main retail sites and again…

The sound clips from this album sound really good and we will have to get our hands on a copy. Formed in 1999, the West Ocean String Quartet’s vision, eclectic repertoire and style have won them global praise. Their music, most of it written and arranged by Neil Martin, lies somewhere in between the worlds of classical and traditional music.…

The Irish Traditional Music Archive are seeking applications for a Multimedia Digitisation Assistant. The placement is full-time (30 hours per week), runs for 9 months, and is offered through the Irish National Internship Scheme.  For information on eligibility and terms & conditions of the Scheme, please see www.jobbridge.ie …

Tradconnect member Patrich D' Arcy has been a regular at Timmy Malone's in Toluca Lake, California  for some time. After a year of playing with Dan Conroy and Kevin McKidd at that venue they have decided to make it more formal, and so a new a new group called The Rambling House Band has been formed. Dan Conroy…

With a career spanning over 40 years, Declan Sinnott has played guitar and produced music for Irish folk luminaries such as Christy Moore, Mary Black, Sinead Lohan and John Spillane to name but a few. He was a founding member of Horslips and Moving Hearts - two of the most influential trad /electric bands in Ireland, and spent 13 years guiding Mary Black's…