It is worth celebrating the Tradconnect members that have albums in the Top 10 at the moment as compiled by Custys.  Eamonn Cotter and his wonderful flute album takes up the top spot with The Knotted Chord. In second and third spot we…

As they say themselves, they are four lads from Cork who play, dance, sing and generally have a good time.  Whatever about having a good time they seem to have produced something really good on this album.  Its a great mix of vocal and astonishingly well produced traditional music.  

The band include Máirtín de Cógáin (Vocals/Bodhran), Mick Heffernan…

As a follow up to our album review of NUA, the first release by a new Canadian group featuring Jacob McCauley we thought it would be interesting to look in some detail at the four tracks on the EP.  They…

With Christmas around the corner you may want to look at the top ten traditional albums at the moment when deciding on some stocking fillers.  We have a new No.1 this month with Eamonn Cotter and his Knotted Chord album taking the top spot. New entrants this month also include Colin Nea's, Between the Jigs and the Reels, an album we are about to review, Belfast…

This is an EP which features Tradconnect member Jacob McCauley, James M Law and Graeme McGillivray and introduces us to their new group called NUA. It consists of 4 tracks and is their first official release. Rooted in traditional Irish and Scottish music from a very young age they have…

If you want something a little festive you would not go too far wrong by giving A Winters Solstice Celebration by Hanz Araki and Kathryn Claire a spin. As featured in their very successful touring shows, it’s the first in a series of four recordings reflecting the music of the seasons. In their notes to the album they state that "the longest night of…

Paddy Glackin has just completed a major research project on legendary fiddle player Tommie Potts, resulting in a new recording of his music. The collection is made  up of digitally re-mastered recordings sourced from tapes held by the RTÉ Sound  Archive, with  additional  material  provided from  private  collections. In total there are 42 tunes gathered from the period…

I had the pleasure many years ago of listening in to sessions which included Damaris Woods and her mesmerising banjo playing.  Memories such as dates and locations may have faded, but what will not fade is the music or the talent that was, and still is so evident.  She was born in Luton and was part of what could be described as a ‘golden generation’ of young…

Memoir ~ The Road From Castlebarnagh

My musical memoir, THE ROAD FROM CASTLEBARNAGH, has just been released by Orpen Press in Ireland! Still waiting on news of a US distributor; we will keep everyone posted on that front as it develops…

In the meantime, it’s available at…

Some fantastic tracks here from Michael Coult and Karen Hickey that we came across recently. We don't as yet know a lot about the artists other then they studied at UL some time back.  Great music. When we find a link to their websites we will add it in. For now enjoy their music.…

I came across this film clip on my FB page tonight and thought I would share it.  As a Luthier and multi-instrumentalist I am humbled by the tenacity, love of music, and imagination by these young folk.  I wonder if the "pedigree" of our instruments we play really matters, especially in this day and age.…

Very often there are members on Tradconnect that make a major contribution to the music and fly very much under the radar. Tomoyuki Koshi is one such member.  Unless you visit his page here on Tradconnect or visit his blog or…

Yes we do like our fiddle music here on TradConnect.  Check out this exciting track from the rising talent that is Emma Sweeney, taken from her debut album, Pangea.

"Emma’s trad Irish background is the cornerstone of this exciting debut, but the Manchester-based fiddler integrates a select fusion of world influences that accentuate her…

http://journalofmusic.com/radar/new-album-cor-cuil-aodha

Yes we do like our fiddle music here on TradConnect.  Check out this exciting track from the rising talent that is Emma Sweeney.  Its taken from her album  Pangea.



"Emma’s trad Irish background is the cornerstone of this exciting debut, but the Manchester-based fiddler integrates a select fusion of world influences that accentuate her truly unique style and approach. Pangea…

Tradconnect member Oisín MacDiarmada has for some time been playing with Séamus Begley and earlier in the year we reviewed their debut album…