The Gathering Traditional music festival takes place in Killarney, Co. Kerry from 18th - 22nd February 2015. This festival is firmly established as one of the most popular celebrations of Irish song and dance and has grown in strength since its inception way back in 1999.  It…

The Temple Bar TradFest kicked off earlier this week and there is a great line up of music over the weekend. 2015 will mark the 10th year of TradFest - a festival based in Dublin's Temple Bar, showcasing the full spectrum of traditional & folk music in some of Dublin'™s most unique venues. The Festival presents both established and up and…

Welcome to the Tradconnect Official Album Launch Series.  For members and readers this series of articles will introduce you to a new traditional album for the first time. We are working with artists to bring a little bit more excitement to the “online launch”.  The first time you share a track from a new recording with your fans and audience is…

This video features an interesting chat with Tara Breen who has come to our attention lately as a result of her album with The Trí-Tones. 

The band are Conor Moriarty from Kilcummin on button accordion, Tara Breen from County Clare on fiddle and Stephen Rooney from County Down on Guitar and…

If you have an interest in fiddle albums that introduce some interesting arrangements to some standard tunes then Danny Diamond's Fiddle Music from 2014 is worth checking out.  It was one of the highlights of the year.  Earlier this month he also released this rather interesting video of a couple of uilleann piping tunes on open tuned fiddle. On his album we wrote…

This is the debut recording from Dublin duo, Ye Vagabonds. They apply their close harmonies and mellow guitar work to 6 tracks, 4 of which are new compositions and they have all the credentials to make a breakthrough. Ye…

He has been called “The Welsh Springsteen”, but there are also shades of John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews there may be – but he stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives.



Juxtaposition is a key theme in Martyn’s work. The…

This year the prestigious TG4 Gradam Ceoil Awards celebrates its 17th year of honoring the very best in traditional music.  They have found a new home as they move to the Cork Opera House for a live ceremony that will be broadcast on February 22nd on TG4.

It is fitting that this years recipients include the boundary pushing ensemble that is Jack…

This is the new single from UK folk singer Kelly Oliver. She has been receiving a lot of coverage of late and once again delivers with this acoustically driven track. It's called Same World and is released as a single. There is an earthly purity once again to the delivery with some lush harmonies. She is "a folk singer/songwriter, guitarist and…

Ambient melodies, traditional compositions and groovy beats with layers of electronic sounds.  This is Pádraig Rynne, his band Notify and Pauline Scanlon at their experimental best. This time it’s more refined, more observed and with its traditional core more intact.  The Carrington Event opens the EP and is an instrumental…

Here are two early samples from a couple of really exciting young fiddlers with albums due early this year.  

Saileog Ní Cheannabháin was the winner of our New Tune Composition earlier in the year with her composition called Méaracáin…

In the world of traditional music, this CD has to stand out as being unique for many reasons. Firstly, it is comprised entirely of original compositions by Áine. Each tune is unique and well crafted, perfectly played and most importantly, true to the tradition. The album features the very capable silver flute and tin whistle playing of Áine with sympathetic accompaniment on…

We have 5 great albums to give away to one lucky reader. All the albums are from last year and they are listed below with an audio track and a little bit about them.



To win all 5 simply answer this question by adding a comment to this blog. All correct answers into a hat, with one lucky…

Fiddle player Anna Falkenau has just released a new album of traditional fiddle music called Féileacán na Saoirse.  It features tunes from the Irish and American old-time music traditions, as well as some original compositions.Contributors to the record include Ged Foley and Kevin Hough (guitar), Holly…

This is a track from quite an intriguing band that have gained a significant audience in their local town of Sligo and now nationally.  It’s their fourth album and it doesn't fit with any particular genre that you might try to apply.  This is a major bonus because their music has the sort of free spirited eclectic mix that can't help but intrigue. Reminiscent of bands that…

Each year, the IMRO Showcases at the Temple Bar TradFest aim to shine a light on the rising stars of traditional music in Ireland. Those selected to perform at the showcases have the opportunity to be heard by festival organisers, artist managers, media, international delegates and a supportive collection of traditional music enthusiasts.

The showcases will offer a…

This is track 3 off the new Colin Farrell album called Make a Note, released towards the end of last year.

The individual tunes are The Cloonloo Reel / Perfect Johnny / Charlie Madden's.  Colin was born in Manchester and spent a lot of his early years in that vibrant city.  

His was a very musical family with brothers and sisters all involved in…

For those members that want to gain access to the Tradconnect Playlist Archive there is a link below that will take you there.  This is a collection of the playlists that we have featured on the site over the last couple of years.  There are a lot of monthly 'best of collections' as well as features on specific artists that we have covered on the site.…

Award winning northern band Athrú are in the final stages of completing their debut EP according to guitar play Cormac Crummy.  It will be a summer release and we may have an exclusive track from you here on Tradconnect.  Athrú have a contemporary sound that is energetic and modern in its outlook. The band includes Belfast musicians Niall McIlroy (whistles/flutes/guitars),…

Each week we monitor our Soundcloud file to see which track gets the most plays.  This weeks most played track is from  Life is all Checkered, the new duet album by Nathan Gourley and Laura Feddersen.  It has received 180 plays over 7 days.  It shows that new life exists within many an old tune.  Nathan and Laura…