The trad music calender is entering a busy phase starting in July and as part of that there are a number of retreats, schools and festivals taking place which we will try and highlight as they occur.  Starting next week in Clare there is a new opportunity for flute players to smarten up on their technique.  The…

The Yanks debut album is now available for download. For a limited time it is available on a "pay-as-you-want" basis.  So get on over to yanksband.bandcamp.com, have a listen and then download.  

The Yanks are a new group with some TradConnect regulars in the shape of …

For those of you that follow the great TG4 Series Geantraí on Sunday nights check in this Sunday for Episode 3 that will be hosted by Harper Freda Hatton and will feature Tradconnect member Enda Seery.…

Tradconnect members Colleen Raney and Stuart Mason, with John Weed are teaming up to form a new group and are kicking off a US West Coast tour.  They go…

Oisín Mac Diarmada will give a series of master classes at the TIMES Springhill Retreat Center, 3991 Renner Road, Richardson, Texas April 15th - 19th 2013. The classes are designed for students, ages 18 and older, who already play fiddle and consider themselves intermediate or advanced in their level of ability. A…

Here is an interesting video where painter and musician JB Vallely talks about his life and work as one of Northern Ireland's most respected and productive artists. Born in Armagh, J B Vallely was painting from an early age and by the time he was thirty was regarded as one of the most exciting Irish painters.

He talks to Northern Visions about his…

Michael Coleman's fiddle will be in The Cobblestone Bar next Tuesday Feb 26th and will be available to play with care on the night. "Coleman's records were to have a major impact on musicians back in Ireland, and were to exercise an influence on traditional music which was to long outlast his…

The second programme in this new series comes from Pat Shortt's Pub in Castlemartyr, Co. Cork.

It is presented by banjo player and Tradconnect member Daithí Kearney where among the guests are brothers Caoimhín & Seán Ó Fearghail, singer Mike Hanrahan and comedian, publican and flute player Pat…

Young emerging acts with their own unique brand of Irish traditional music are encouraged to take part in an exciting new project in association with Comhaltas Dhoire and Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin. ‘An Ré Nua ~ the New Era’ is a competition designed to encourage young and innovative musicians to compete against each other for a chance to kick start a…

We are listening to this short EP by Baile an Salsa at the moment.  Its fun, its different and its well recorded. Of late we have been mixing Irish music with lots of foreign influence so why not mix it up with a bit of Salsa. According to their Facebook page "Baile an Salsa are set to the take the Irish music scene by storm. The band sound is an eclectic mix of…

Check out our very extensive Events/Gig listing on Tradconnect.com. With the festival season starting we have the most detailed listings for traditional Irish music related events on the web.  With our ever growing readership you can reach the largest global audience with close to 10,000 unique visitors visiting us every month. Once an event is…

With the festival season upon us we have updated our festivals guide to provide the latest dates for festivals in 2013.  There are still a number of festival dates that need to be confirmed for the period September - December 2013.  

This should provide a comprehensive list for people travelling to…

Tim Edey and Brendan Power will be playing at the Harcourt Sessions in Dublin city centre on Monday 18th February at 9pm.  They will also be appearing on The John Murray show  on RTE Radio 1 from 9am. We are most definitely going to attend . Tickets are €10 from the hotel in advance and you may get some on the door as well. "Tim Edey is one of the finest…

Our good friend Devon Leger brought this beautiful album to our attention last night via Facebook and we have done nothing but listen to it since.  It was released in 2001 by Verena Cummins and Julie Langan.  Its an album called Faonchaoi and how it has escaped our…

Lúnasa will also be hosting a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest tin whistle ensemble in Ireland this June.

As many of you might have heard this is the year of The Gathering; an initiative to welcome visitors to Ireland and Lúnasa are delighted to be leading this music project in County Clare, the home of traditional music. The aim is to get as many people as possible to join them in Ennis with their whistles and beat the current…

Every now and again you come across and artist that you were unaware of that really hits you like a ton of bricks.  Maeve Gilchrist is one such artist.  Some extraordinary music and song for this Scottish native now living in Boston. 

Thanks Dylan Foley for bringing her to our attention. Check out this charming video and the sound clips below which are a mesmerising mix of…

We're just two weeks away from the launch of the 2013 tour of Masters of Tradition at the Bass Concert Hall at the University of Texas with the same incredible line-up of some of the best Irish traditional musicians working today: Martin Hayes, fiddle (and artistic director), Iarla Ó Lionáird, vocals, Máirtín O Connor, accordian, Cathal Hayden,…

Here is Dónal McCagues performance on  the TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2013 (Traditional Music Awards) which took place last month.  Also check out our Interview with him which we did a few weeks ago. Great tune choice.

You can also read our review of…

Irish Studies is an integrated, interdisciplinary programme of learning which seeks to explore key aspects of the Irish experience in its historical and contemporary settings. Since its inception in 2000, the Centre for Irish Studies at NUI Galway has established itself as one of the premier locations worldwide for interdisciplinary…

Ok are we ready for The Yanks. It's a new group with some TradConnect regulars in the shape of Dan Gurney, Dylan Foley as well as Isaac Alderson and…