JONI BISHOP HAS

THE RECIPE FOR

THE PERFECT HOLIDAY SEASON!  

December 14, 2016

 

Joni and host Richard Sojourner

Quiet, please. Music is about to begin.

 

YOU HAVE YOUR RECIPE ... and I have mine! Here is what I would put in my bowl: a heaping helping of annual house concert on a crisp, cold night, mix in lots of friends and family, pour in libations and delicious snacks, add some catchin'-up conversation, then gently stir in the fine musicianship of JONI BISHOP. There, right there, is the recipe for kicking off the perfect holiday season!

Joni finger-picking the guitar

       Joni has been invited to perform at the house concert at RICHARD and MARY SOJOURNER'S home for nine straight years! Nine! That must surely be some kind of a record! Richard and Mary are incredibly generous with their home, their food, and their libations! We hope it continues for many more years to come. Nashville folk artist, songwriter, singer, and instrumentalist, Joni Bishop handles her music with ease. She sings in English and also in Latvian. Her parents and grandparents came to America from Latvia, and Joni sings verses to "Silent Night" in Latvian as well as in English. Her fingers fly across the strings of a guitar, a mountain dulcimer, a cigar box banjo (she makes those), and even a tambura, which is an East Indian instrument that produces a very unusual sound.

Joni on mountain dulcimer

Joni made this dulcimer in a workshop

 

 

 

 

Joni on the East Indian tambura

       Joni Bishop did two lovely sets of seasonal music, and we will share those songs with you.

       Set One: Little Drummer Boy; Endless Christmas; Buzzed (not what you think--written while in Starbucks and drinking lots of coffee); Soul Cake/God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (sung in counterpoint with Joni singing Soul Cake and the audience singing God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen); Go Tell It on the Mountain; Children, Go Where I Send Thee; Christmas in the Trenches (by John McCutcheon); The 12 Days of Christmas (with large cue cards to assist the audience); Grandma's Garden; and Wayfaring Stranger. Brief pause for food, drink, and conversation with friends.

Cue card: 12 Days of Christmas

Joni on cigar box banjo

 

 Set Two: Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland; Stone by Stone; Joy to the World (on the tambura); The Road to Bethlehem; Amazing Grace; We Three Kings; Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella; Stone by Stone (requested again); Send Yourself Home for Christmas; Sleighride; Away in a Manger; Christmas in the Trenches (requested again); What Child Is This; It's Gonna Be All Right Someday; Mary Had a Baby, My Lord; We Wish You a Merry Christmas; Silent Night (a verse in Latvian with audience singing in English); and I'll Fly Away.

Samples of Joni's folk art which is for sale

       For albums and information:  www.jonibishop.com

Some of our favorite albums are "One Wondrous Star: A Christmas Collection", "Endless Christmas", and "Threads". Other fine albums and folk art are available at Joni Bishop's website.

 

       Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all who came in to read this blog!

       

 

 



 

 

JOHN H. GLENN, JR.

(1921-2016)

GENE CERNAN LISTED BELOW

(1934-2017)  

 

Early ISS Mission, not John Glenn's flight

 

HIGH FLIGHT

 

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds, --and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of -- Wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air...

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark or even eagle flew --

And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

 

                                             John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

 

 

 

GODSPEED, JOHN GLENN!

You and your beloved Annie truly made the world a much better place for your having been in it! May you rest in peace.

 

S118 Mission, not John Glenn's flight

Sunrise or Sunset

 

 

EUGENE CERNAN

LAST MAN TO WALK ON THE MOON

(1934-2017)

 

GODSPEED, GENE CERNAN!

You and your fellow astronauts made us all proud!

May you rest in peace!

 

 

*Bluegrass Content: "Fly like eagles, out among the stars!" (written by Adam Mitchell, covered by country and bluegrass music artists throughout the years)

 

Photography sent by Jason Helms of the Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX. Thank you Jason!



CAROLING IN THE CAVERNS

MEANS THAT

'CHRISTMAS TIME'S A-COMIN'

Blanchard Springs, near Mountain View, AR

December 10, 2016

 

Santa Claus stops by Pinewood Cabins, Mountain View, AR

     WE ARE EXCITED! Christmas is almost here and we've hardly begun to shop, but we know when to get busy and begin contacting the Mountain View (AR) Area Chamber of Commerce about tickets to CAROLING IN THE CAVERNS. From past wonderful experiences, we contact the Chamber, select a weekend with a performance time slot that we prefer, and we anxiously await our tickets to Caroling. It's just the best feeling!

       Our tickets arrive, we grab our friends, and we're off to Mountain View, Arkansas, and a fine weekend of fellowship, beautiful music in an incredible cave setting that's lighted for the season, and some fine, tasty vittles before we leave the mountain. It's a Christmas gift unto itself!

       We take the elevator down 216 feet in the Blanchard Caverns Visitors Center to the lovely room filled with Mother Nature and Father Time's stalactites and stalagmites.

 



       Rangers and volunteers with flashlights assist us with our journey, even providing cushions for us to use when sitting in our bleacher seats. We settle in and music begins in the semi-darkness. Carolers descend the stairs near our bleachers, singing as they go. It's pretty dark in there, but this group is a bunch of professionals. They've walked and sung in the darkness many times. They reach their destination in front of the bleachers, and they begin their program.

       The carolers are: IRL HEES (bass and vocals), PAM SETSER (guitar, mountain dulcimer, spoons, and vocals), ROBERT GILLIHAN (mandolin and vocals), MARY GILLIHAN (comedic schtick that we love and vocals), RON HAYNES (guitar and vocals), and ABBY SPINKS (vocals). The musicians are all the finest local performers that one would hope to find. They love what they do, and it's obvious!

L to R: Irl Hees, Ron Haynes, Mary Gillihan, Pam Setser,

Robert Gillihan, and Abby Spinks

wishing concert-goers a Merry Christmas

       We like to include the program of music, and here it is: Angels We Have Heard on High; Beautiful Star of Bethlehem; Do You Hear What I Hear; There's a New Kid in Town; I Wonder as I Wander / Little Drummer Boy; It Came Upon a Midnight Clear; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Robert Gillihan's reading, "Seek and You Will Find"; Away in a Manger; Mary, Did You Know; There He Is; Christmas Time's A-Comin'; Winter Wonderland; Let It Snow; Deck the Halls; Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas; Cowboy Poetry; Ozark Twelve Days of Christmas; Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer; I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas; Go Tell It on the Mountain; Silent Night; and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

       As we depart the Visitors Center, we are asked to walk across a shallow, squishy pad of water, Woolite (r), and another ingredient. The procedure is brief, painless, and not damaging to shoes or feet. The area is trying to control white-nose syndrome in cave bats. The syndrome is deadly to bat populations, and the staff at Blanchard Caverns hopes to control the spread of the disease.                    

       Following the concert, we make our way back down Arkansas Highway 14 to a world-class catfish dinner at JoJo's Catfish Wharf. We turn in for the night at a local inn, thinking about the wonderful day we just had. After a good night's rest, we must hit the Rainbow Café on the town square for a fine breakfast before heading home. We never tire of the little ritual and we are already looking forward to Caroling in the Caverns 2017.

 

Special Thanks: The musicians, Dale at the Visitors Center for his assistance, and Jim for the photo of the musicians.

 

For more information:

Web:  http://YourPlaceintheMountains.com

E-Mail:  mvchamber@mvtel.net

Mountain View Area Chamber of Commerce: Phone (Tickets/Info) 870.269.8068 or

Toll Free: 888.679.2859

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

 

Pick away!

 

      

       

 





  

December 3, 2016

 

SATURDAY SPECIAL

FROM THE

BLUEGRASSHACK

 

Tennessee Gentlemen Bluegrass Shack,

Pleasant Ridge Road, Lucy, TN,

 

JUST WHEN I THINK I'VE HEARD AND SEEN MOST OF IT . . . something comes along that knocks my hat in the creek!

 

UMA and GIRI PETERS are 9 and 11 years old respectively. Got that?  Born in the twenty-teens! We're talking seriously young and seriously good bluegrass musicians who don't look like most bluegrass musicians. 

 

While we don't have a photo of this amazing duo, we did have the link to the hometown newspaper in Nashville known as the Tennessean.  Like a current TV commercial says, 'Prepare to be amazed'. Just follow the link below and enjoy!  It will warm your bluegrass music heart!

 

*Update: It seems that the link below that was in the Tennessean has been removed. Just go to YouTube for Uma and Giri Peters and their bluegrass music.

 

Click here for the article:

http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/12/02/indian-american-musical-prodigies-break-barriers-in-bluegrass-world  

 

I'm tip-toeing around in this cold creek looking for my hat!  Yonder it goes . . . .

 

Pick away!

 



THE BLUEGRASS MARTINS

BLUEGRASS MONDAY AT

THE COLLINS THEATRE

PARAGOULD, ARKANSAS

November 28, 2016

 

BLUEGRASS MUSIC IS HUGE in Middle America! Many who follow this blog already know that, or you wouldn't be reading this. Bluegrass is seriously huge in Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and all other Southern states. We love it! We follow it on radio (AM, FM, and Siruus) and CD, festivals and shows, and even at spontaneous jams. When a fan knows just where to look, bluegrass music is there and players and fans are having a grand old time!

       Such was the case on Monday night, November 28, 2016, when Bluegrass Monday rolled around at the Collins Theatre in Paragould, AR. The event is a 4th Monday tradition except during December. Just too much going on during the Christmas season. KASU-FM 91.9 on the campus of Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas, along with eight other local sponsors, hosted the Bluegrass Martins from Jefferson City, Missouri, for an early-Christmas concert. KASU-FM 91.9 Program Director, Marty Scarbrough, conducted introductions and the passing of the Cat-in-the-Hat hat for voluntary audience donations of at least five dollars each, all of which goes toward paying the band's expenses.

Marty Scarbrough with the

Cat-in-the-Hat hat

       The Bluegrass Martins are a family band of six siblings who sing and play the complete variety of bluegrass music instruments: Dobro(r), banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and upright bass. The folks in the band are loaded with instrumental and vocal talent. They have the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) Midwest awards to back up their credentials.

 

L to R: Larita, Janice, Jeana,
Dale, Lee, Anne (in back)

Anne clogging, Janice, Jeana, Dale
Larita (in back)

  Dale Martin is the older son. He sings and plays guitar. Janice Martin sings and plays banjo. Jeana Martin-Faris sings and plays fiddle. Jeana is married to Eddie Faris of the Faris Family Bluegrass Band. Larita Martin plays Dobro (r). The younger son is Lee Martin, a singer and showman who plays a hot mandolin. The youngest daughter is Anne Martin, and she clogs and plays upright bass and fiddle. The band has great harmony vocals, and their instrumentation is spot-on!

       Hitting the highlights of the Bluegrass Martins' program, we will share their song selection before storms and power outages move through the Mid-South for the second day in a row:

       Joy to the World; Christmas Day at My House; Thistlehair, the Christmas Bear; Christmas Reunion; Avalina; Papa Played the Dobro(r); In the Sweet By and By; Jingle Bells; That's How Much I Love You; Oh, Christmas Candle; Bah Humbug; 'Til These Dreams Come True; Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer; Fireball Mail; Who Do You Think; Two-Steppin' Around the Christmas Tree; Goodbye, Little Darlin'; Orange Blossom Special; and the encore was a fine rendition of Train 45!

       The microphone settings made it a bit tough to hear words and song titles, but we think we got most of what was sung and said. This is a very talented group of young people who have been performing for at least 15 years. They play all over the United States and they know their stuff when it comes to bluegrass music. Visit their website for CDs, other merch, and tour dates.

       We would be remiss if we failed to mention Terry's Café, which is just down the block (201 South Pruett Street) from the Collins Theatre at 120 West Emerson Street. The café stays open from 4:30 PM until about 6:45 PM on Bluegrass Monday evenings to feed bluegrass fans before the show. The delicious catfish buffet, with tasty vegetables and desserts, is a treat for any hungry bluegrass musician or fan!

 

For more information:

The Bluegrass Martins  www.bluegrassmartins.com

KASU-FM 91.9 Public Radio  www.kasu.org  or  mscarbro@astate.edu

 

*Coming up at the Collins Theatre:  Monroe Crossing, January 23, 2017

*Coming up at the Fowler Center, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro:  Dailey & Vincent, April 1, 2017 -- No foolin'! (Tickets on sale now at ASU Central Box Office or Ticketmaster

 

Happy Holidays!

Pick away!



A MOUNTAIN VIEW, ARKANSAS  

THANKSGIVING

WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS

PLUS A GOSPEL CONCERT

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

 

       MOUNTAIN VIEW, ARKANSAS, IS SPECIAL at just about any time of year. At festival and holiday time, she really shows off! If you have been there for Bean Fest or the Mountain View Bluegrass Festivals, then you know what it means for the little mountain town to strut her stuff, whether it is the beauty of springtime or Mother Nature's blazing fall colors.

       Thanksgiving in Mountain View means that the Ozark Folk Center throws a giant-size dinner with all the trimmings. Every meat, vegetable, salad, and bread you could imagine! The desserts come in countless flavors and unending supply. The Skillet Restaurant is totally prepared for the hungry travelers, and it fills quickly. The waiting crowd spreads to the outdoors, where even more people listen for their names to be called to come in and be seated. Somehow it all works and eventually everyone is seated and served. It's all buffet-style, and the efficient waitresses serve the guest's requested beverage. The Skillet handles the process in two four-hour seatings that are about thirty minutes apart. One could eat early or later in the day.

       Following a huge and satisfying meal, families can tour the arts and crafts areas at the Folk Center or take a walk around the downtown area to let the meal settle a bit. Christmas lights are up around the charming little square in town. It's a 'Norman Rockwell' kind of a place and time. When the last hungry guests are served their meals, the Folk Center has a lovely evening concert in the White Oak Theater just across the driveway from the Skillet.

       It has become a wonderful tradition for the manager of the White Oak Theater, Daren Dortin, to arrange for Pam Setser and her good friend Joni Bishop to sing and play gospel and favorite Christmas songs to top off a splendid day with family and friends.

Pam Setser, guitar and vocals

Joni Bishop, guitar and vocals

 

       Pam Setser is a well-known local artist who sings, writes songs and plays a variety of acoustic instruments: guitar, mountain dulcimer, and the very popular spoons. Folks love to see her wear out those spoons! Pam began performing with her family's band, the Simmons Family. She also performs with the Leatherwoods, Apple Setser and Rounds, and with other artists like the fine fiddler Tim Crouch. At a recent Mountain View Bluegrass Festival, Pam appeared as a guest artist with her friends Buck, Sharon, and Cheryl, The Whites. It was amazing!

       Joni Bishop is an artist who draws, paints, and creates unusual stringed instruments out of whatever is at hand--cigar box, tin can, lid from the tin can, and whatever else is within reach. In addition to her talents in the visual arts, Joni sings, writes songs, and plays guitar, mountain dulcimer, and hand-made cigar box banjo. Joni is originally from Wisconsin; however, she now calls Nashville, TN, home. Her parents came to America from Latvia, and Joni sings her songs in both English and Latvian. Joni's songs sung in Latvian are completely charming!

 

Pam on dulcimer and vocals - Joni on guitar and vocals

       Pam and Joni performed on this Thanksgiving evening by singing separately, alternating first one and then the other. They also sang together in such lovely harmony. Here are the songs they chose to sing to get the audience into a holiday mood:

     Wayfaring Stranger; 12 Gates to the City; Beulah Land; Grandma's Garden; Unclouded Day; Christmas Wishes; Toys; I Saw the Light; I'll Fly Away; I'll Be Home for Christmas; Soul Cake--God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Blessed Assurance; Will the Circle Be Unbroken; Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Endless Christmas; Little Drummer Boy; Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland; Mary Had a Baby, My Lord; Walkin' in Jerusalem; Silent Night (English, Latvian, then in tandem with both languages); and We Wish You a 'Happy Thanksgiving' to the tune of We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The audience was spellbound. Most audience members visited with these two friendly artists after the concert.

Joni (left) and Pam (right) sharing a moment
with fans after the concert

       The concert was the perfect way to end an otherwise perfect Thanksgiving Day in Mountain View, Arkansas. This writer is grateful for the friends who traveled with me and for the friends who shared their day with us by performing after Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks, Pam! Thanks, Joni!

       Each artist has CDs and other items for sale at her website. For further information about the artists, the Ozark Folk Center, and Mountain View, AR, please visit the following websites:

 

Pam Setser   www.pamsetser.com

Joni Bishop  www.jonibishop.com

Ozark Folk Center State Park  www.ozarkfolkcenter.com

Mountain View, Arkansas  www.yourplaceinthemountains.com

 

Happy Holidays!

Pick away!

      

 

KATE CAMPBELL

 

MERCY ME, CHILD! YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS WOMAN!

 

CENTER FOR SOUTHERN FOLKLORE

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

NOVEMBER 5, 2016

 

       KATE CAMPBELL IS A PK! You Southerners out there know perfectly well what a PK is...She is a Preacher's Kid. In her case, a Southern Baptist preacher's kid from Sledge, Mississippi. Being a preacher's kid means that she's moved around a lot and she's heard a boxcar load of Sunday morning sermons. Sunday night and Wednesday night services, too, more than likely.

       Given that background over the years, Kate became a complete sponge, absorbing the thoughts, the feeling, the ways, the songs, the heartbeat, the good and bad times, the lifestyle of people all over the South, regardless of race, color, religion or the lack thereof.

       There are storytellers who write it down for folks to read; some share their stories via the spoken word, and singer-songwriters deliver the story in their songs. You know who they are: William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Shelby Foote, Congressman John Lewis, J.D. Vance, Rick Bragg, Minton Sparks, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Pete Seeger, Louisa Branscomb, and Claire Lynch, to name a few, plus our subject for today, Kate Campbell.

       While it has been many a year since I last saw and heard Kate Campbell, I jumped at the chance to go with a friend to Center for Southern Folklore to hear the artist I remember from quite a while back. Judy Peiser handles the goings-on for the Center, located at 119 South Main Street, Memphis, TN 38103. Judy and I got reacquainted prior to Kate's performance, and it was great seeing both of these fabulously "uppity" women again!

Stage at Center for Southern Folklore

       Center for Southern Folklore is completely funky! It's a great spot for entertainment! Nothing matches anything else, great posters, folk art, and collected items are on the walls, Christmas lights stay up the year 'round, and stuff is just kinda stuck here and there. It all works! You can sit pretty much wherever you want. A wonderful hostess brings popcorn and asks what you would like to drink. Artists mingle with the crowd before and after their concerts. It's a lot like a house concert but at somebody else's house!

Judy Peiser introducing Kate Campbell

         Judy Peiser introduced Kate and the artist settled into her chair with her guitar. She got her foot positioned just right on her footstool, checked the microphone, and off she went with Miles of Blues followed by The New South (gotta have a fluffy, expensive little dog like a Bichon Frise), and Mississippi and Me. See Rock City (Sissy from Mississippi) was followed by Fade to Blue and Yellow Guitar (from a short story by Eudora Welty). Kate took some time to talk about Galway to Graceland, a song about going to see the King (Elvis). The song was written by Englishman Richard Thompson.

       A Cotton Field Away brought remembrances of times when Elvis wasn't the king. Cotton was King and downtown Memphis still shows vestiges of the "white gold" heyday in the 1930s and '40s.

 

 

       Delmus Jackson was the black man Kate met at her church, and to whom she gives much credit for his influence on her. Delmus had nine children and times were hard, but he took the time to talk to Kate. They understood each other. Delmus explained that he was "working for the Lord, and seeing His face will be his reward" when the Lord says, "Well done". Her song about this simple, hard-working man brought tears.

       Galaxie 500 and Crazy in Alabama are about how the train of change is coming fast, maybe a little too fast for Alabama to keep up. Other Southern states struggle with change, too. Lay Back the Darkness is a dream about laying down the blues for good, if that day ever comes.

       Bud's Cement Boat has a fooler of a title. Bud's boat was actually the "Sea Mint", and part of the boat may still be visible somewhere in Alabama today.

       Kate Campbell's encore was Joe Louis, and it was about a person who had boxer Joe Louis' furniture in his den! While Kate sang, Judy Peiser slipped a beautiful piece of folk art onto the edge of the stage. The work is called "Brown Bomber".

Brown Bomber

       The show was brief and we would love to have listened late into the night. We had hoped for Jesus and Tomatoes Coming Soon and also Funeral Food, but we will wait for the next time that Kate brings her wonderful, quirky Southern stories in song to Center for Southern Folklore, maybe in her Galaxie 500!

 

CDs we picked up at the show: The K.O.A. Tapes (Vol. 1), Save the Day, Blues and Lamentations, and Wandering Strange. Kate Campbell has these and several more available at her website. The Folklore store has a good supply of Kate's CDs, too!

 

Kate Campbell sightings soon:

March 6-9, 2017  Provincetown, MA  Cape Cod Songwriters, Sloan Wainwright and Tom Kimmel. Contact David Roth davidrothmusic@gmail.com or 508.360.8325.

 

2017 Ireland Tour with Kate Campbell -  9-day tour of Counties Mayo, Galway, and Clare (counties could change). Contact Kate at info@katecampbell.com

 

For more information:

Kate Campbell  www.katecampbell.com

Center for Southern Folklore  www.southernfolklore.com

 

 

`

THE BROCK McGUIRE BAND 

PAINTS MEMPHIS GREEN:  

IRELAND CAME TO TOWN  

AND LEFT US SPEECHLESS!

October 15, 2016

 

Dr. Nancy Chase on Bagpipes

     IRELAND TRULY DID COME TO TOWN and we who attended DR. NANCY CHASE's house concert in October just had no idea what was in store for us! It has taken this writer a month to even recover and figure out where to start with my blog about the experience!

       We could start with Dr. Chase's generous welcome, the light supper, and the mingling of band members and guests. Nancy has had practice at hosting house concerts, and she was ready for the BROCK MCGUIRE BAND. We found comfortable seating, ate our snacks, and we chatted with those around us as we waited  for the band to get into place.

       Dr. Chase brought the band out by playing her bagpipes, for which she has become well-known in our region. The pipes will make a crowd settle down and pay attention! Getting into place were PAUL BROCK (accordion and 10-key melodion), MANUS McGUIRE (fiddle), DENIS CAREY (piano), and DAVE CURLEY (percussion and Irish dancing on a large wooden board). Dave Curley suffered a previous injury to his arm, or we would have heard him on guitar, mandolin, and banjo.

 

L to R: Paul Brock, Denis Carey, Manus McGuire

       The program began with Paddy in London and The Old Blackthorn Stick. The tunes came from James Morrison of County Sligo, Ireland, and from Jimmy Shand of Scotland. Then came Blue Bell Polka (which we in America know as Flop-Eared Mule), The Frost Is All Over, Tom Moore's Downfall, Lucy Campbell, and the Genevieve Waltz, named for Manus McGuire's wife.

       The next treat was Dave Curley's dancing on the wooden board to The Blackbird (from County Kerry). Next, Denis Carey held us spellbound with his beautiful Emigration Suite, Goodbye to the Loneliness. Dave Curley arose again to dance to some reels out of Quebec, Canada. Dave sang Paddy's Lamentations, which told of a warning to countrymen about what he found in America--fighting for Lincoln. He went on to mention that Choctaws here in America in the 1840's sent money and buckwheat to Ireland during the terrible famine.

       The last songs in the first set were Because It's There and The Coalminer's Reel from The Flanagan Brothers.

      Set two began with Dave Curley dancing to three reels from Sligo: Miss Langford, Humours of Westport, and Come West Along the Road. The reels were followed by The Flowing Bowl, McGoldrick, Carey Fergus (Dave singing), Cooley's Galway Rambler, and Skylark (Dave dancing).

L to R: Manus McGuire and Dave Curley

Dave Curley Irish Dance

      Next up was the moving Isle of Hope, the story of the first person to be processed on Ellis Island in New York. The person was Danny Moore, age 15. Ellis Island closed to emigration in 1943.

       The next tune was Connaught Man's Ramble (The Rambler), and it was followed by an air by Paul Brock. The song was Love (or Darling) of My Heart, about longing for one's homeland.

       Paul Brock entertained us on melodion with Chase Me Charlie, Dance Boatman Dance, and Poor Old Liza Jane.

       As the concert began to wind down, we heard The Rose and the Heather, Boys of the Town, Drowsy Maggie, and The Red-Haired Lass. The Brock McGuire Band's encore was the familiar tune called The Irish Washerwoman.

       The people who attended the concert were completely mesmerized during the entire performance. The Brock McGuire Band is such a fine group of amazing entertainers. "Miss them at your peril," as my friend from County Clare, Maura O'Connell would say.

       We can now add the Brock McGuire Band to our growing list of incredible Irish musicians: Maura O'Connell, Karan Casey, John Mock, Sean Og Graham, Gerry O'Beirne, Frankie Gavin, Tommy McCarthy, Louise Costello, and more whose names escape me at this moment.

      

       Here are two amazing albums which have not been out of the CD player for the last month!

"Green Grass--Blue Grass" - a collaboration with Ricky Skaggs and other American bluegrass artists.

"Hands Across the Water" - a collaboration between American and Irish musicians to benefit the children of Southeast Asia who were affected by the tsunami. Both of these albums are stunningly beautiful. We suggest that you add them to your collection.

 

     More Information: www.brockmcguireband.com