“St. Brigid was a light in the darkest of times, a peacemaker, a woman who provided sustenance and a safe haven for all,”” notes Ivers, a Grammy Award-winning Irish American fiddler. “I’m thrilled to be joining other female artists as part of a livestream concert honoring this beloved Irish saint. May the perpetual flame that St. Brigid ignited so long ago, which still burns in Kildare Town’s Market Square today, live in our hearts and shine through the gift of music and community.” The livestream concert can be viewed on The Association of Irish & Celtic Festivals’ Facebook page.

Along with Ivers and Madden, a flutist and tin whistle player who has been at the helm of the New York-based all-female Irish music ensemble Cherish the Ladies since its inception in 1985, the following artists will be showcasing their musical talents:

The Bowtides (a trio of fiddlers who spent 14 cumulative years – never at the same time – in Gaelic Storm), Ashley Davis (an eclectic American singer-songwriter), Goitse (a multi-award-winning traditional Irish ensemble), Dani Larkin (a singer-songwriter and folk musician from the Armagh-Monaghan border whose music is inspired by the folktales she was raised with, intertwined with elements of traditional melodies and rhythms from around the world in a timeless tradition), Susan O’Neill (SON, an enigmatic singer-songwriter who fuses traditional Irish folk with rock, soul, gospel and blues), Cathie Ryan (an award-winning Irish-American vocalist and songwriter who was the original lead singer with Cherish the Ladies), Clare Sands (a versatile Cork-born fiddler, multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer-songwriter with deep family roots in Northern Ireland and County Wexford, whose sound is rooted in Irish traditional music), and Aoife Scott (a Dublin-based folksinger-songwriter who is part of the legendary Black Family).

The Association of Irish & Celtic Festivals (AICF) is a collective of more than 170 festivals throughout The United States and Canada that aims to bring the Irish culture – via music, education, food and dance – to those not in Ireland in the hopes that those traditions are never lost. Referring to the concert as “a celebration of the female spirit,” Erin O’Rourke from Indy Irish Fest in Indianapolis and an AICF executive board member, said: “We hope that by highlighting this Irish patron saint and her holiday and stories, we can entertain and educate audiences with a program that celebrates her, and some of the best female Irish musicians and dancers across the world.” More information about the St. Brigid’s Day Concert and AICF may be found at irishcelticfestivals.org.

American, Canadian, Irish and Scottish artists will be featured in what Cheryl Prashker, the festival’s artistic director and general manager; hopes will be “a magical online experience.” Nearly eight hours of pre-recorded music made especially for the festival will be viewable via the festival’s website (CelticFestival.ca), as well as its Facebook page (https://facebook.com/goderichceltic) and YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/channel/UCHRa3SZ8Y1wn88xYtNvR4Lg/featured?view_as=subscriber). FolkMusicNotebook.com, a 24/7 online music channel, will also stream the festival on its website.

From its humble beginnings as one-time memorial concert in 1993, the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival is now the oldest pan-Celtic festival in North America. In addition to a three-day outdoor festival showcasing some of the world’s best Celtic musicians, dancers and artists, it has grown/evolved to include a weeklong Celtic College and a Celtic Kids Camp, as well as a series of rural outreach mini-concerts,

The festival –- whose physical location is surrounded by the Irish and Scottish heritage reflected in the nearby communities of Belfast, Dublin, Kincardine, Lucknow and Seaforth — was founded on the spirit of community and connecting people with Celtic roots and exploring new Celtic expressions. It generally features more than 60 hours of live musical performances by dozens of artists and acts on five stages, ranging from small intimate ones to a high-powered main stage.

Postponing the 28th edition of the Goodrich Celtic Roots Festival to August 2-8, 2021
“was a really emotionally hard decision to make,” Prashker acknowledged, ”but we’re going all out with this virtual one.” Prashker -– who is also part of the Celtic roots group RUNA and a ‘percussionist to the folkies’ — noted that when she assumed her position with the festival two years ago it was her “secret hope to put the beautiful small town of Goderich on the world map … and now it will be on the world stage virtually.”

Here’s a link to view a short commercial for the festival:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_fcUWQrzE0

The virtual Goderich Celtic Roots Festival 27.5 will feature pre-recorded performances by Ariko (Canada), Bourque Emissaires (Canada), Cherish The Ladies (U.S.), Shane Cook (Canada)), Joe Crookston (U.S.), The deBarra Brothers (U.S. & Ireland), Flack (Canada), Eve Goldberg (Canada), Joe Jencks (U.S.), Kruger Brothers (U.S. & Ireland), Emory Lester (Canada), Malinky (Scotland), North Atlantic Drift (Canada), Brian O’Headhra & Fiona MacKenzie (Scotland), One for the Foxes (Ireland & U.S.), Reynolds, Robinson & Lodge (Canada), and RUNA (U.S. & Canada).

“We returned to the festival the following year and, by that time, I had absolutely fallen in love with the town and the people, not to mention the beach at Lake Huron,” said Prashker. Noting that “There is an energy here that many say is what keeps them coming back time and time again,” she continued, “Each year after that, even if RUNA was not booked at the festival, I would come back anyway and teach at the Celtic College.” That led to her spending more and more time in Goderich — visiting and eventually moving there and assuming her current dream job. “It reads like a fairy tale (at least to me it does.), and I am so honored to be here,” she added, expressing hope that online festival viewers will get a small glimpse of the spirit and beauty of Goderich that drew her there.

The annual Celtic Roots Festival is run under the auspices of the Goodrich Celtic Folk Society — a charitable nonprofit organization that produces events designed to foster awareness, participation, and education in the world of traditional Celtic culture. Although admission to the virtual festival is free, there will be a virtual tip jar (celticfestival.ca/donate) and all contributions will go to the participating artists.

A number of booking agencies whose rosters include folk and roots artists were among the more than 300 exhibitors in the large EXPO Hall. The conference also featured networking opportunities galore, daily plenary sessions and keynote speakers, an awards ceremony, a town hall on the artist as activist, and a wide array of professional development workshops and forums.

The theme for 2019 was The Power of WE and highlighted the collective strength and the influence of the performing arts in the world. As Mario Garcia Durham, APAP’s president and CEO, noted in welcoming conference attendees: “At APAP, we celebrate both the impact of our work and the opportunity for each one of us to draw energy, ideas and inspiration from it. Our strength as an industry comes from the everyday efforts of individuals in this field, and our collective power – The Power of WE – that fuels us as performing arts professionals.”

Showcases of Note Took Place at the Host Hotel and at Venues Around New York City

More than 1,000 showcases (music, dance, theater, comedy, and more) took place both at the New York Hilton Midtown, the conference hotel, and at venues throughout Manhattan. A few also were set in other New York City boroughs.

January 4: As he has for the last two years, composer, banjoist and producer Jayme Stone curated an eclectic roots music showcase at the host hotel that extended from the late afternoon into the evening. Called the Secret Agents APAP Showcase, it featured a number of notable, primarily self-managed touring artists. As Stone told AcousticMusicScene.com last January, he sought “to create a space for independent roots/world music artists to have their music heard by performing arts center directors and festival programmers. My goal was to make the cost slightly more affordable for artists and to create an opportunity for underrepresented artists to have a seat at the table. Most of the artists at our showcase do not have agents, which is rare at this conference.”

Kicking off the musical festivities was Eleanor Dubinsky, a soulful NYC-based singer songwriter, and her ensemble. Although I’d seen and previously been impressed by Dubinsky’s singing and song stylings in solo and duo performances, having an ensemble backing her added a whole new dimension to her performance. Next up, Stone debuted his New Art-Pop Project. Among the artists joining him on that was Moira Smiley, herself a gifted songwriter and vocalist, who, accompanied by her group, VOCO, had her own short showcase immediately afterwards entitled The Voice is a Traveler.

“2019 was my first time at Wavelengths, and that was a revelation to experience the small, fierce like-minded group of people interested in traditional arts,” she said, expressing appreciation to the pre-conference’s organizers for screening her promo video for her The Voice Is A Traveler show. In my view, it was the best of a number of short videos and video clips screened. As for the Secret Agents Showcase, Smiley said: “I love [them] for their absolute weirdness of variety. It reminds you how many worlds of entertainment here are – some intersecting not-one-bit with your own! Yet we’re all here making our dough with these sights and sounds.”

Also part of the Secret Agents Showcase were Taarka, a Colorado-based adventurous Americana trio whose sound is a blend of bluegrass, folk, gypsy jazz, and soul; American samba band Os Clavelitos; the energetic Northeastern Brazilian party music of accordionist Rob Curto’s Forro For All; and the joyous Brazilian bluegrass sounds of Matuto (fronted by Clay Ross), among others.

The evening’s musical gumbo also included the jazzy Brazilian Americana sounds of Max Hatt & Edda Glass; Hen’s Teeth, a cross-continental duo with Janie Rothfield (Staunton, VA) and Nathan Bontrager (Cologne, Germany); DuoDuo Quartet comprised of percussive dancer Nic Gareiss with harpist Maeve Glichrist, plus cellist Natalie Haas (who frequently performs with Alasdair Fraser) with her husband-guitarist Yann Falquet (from the Quebecois folk group Genticorum) – all of whom have toured internationally for years; Jenna Moynihan & Mairi Chaimbeaul, a fiddle and harp duo; and Mark Kilianski & Nate Sabat featuring a guitarist and songwriter from the duo Hoot & Holler and the bassist and songwriter from Mile Twelve, a Boston-based bluegrass band. Each of the preceding artists (with the exception of Simien) also joined Waldman in kicking-off the evening’s musical festivities with renditions of “Cluck Old Hen.” A welcome and unexpected highlight of the evening was Waldman’s pairing of harpists Gilchrist and Chaimbeaul for a tune as a twin-harp interlude between sets.

Although some parts of the roots music variety show’s format have remained the same, “it’s always evolving, sometimes in subtle ways, sometimes a little more dramatically,” Waldman noted. “O stage, I’ll sometimes mention a quote I’ve learned as a writer: no surprise to writer, no surprise to reader, which means if a writer is surprised what he or she is writing, which happens, it’s almost guaranteed the reader will be surprised. I think that’s a good thing. It means extra energy. I try to bring that mindset to the show, and have actively encouraged collaborations, which brings an element of the unknown. If the musicians are not 100% sure what’s going to happen next, the audience won’t know either.”

The same lineup of artists who performed at Don’t Tell Mama also showcased their talents the previous night at Brooklyn’s Jalopy Theater. “One of the evolutions in the show was [that] we began booking Thursday night at the Jalopy Theater in Red Hook, which served not only as a public event (on Friday we only market to APAP attendees), but also as a run-through for Friday,” said Waldman.

While I was enjoying the music at Don’t Tell Mama, the Americana Music Association sponsored a showcase concert at Rockwood Music Hall on the Lower East Side featuring singer-songwriter Caitlin Canty with special guests Oshima Brothers, while Smithsonian Folkways recording artists Anna & Elizabeth (who have previously been part of Waldman’s roots music variety shows) shared their innovative, modern arrangements of old-time Appalachian music at Joe’s Pub; The Klezmatics played Irridium, a midtown jazz club; and the Seamus Egan Project (featuring one of the most influential artists in contemporary Irish music) showcased at the New York Hilton, as did Switchback, the Celtic and Americana duo of Brian Fitzgerald and Martin McCormick. A multimedia concert by Seamus Egan’s seminal band Solas was a highlight of a previous APAP Conference.

January 5: My Saturday afternoon is traditionally filled with Celtic showcases at the hotel, and it would have been this year had I not opted to remain on Long Island to emcee a concert that I’d helped to arrange. Among the artists who showcased their talents at the New York Hilton Midtown that day were ebullient New York-based jig-rockers The Prodigals and their alter egos Acoustic Micks; Cherish The Ladies, the all-female Irish band fronted by Joannie Madden; Philadelphia-based Celtic roots band RUNA; and the young Irish trad trio Socks in the Frying Pan (from County Clare), whom I saw the next day.

Also showcasing their talents at the hotel on Saturday afternoon were Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches and Sam Reider & Human Hands. Natalia Zukerman performed excerpts from The Women Who Rode Away, a multimedia show melding her talents as a songwriter, painter and storyteller. William Florian, formerly of The New Christy Minstrels, presented a taste of Those Were The Days: The Spirit and the Songs of the 1960s.

Tamara Kater of Toronto, Ontario- based Mavens Music Management reports that the showcase was well attended, with more than 100 people in the audience – about half of whom had APAP connections. “APAP is always rewarding, especially with the concurrent content of Wavelengths and GlobalFEST,” said Kater. “It’s inspiring and rewarding to meet such an array of presenters and artists all in one place, within a few days. Seeing the venues of New York and so many performances in such a compact amount of time is always a brilliant way to start off the new year.”

Also that evening, booking agency Madison House hosted a showcase at City Winery featuring Canadian singer-songwriter Rose Cousins, American singer-songwriter Willie Nile, and Madagascar-born singer-songwriter ad environmental activist Razia Said. Down at Rockwood Music Hall, The Blue Dahlia featuring Dahlia Dumont, a Brooklyn gal now living in Paris, who pens and sings songs in both English and French, appeared. Among the artists who showcased their talents at New York Hilton were Emmet Cahill (star of PBS’ Celtic Thunder) and the Jen Chapin Trio featuring the soulful urban folk singer-songwriter, her husband Stephan Crump on acoustic bass, and Jamie Fox on electric guitar.

January 6: Isle of Klezbos, a swinging all-female Klezmer sextet shared a bill and some members with the octet Metropolitan Klezmer (now celebrating its silver anniversary) as they performed some vintage instrumentals and Yiddish songs during Sunday brunch at City Winery. Although I enjoyed this last year, I skipped it this time. I also missed singer-songwriter Ellis Paul’s short early morning “Hero In You” showcase, during which he presented 15-minutes of excerpts from an award-winning educational program for children based on his CD and book of the same name that inspires youngsters to dream big.

I enjoyed several showcases that were part of Celebrate Our FOLK at Connolly’s Pub – Restaurant (Connolly’s Klub 45). The highlights were Kaia Kater and Kittel & Co.

Fronted by Jeremy Kittel — a virtuosic violinist, fiddler and composer — Kittel & Co. is an acoustic trio/string band with folk and jazz sensibilities whose sound also has Celtic, bluegrass and classical influences. Its recent release, Whorls, debuted at #1 on the Billboard bluegrass chart, while Kittel’s piece “Chrysalis” is among the nominees for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition.

Also on the bill were singer-songwriter Ashley Davis, Making Movies (a Kansas City, MO-based band whose music defies easy categorization and whose set I missed, although I’ve previously seen the band at a Folk Alliance International conference held in its hometown), and the previously mentioned Socks in the Frying Pan.

Later in the evening, Kater shared a bill at Rockwood Music Hall as part of Quicksilver Productions, Lost Buffalo Artists & Smithsonian Folkways Present: The Women of Folkways with label mates The Bright Siders (featuring singer-songwriter and percussive dancer Kristin Andreassen – formerly of Uncle Earl – and Brooklyn-based child psychiatrist Dr. Kari Groff who create music that helps children and families have meaningful conversations about emotions) and Lula Wiles (a Boston–based, harmonious trio made up of Isa Burke, Eleanor Buckland, and Mali Obamsawin, whose Smithsonian Folkways debut, What Will We Do, is released Jan. 25 and who I had the pleasure of introducing at a couple of festivals).

Among the artists showcasing their talents at the New York Hilton in the evening were The Everly Set: Sean Altman and Jack Skuller Celebrate The Everly Brothers and Sultans of String, award-winning genre-bending world music instrumentalists from Toronto. Vanaver Caravan, a troupe of dancers and musicians, presented nearly half an hour of excerpts from Turn Turn Turn Turn, a show featuring more than 20 of Pete Seeger’s most celebrated songs and timed to coincide with the centenary of the late folk icon’s birth. Li, who describes his music as urban folk, did not impress this writer, while a Folk Legends showcase featuring two former members of The Kingston Trio was cancelled due to illness.

Also during the conference, Sage Artists shared excerpts of Call Mr. Robeson: A Life, With Songs, while cast members from Lonesome Traveler: The Concert performed short musical excerpts from the show, along with narration that helps tell the story of American folk and folk-rock music from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan and beyond. Artists in various other musical genres also showcased their talents, while comedy, dance and theatrical showcases also were part of the mix.

Since there were no folk or roots music showcases of note on January 7, and the conference closed with a plenary session on the morning of January 8, I did not venture into NYC those days.

About the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP)

Based in Washington, DC, APAP is a nonprofit national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting a robust performing arts presenting field and the professionals who work within it. The next APAP Conference is set for Jan. 10-14, 2020 in New York City. More information on the organization may be found on its website: www.apap365.org.

“APAP/NYC presents significant opportunities, economically and creatively, for the performing arts community,” says Mario Garcia Durham, APAP’s president and CEO. “We provide a platform for those working in the performing arts to engage in discussions and solutions around pressing current issues such as cultural conflict and social justice. These are issues that have intensified since last January and that resonate throughout our communities, and fuel our collective need for innovation, creativity and partnership. We will also further explore the real challenges of equity, access and inclusion continually being addressed by performing arts community leaders.”

Several pre-conference events on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 5 and 6 (including APAP’s Professional Development Institute and the Wavelengths: APAP Global Music Pre-Conference, featuring workshops, panels discussions and artist pitch sessions arranged by music PR firm Rock Paper Scissors in cooperation with globalFEST that takes place concurrently) are open to the public, while the conference’s plenary sessions featuring creative thinkers, thought leaders and artists from around the world will be live-streamed via Howlround.tv. Among them is Taylor Mac, a playwright, actor, singer-songwriter and performance artist, whose most recent work, “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music,” is a 24-hour-long marathon of American song that Scott Stoner, an APAP vice president, says “speaks directly to today’s headlines around equality, equity, civility and our fundamental human rights.” For information on the sessions to be live-streamed and to find a link to RSVP for them, visit www.artspresenters.org, click on the Conference tab along the top of the home page and then on Live Streaming under Programs & Events in the menu at the bottom of the conference’s home page.

Folk and Roots Artists to Showcase Their Talents

Randy Noojin will perform excerpts from Hard Travelin’ with Woody, his multimedia solo show featuring the music and artworks of Woody Guthrie. Gregory Greene leads jig-rockers The Prodigals and their mellower side, The Acoustic Mix. Clay Ross fronts Matuto (a NYC-based Brazilian bluegrass ensemble) and Ranky Tanky (performing Gullah music from the Carolina coast). Sunday brunch double-bills at City Winery (also open to the public) will feature Metropolitan Klezmer and Isle of Klezbos.

Dana Louise & The Glorious Birds (with Trout Fishing in America) plays the Iridium on Thursday night, while Susan Werner, a gifted singer-songwriter known for her musical versatility and for her witty repartee during live performances, showcases her talents at the midtown jazz club on Saturday night.

Artists in various other musical genres also will showcase their talents, while the APAP Conference will feature comedy, dance and theatrical showcases as well, along with programming geared towards children and families. Conference exhibition halls will again teem with booking agents and presenters eager to speak with them, and there’ll be a whole lot of networking opportunities.

A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, APAP is a national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting a robust performing arts presenters field and the professionals who work within it.

The theme for the 2015 conference is “Together,” and it is one that arts professionals will be threaded through the plenary sessions and professional development tracks aimed at expanding the reach and relevance of the presenting field through collective action. Key industry trends and issues to be addressed include targeting untapped and more diverse audiences, working with artists to better draw, engage and sustain those audiences, and using performance to make a social or humanitarian impact on individuals and their communities. Sessions will highlight case examples of programs and projects where APAP members have successfully collaborated with their peers and other partners, in addition to innovative business strategies and tools that are critical to thriving in the business of performing arts presenting.

“Our plenary sessions bring together performing arts professionals to hear from some of the most inspiring thought leaders and creative artists from around the world who influence our field and our future,” said Mario Garcia Durham, president and CEO of APAP. “This year we take that opportunity to honor and champion the creativity, collaboration and reciprocity that effects important change in the communities we serve together.”


Free Live Streaming of Select Sessions Makes Its APAP Conference Debut

Among the conference’s featured speakers will be Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, activist and humanitarian Angelique Kidjo; Inuit throat singer and Polaris Music Prize winner Tanya Tagaq, who also was honored for Pushing the Boundaries during the recent 2014 Canadian Folk Music Awards; and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, whose 2014 release, The River & The Thread, has drawn much critical acclaim and was the most-played album on Americana radio during 2014 according to the Americana Music Association.

Along with other members of the Content Creators Coalition (c3), an artists advocacy group, Cash will participate in a special session on Monday morning, Jan. 12, entitled “The Music Business and the Digital Age.” Panelists will explore fair compensation for creators in the digital age, how this affects arts presenters, and how to help support the artists whose livelihoods are interwoven with those of presenters.

Tagaq will be part of a keynote plenary on “The Arts as Levelers of Experience” on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 10, from 12-1:30 p.m. EST. Kidjo will close the conference on Tuesday morning, Jan. 13, from 10-11 a.m. with her inspirational perspective on arts and humanity. Both Tagaq’s and Kidjo‘s plenary sessions will stream live, as will several other plenary and professional development sessions during the conference. Those wishing to listen-in online must complete a sign-up form that appears, along with information abut the live streaming sessions, in a drop-down menu under Programs and Events on the conference website – apapnyc.org.

Folk and Roots Artists to Showcase Their Talents

Dozens of performers from the folk, roots and singer-songwriter communities in the U.S., Canada and several other countries will showcase their talents during the conference. Among them will be Acoustic Eidolon, Mike Aiken, The Amigos Band, Balsam Range, Barnya, Beausoleil avec Michel Doucet, Rory Block, Allison Brown, Calle Sur, Caravan of Thieves, Tom Chapin, Cherish The Ladies, Dala, Danu, Guy Davis, KJ Denhert, Dom Flemons, Julie Fowlis, Vicki Genfan, Seth Glier, The High Kings, The Jammin Divas, The Klezmatics, The Kruger Brothers, Claire Lynch Band, Kate MacLeod, Matuto, Mike & Ruthy, Miss Tess & the Talkbacks, Mr. Sun (new American string music featuring noted violinist Darol Anger), Ellis Paul, The Pine Hill Project (Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell), The Prodigals, Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, Red Molly, Steve Riley & Mamou Playboys, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Sultans of String, Taarka, Vienna Teng, April Verch, Susan Werner and David Wilcox. Alaska-based fiddler and poet Ken Waldman presents roots music variety showcases featuring a number of acts at Brooklyn’s Jalopy Theatre on Thursday night and at the Manhattan nightclub Don’t Tell Mama on Friday.

As in years past, conference exhibition halls will teem with booking agents and presenters eager to speak with them, and there’ll be a whole lot of networking opportunities.

Several pre-conference forums also are slated. These include a two-day World Music Pre-conference (Jan. 8-9) featuring workshops and panel discussions arranged by music PR firm Rock Paper Scissors. Thursday’s programming focuses on best practices and technology for artists and labels, while Friday’s sessions are geared more towards presenters, agents and managers.

A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, APAP is a national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting a robust performing arts presenters field and the professionals who work within it.

Editor’s Note: As I have since 2007, I will be attending the APAP Conference and reporting on select highlights afterwards.

Maintaining and strengthening the strong connections between Ireland and the U.S. is vital to Culture Ireland, which creates and supports opportunities for Irish artists to present their work at strategic international festivals, venues, showcases and arts markets. During the APAP Conference, Culture Ireland presented its fifth showcase of performing arts in New York – highlighting some of the emerging artists on the Irish music scene who are bringing new life to old traditions and pushing the boundaries of traditional music. Its New Music Showcase at the New York Hilton featured short performances by Realta, The Young Folk, I Draw Slow and The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock, while Culture Ireland also lent support for showcases by noted Irish groups Dervish and the Alan Kelly Gang.

Realta, a young Belfast-based trio featuring dual uillean pipes, whistles, bouzouki, guitar, bodhran and vocals, kicked off the showcase with a set of Irish traditional tunes. A song about a guy who proposes to a girl he doesn’t know followed, and the group closed out with another driving set of tunes.

Here’s a link to an official video of The Young Folk performing “Way Down South.”

Highlighting the Culture Ireland New Music Showcase was I Draw Slow, a Dublin-based five-piece string band (with vocals by Louise Holden) whose joyous and rootsy original music fuses Appalachian old-time and Irish traditional styles with a dash of Americana. Signed last year to Pinecastle, the North Carolina-based roots record label, I Draw Slow cracked the Top Ten on the Roots Music Report folk radio chart in December with Redhills, its second album.

Here’s a link to a YouTube video of I Draw Slow performing “Goldmine,” a song about a bordello girl who falls in love with a fiddler.

Rounding out the Culture Ireland Showcase was The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock. Named after a poem about a haunted canal lock, this five-piece outfit has a sound that mixes Irish folk with experimental/progressive rock, somewhat reminiscent of the Irish band Horslips.

Immediately preceding the Culture Ireland New Music Showcase, Irish folk mainstays Dervish, an innovative internationally touring band launched in Sligo more than two decades ago, performed a solid set of instrumental tunes and songs – including a couple that will be on a new album due this month.

The Alan Kelly Gang, an Irish quartet fronted by a master piano accordionist, delivered a strong set of instrumental tunes and songs that included jigs from the Celtic regions of France and Spain, as well as Ireland.

Solas and Cherish The Ladies Impress with Extended Showcases

Recalling the “No Irish Need Apply” signs that dotted storefronts and factories in many American locales at the time, Egan noted that those who settled in Butte (Shamrock City), a place once called “the Richest Hill on Earth,” included his great, great uncle, Michael Conway, about whom Solas performed a beautiful ballad.

Prior to Solas, McAuley Horan O’Caiomh performed a set of traditional and original reels, waltzes, jigs and airs — mostly from its 2012 release, Sailing Back to You. The trio features Solas members Winifred Horan (fiddle) and Mick McAuley (accordion), along with guitarist Colm O’Caoimh. Also sharing the bill was Maria Doyle-Kennedy, best known to U.S. television audiences for her role as Mrs. Bates on “Downton Abbey.” Doyle Kennedy is a soulful, Dublin-based singer who performs a mix of folk, pop and torch songs. She closed out her set with a rendition of the title track of her fifth album, Sing. The Duhks, a Juno award-winning Canadian roots outfit whose original music fuses such musical styles as Irish dance, American folk, Brazilian samba, zydeco, and old-time string band closed out the evening.

Another highlight of the APAP Conference was an hour-long showcase by Cherish the Ladies, the all-female Irish-American instrumental ensemble that was launched in New York City 28 years ago with flutist and tin whistle player Joannie Madden at the helm. Madden and guitarist Mary Coogan remain with the group today. Through the years, Cherish the Ladies also has featured several talented female vocalists who have gone on to pursue solo careers. As a special treat, Cathie Ryan, its original lead singer, who has released five solo albums and been twice-named Irish Female Vocalist of the Decade by Irish American News, reunited with the group for this showcase; she also performed solo during the conference. The ensemble was also joined on several numbers by four talented Irish step dancers — helping to make for a rollicking good time.

Along with Irish singer Maura O’Connell, Cherish the Ladies will be part of An Irish Homecoming, a new PBS television special of a performance filmed live at Bucknell University that begins airing in March.

Aoife Clancy, another former vocalist with Cherish the Ladies, also was at the conference showcasing with her group, The Jammin’ Divas, whose music is a blend of traditional and original folk music from several cultures. Also showcasing their talents during the APAP Conference were Irish American jig-rockers The Prodigals, led by accordionist and singer Gregory Grene, who also fronts Acoustic Mix; American roots and Celtic soul duo Switchback; and Colcannon, an ensemble that performs traditional and original Celtic music and has eight albums and an Emmy Award-winning PBS concert video to its credit. In addition, Padraig Allen’s McLean Avenue Band was accompanied Joanna Barry Connolly’s Irish dance group, Emerald Fire, in an extended showcase at an Irish pub and restaurant on Manhattan’s East Side.

Other Showcases, Workshops and Forums Abound

These showcases were just a small part of this year’s APAP Conference. The global performing arts marketplace and multidisciplinary arts business event attracted several thousand people who chose from a wide array of showcases, professional development workshops and forums primarily focused on the theme “Imagination,” which asked both speakers and attendees to reflect upon the innovation and entrepreneurship that make the performing arts integral to community engagement. As in years past, exhibition halls teemed with booking agents, representatives of regional and national cultural arts organizations, and presenters eager to speak with them. And much networking took place during the conference.

Folquebec presented its annual showcase featuring noted Quebecois folk groups Le Vent du Nord and De Temps Antan, as well as D’Harmo (featuring four of the Canadian province’s top harmonica players), klezmer group Kleztory, Trio Yves Lambert, and Maz (a quartet whose sound is a mix of electric jazz and Quebec’s traditional music). Folquebec’s founder and president, Gilles Garand, also conducted a 90-minute session on “The State of Trad: Traditional Folk and Dance Music,” during which he provided an informative history lesson on Quebec’s traditional folk and dance music, before inviting attendees to join him in exploring what can be done to preserve and promote traditional folk music of various cultures. He also promoted a Montreal Trad Conference, an international rendez-vous slated for May 9-12.

Rosanne Cash Delivers Closing Keynote

In keeping with the conference’s theme of “Imagine,” Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash acknowledged in her closing keynote that “Re-imagining myself as a performer has been among the most enriching and transformative experiences of my life.”

While writing her memoirs, Composed (2010), Cash spent considerably more time delving into performance than she had initially anticipated. “I came to realize that my life as a performer was so central,” she said. Cash acknowledged that her first experiences performing were with her father [the late Johnny Cash] and that she was initially terrified and clueless about her abilities. “I enjoyed these little guest spots on my dad’s tour, but I had no illusions of the life,” she said, noting that when she later embarked on her own career as a touring artist, “the performing experience was initially torturous. “She had stage fright and preferred being a songwriter. “Now,” says Cash, “I approach every show with a deep sense of community.’

“The impulse to people-please is death to an artist,” she said. “What you think you’re showing the audience is actually just a fraction of what they’re really seeing…The emphemeral nature of performing is the part I like most. Sometimes the only thing you have is a powerful instinct; you’ve refined your skills such that you can trust your instincts.” She observed that “Some career risks are like chess, while artistic risks infuse my soul [and] make me what I am.”

Maintains Cash, “We need art and music like we need blood and oxygen… Art in the larger sense is the lifeline I cling to in a confusing and sometimes unfair world… There is light in this world and it is always available – much of it through music.”

Irish Music Awards nominees for 2012 include:

Top Solo Performer in Concert: George Donaldson, Christy Moore, John Doyle, Tommy Fleming

Top Solo Performer in a Pub Venue: Ian Gould, Luka Bloom, Tony Cummins, Mickey Coleman

Top Duo in a Pub, Festival, Concert: The Ryans Irish Band , Lilt, Switchback, Siusan O’Rourke and Zig Zeitler

Top Group: Cherish The Ladies, Lunasa, Gaelic Storm, Altan

Best New Irish Artist(s): Burning Bridget Cleary, The Rovers, The Fighting Jamesons, Ciorras

Best New Irish CD: Lilt – Onward, The Mickey Finns – Prayers and Idle Chatter, The Ryans – Songs of Irish Freedom, Mairi Morrison & Alasdair Roberts – Urstan

Top Celtic Rock Band: Barleyjuice, Roger Drawdy & the Firestarters, The Clumsy Lovers, Scythian

Best Irish Tenor (individual): Paul Byrom, Anthony Kearns, Daryl Simpson, Tommy Fleming

Best Female Vocalist (individual/trad.): Katie McMahon, Chloe Agnew, Méav, Shannon Lambert-Ryan of RUNA

Best Sean-nos Singer: Brid Ni Mhaoileoin, Maighread Ni Dhombhnaill, Aine Meenaghan Len Graham

Top Traditional Performance Show: The Fureys, Celtic Crossroads, The Henry Girls, Fidil

Top Traditional Group in a Pub, Festival, Concert: Vishten, Guidewires, Slide, Dervish

Top Uilleann Piper: Diarmaid Moynihan, Cillian Vallely, Barry Kerr, Paddy Keenan

Top Harpist: Seana Davey, Chad McAnally, Triona Marshall, Sibohan Owen

Top Fiddle: Martin Hayes, Alasdair Fraser, Mairead Nesbitt, Kevin Burke

Top Button Accordion: John Williams, Liam O’Connor, Paddy O’Brien, David Munnelly

Tommy Makem Award: The Irish Rovers, Máirtín de Cógáin, Mick Moloney, Jimmy Crowley

Note: This award is presented to an Irish music act that best reflects the performance style, philosophy, and traditional approach to Irish music of the late Tommy Makem.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Patsy Whelan, Carmel Quinn, Joanie Madden

Note: This award will be given to someone who has dedicated his/her life to Irish music and continues to be an icon in the Irish music community globally.

The Irish Music Association produces, promotes and perpetuates Irish music through sponsored events, festivals, concerts, pub shows, and an annual network production, according to its website.

Talk about musical pedigree. That’s Aoife Clancy. There have been musical notes surging throughout her entire being since birth due to her family’s outstanding legacy and contribution to Irish music and culture.

As journalist Scott Alarik relates: “Whether she’s delivering an ancient Irish ballad, an American folk classic, or an urgent contemporary song, Aoife sings with the same gorgeous naturalism as if she were experiencing the emotions in the songs for the first time.”

You’ve performed in many musical configurations during your career. Do you have any highlights when playing with your father, Bobby Clancy, and your uncles?

What was it like being part of Cherish the Ladies? How long were you part of that group?

I loved being a part of Cherish the Ladies. I learned a lot about performing growing up with my father but I really got my feet wet performing with Cherish the Ladies. We did some amazing gigs over the six years I performed with them. We got to play with the Boston Pops and recorded a Grammy-nominated CD with them! We also toured a lot and got to travel all over the world — my favorite place being Argentina — that was some experience. Loved it!

What was it like working with the Boston Pops?

Playing with the Boston Pops was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was nerve wracking, but I’ll never forget that wonderful feeling of watching the girls do a traditional number with the Pops as I watched on the TV monitor backstage. It gave me goose bumps! I got a chance to perform with the Pops as a soloist years later and that was also amazing. Would love to do it again sometime . . . if anyone from the Pops is reading this!!

If you were not a musician, do you have any inkling as to what you would be doing?

To be honest, I can’t imagine doing anything else! . . . I have studied acting and have also worked as an actress from time to time, but that’s my other love. I recently started teaching kids a music/movement program in Mattapoisett [Massachusetts], close to where I live and also down the Cape, and I’m enjoying that a lot. I love working with kids.

Do you have any big dreams or goals that you have not yet accomplished?

Do I have any dreams or goals that I haven’t accomplished? . . . Well, who hasn’t? I would love to seriously settle down and start writing more of my own material. I’ve made attempts in the past, but that is one thing I would love to accomplish. I have lots of melodies but [am] still working on the lyric thing. It’s coming. . . . I just have to be patient. I just started working with two other women in a band called The Jammin’ Divas, and they [Australian native Kath Buckell and Rhode Islander Becky Chace, accompanied by flutist Hadar Norberg] both write, so it’s kind of given me the push I need to get up off my butt and write some songs once and for all.

Find out more about Aoife Clancy’s fascinating life on her website, where you can also view a few performance videos.

Like many of us, Kathy Sands-Boehmer wears many hats. An editor by profession, she also operates Harbortown Music, books artists for the Me and Thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead, Massachusetts and serves as vice president of the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association. In her spare time, Kathy can be found at local music haunts all over New England. This and many previous Q & A interviews with artists are archived at www.meandthee.org/blog/txp/, as well as in the Features section of AcousticMusicScene.com.

Harpist and singer Orla Fallon is nominated in four categories, while Luka Bloom, Martin Hayes, The High Kings, Van Morrison and The Wolfe Tones each received two nods. Names and photos of the winners will be posted at www.irishmusicawards.com on January 28.

Irish Music Awards nominees for 2009 include:

Top Solo Performer in Concert: Van Morrison, Luka Bloom, Christy Moore, Orla Fallon

Top Solo Performer in a Pub Venue: Luka Bloom, Harry O’Donoghue, Seamus Kennedy

Top Duo in Pub, Festival, and Concert: Ellis Island, Wild Colonial Bhoys, Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill, Stephens Green

Top Group: Gaelic Storm, The Chieftains, The Wolfe Tones, Celtic Woman

Best New Irish Music Artist(s): Cara, Connachttown, The Rum Brothers

Top Celtic Rock Band: Bad Haggis, The Indulgers, Seven Nations, Screaming Orphans

Best Irish Tenor (individual): John McDermott, Anthony Kearns

Best Female Vocalist (individual/traditional): Mary Black, Deidre Shannon, Orla Fallon, Maria Doyle Kennedy

Best Sean-nos Singer: Iarla O Lionnaird, Brian O’hAirt, Brid Ni Mhaoilchiarain

Top Traditional Performance Show: Dublin City Ramblers, The High Kings, Switchback, Slide

Top Traditional Group – In Festival, Pub & Concert: The High Kings, Bua, Cherish the Ladies, The Beer Mats

Tommy Makem Award: John Doyle, Orla Fallon, Jimmy Crowley and Mairtin de Coagain

Top Harpist: Patrick Harvey, Darren Raleigh, Orla Fallon

Top Uilleann Piper: Tim Britton, John McSherry, Eric Rigler

Top Fiddle: Liz Carroll, Natalie MacMaster, Maired Nesbitt, Martin Hayes

Top Button Accordion: John Whelan, Liam O’Connor

Lifetime Achievement Award: Van Morrison, The Wolfe Tones, Donal Lunny, Bill Whelan

The Irish Music Association produces, promotes and perpetuates Irish music through sponsored events, festivals, concerts, pub shows, and an annual network production, according to its website.

The 22nd Annual Old Settler’s Music Festival, slated for April 16-19 at the Salt Lick BBQ Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch in Driftwood, Texas is not as well-known outside the state as some other festivals in the Austin area – and that’s part of its allure. Old Settler’s Music Festival also takes place during what’s usually the height of Texas Hill Country’s wildflower season, although few bluebonnets were in bloom several years ago (when this writer was there) due to earlier drought conditions.

Old Settler’s may not draw as many people as the SXSW, Austin City Limits and Kerrville music festivals, but it certainly does draw its share of stellar performers – and this year is no exception. Among those on the 2009 lineup are Texas’ own Robert Earl Keen, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Hayes Carll; Canadian singer-songwriter Fred Eaglesmith and Blackie & the Rodeo Kings; Grammy Award-winning Cajun musicians Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet, plus Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, BoDeans, San Francisco-based jam band New Monsoon, and more. For bluegrass fans, the lineup also includes The Greencards, Travelin McCoury’s, The Gibson Brothers and Blue Highway.

In addition to concerts on four stages, there will be Saturday afternoon performance workshops, arts and crafts, a youth talent competition and children’s activities (including a petting zoo, pony rides, monster-slide, a rock-climbing wall and more), and lots of tasty barbecue.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.oldsettlersmusicfest.org.

Now in its 38th year, the 2009

Celtic music and dance will take center stage, both literally and figuratively. Built over the reflection pool in front of Houston’s city hall, the festival’s Center Stage will feature performances by such artists as the young five-piece Irish traditional band Beoga, Irish–American favorites Cherish the Ladies, and gifted Scots Gaelic songstress and 2008 BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year Julie Fowlis.

Although Celtic music has a prominent place in this year’s festival, a wide array of music for every palette will be presented. Cajun and Zydeco bands, including Beausoleil, will play the Louisiana Stage. Flamenco, Mariachi, Ballet Folklorico, Conjunto, Salsa and Spanish Celtic music will be featured on the Latin Stage. A number of international artists, including noted South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela, will play the World Music Stage. And programming on the Texas Stage — featuring such artists as Marcia Ball, CJ Chenier and Terri Hendrix –- will recreate the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s salute to Texas music in our nation’s capitol.

For more information on the 2009 Houston International Festival, visit www.ifest.org.