John, Jerry & Le Vent

OK, first the news:
We all know John Doyle is a pretty fair guitarist, and over the years he's played with more than a few damn good musicians (Liz Carroll among them).
So, what would you say if John Doyle were to perform at ICONS 2008?
And what would you say if he was performing at ICONS with Jerry Holland? Yes, that Jerry Holland -- one of the most important figures in Cape Breton music.
Well, you can officially add them to the roster.

(Photo at right) Jerry Holland

This comes as good news for any number of reasons, especially given Jerry's battle with cancer over the past couple of years. But in the last few months, he's gradually (and cautiously) taken up performing again, including a stop in the Boston area back in April: "I'm doing better — having more good days than bad," he told the Boston Irish Reporter in March.


To put it mildly, John Doyle is looking forward to the occasion.
"It'll be a great time -- so glad to have the opportunity to play with Jerry," said John, during a break at the Old Songs Festival this past weekend.
This will not be the first time the two have appeared together, but as John says, "It's like a world premiere whenever we perform -- you never know what's going to happen next."

(Photo) John Doyle and Liz Carroll at
the Old Songs Festival.

Another ICONS 2008 act appearing at Old Songs this year was the phenomenal Quebecois band Le Vent du Nord. If you've seen them in the past, you may have known that one of their original members, Benoit Bourque, left the band a while back. Besides being an excellent musician, Benoit is as charismatic and full of joie de vivre as they come. But the good news is, Le Vent has lost none of its energy and spark: Nicolas Boulerice (hurdy gurdy, piano, accordion, vocals) is a wellspring of good humor and cheer, and fiddler Olivier Demers provides that trademark Quebecois foot percussion which gives the music its drive and ebullience. And don't overlook guitarist Simon Beaudry or accordionist/bassist Réjean Brunet.


Nicolas Boulerice and Olivier Demers of Le Vent du Nord at Old Songs.

One of the "classic" Le Vent moments came when the quartet invited the audience to join in on an a cappella call-and-response song in French. Seeking to provide encouragement, Nicolas said the band had heard that "audiences in New York sing choruses very well," while Olivier whipped out a digital camera and proceeded to film the crowd so as to "document the experience."
No way to know, of course, whether Le Vent might do a similar videographic turn at ICONS, but one thing's for sure: Nobody will leave their concert feeling anything but invigorated.

--Sean Smith

Local favorites Annalivia, Emerald Rae join forces

If Boston sports fans are celebrating these days -- what with three pro teams of championship pedigree -- then the area's Celtic music aficionados have equal, if not greater, cause for cheer. A recent concert at Harvard Square's Club Passim showed (yet again) how well-off Boston is when you measure its wealth in musicians.

The event was in celebration of the long-awaited CD release by Annalivia, a splendid quartet comprising Flynn Cohen (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Liz Simmons (vocals, guitar), Brendan Carey Block (fiddle) and Stuart Kenney (string bass, banjo), all with solid Boston/New England connections. Celtic-Appalachian crossover has become quite the popular trend these days in the trad music scene, but Annalivia does it in a way that is seamless, completely natural and unforced.
Cohen is an obvious focal point, since he is so obviously at home in both genres: If you encounter him at a session or house party, you'll find he's as likely to pick out an old-timey tune on his mandolin as he is to give prodigious backing to an Irish reel or jig. But he by no means overshadows the other Annalivians: Simmons, who counts Karan Casey and Aoife Clancy among her mentors and is the daughter of two talented musician parents; Block, a former US National Junior Scottish Fiddle Champion who can churn out Cape Breton tunes with the best of 'em; and Kenney, a mainstay of the contra dance circuit with bands such as Wild Asparagus and The Sevens.
All those assets were on display at their Passim concert as they performed selections from the CD -- highlights included "A Sailor Being Tired," featuring a thrilling fiddle break; an instrumental set that included a jig composed by Block in honor of the weekly Irish music session up in Groton; and, to the delight of all, "Lazy John," a humorous, infectious song from the repertoire of Kentucky fiddler Clyde Davenport. Annalivia also has strong ties to the late 20th-century folk music revival, as evidenced by their renditions of "Sailor Boy" (a nod to the Bothy Band) and "When I Was in My Prime" (a Pentangle standard), and the Richard Thompson composition "Walking On a Wire." Happily, the band affirms its local ties with a cover of "The Wind Is an Angry Friend," by local songwriter and tunesmith Mark Simos.

Prior to the Annalivia set, Cohen provided accompaniment for opening act Emerald Rae, who last fall returned to the Boston area after completing her graduate studies in Scotland. Rae, all of 22, is an astonishingly accomplished and poised fiddler in the Cape Breton/Scottish style, as she showed to great effect. To complement her singing talents, Rae has lately ventured into songwriting territory, and trotted out two of her compositions during the set, one of them a maritime tale of love and desperation (inspired by her family's move back to Gloucester earlier this year) that is built on a complex, shifting rhythmic foundation. Oh yes, she can dance, too.
Rae's presence on the bill was no coincidence: She is about to become a full-fledged member of Annalivia -- Simmons noted that this concert was "the last when Emerald and Annalivia perform as separate entities -- and at the end joined the band for a couple of instrumental medleys that offered a most enticing preview of further joys to come.
In fact, odds are very good that ICONS will see the debut of the "new" Annalivia -- not that there was anything lacking in the "old" Annalivia.

--Sean Smith

Hello from Brian O'Donovan, Producer

Hello. This is my very first blog ever! So bear with me.

Can't believe we are at that time of year again when we need to get ready for the Icons Irish Arts and Music festival. We have a new web site - which you know about if you are on this - and a whole lot of great musicians - and then some - coming to be part of the weekend with us.

I would like to keep these pages casual in terms of my own writing and to generate some conversation with fans of Irish and Irish-connected music out there.

Generally, as a philosophy, we try to program ICONS to be an unusual Festival where the un-familiar is as comfortable as the well known. To that end, I look carefully at the world of traditional Irish music today. I am fascinated by the vital, vibrant state that music is in, and particularly fascinated with the connections the music has made in so many genres, so many countries.

I travel extensively to see bands in performance, as I am often convinced that a good sounding CD is just not enough to tell you about a singer or instrumentalist. So what you will see on that weekend in September, will be a curated selection of the best, simply the best. You may not love everything you see or hear, but it will be high quality and compelling.

So, soon, our web site will be fully functional with audio and video for each of the artists we have lined up for you. Check back often at http://www.iconsfestival.com/. And comment back on what you think.

Of course, its not just music at this festival. This year we have really stepped up the support of our genealogy programs where you can start your search or look up a passenger list of a boat that might have arrived here a century ago. We have literature and drama, history, artistic demonstrations, Gaelic athletic games, wolfhounds; the list goes on.

But again, with the Irish Cultural Centre of New England and the Festival, we are only keepers of a public trust, that is the wealth of Irish culture as it thrives here in New England and beyond.

What would you like to see more of?

How can you connect us with something we might not be aware of?

How can you get more involved?

How can we improve on every aspect of what we do?

We are looking to create a lively discussion point here and you may see postings from a few different people involved in the Festival's organization. So, stay reading and stay active in the blog. And thanks....

Brian O'Donovan, Festival Producer

PRESS RELEASE 6.4.08

Irish culture will once again take center stage as the 2008 ICONS (Irish Connections) Festival celebrates the Irish heritage, with a focus on Irish and Celtic music and arts. The festival will take place from September 12-14, 2008 at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton, Massachusetts. Tickets for the festival are on sale now at www.iconsfestival.com or by phone at 617/508-931-2000.

From storytelling to step dancing, music, literature, sporting demonstrations, genealogy, history, and workshops, the festival now in its 17th year, will once again be one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in the US.

“The 2008 ICONS Festival will once again be a celebration of the wealth of Irish culture and its connections to other cultures around the world,” said Sean Grant, Executive Director of the Irish Cultural Centre of New England.

This year’s musical line-up features some of the true ICONS of the music, as well as some of Ireland’s newest stars. Some of this year’s highlights include:

• Liam Clancy, the youngest and last surviving member of the famed Clancy Brothers.
• Lúnasa, one of the most sought-after bands on the international Irish music scene, steering Irish acoustic music into surprising new territory
• Solas, proclaimed as the most popular, influential, and exciting Celtic band to ever emerge from the United States, will showcase a blend of Celtic traditional, folk and country melodies, bluesy, jazz-inspired improvisations and global rhythms
• Recognized as one of Irelands foremost singer-songwriters, this will be Luka Bloom’s first appearance at the ICONS festival
• Irish music has influenced many genres of music around the globe, including Bluegrass. ICONS looks to celebrate this musical kinship with the inclusion of Crooked Still, the hot young alternative bluegrass/old-time group on a mission to bend the boundaries of traditional music.
• Beoga returns to ICONS after an amazing performance at last year’s festival. A five-piece traditional band, they were nominated by Irish Music Magazine for the best traditional newcomer’s award in 2005.
• And the expanding world of traditional dance will be again a big component of the festival, with non-stop participatory dancing and instruction, and performances by Footworks, a dance performance group based in Maryland . Footworks traces in dramatic fashion, the history of step dancing from Ireland through Canada to New England and Appalachia.

Also at the 2008 ICONS Festival Cara Dillon, The Clancy Legacy, David Munnelly Band, Le Vent Du Nord, Joe Derrane, Seamus Connolly and John McGann, Liadan, Chulrua with Paddy O’Brien, Annalivia with John Whelan, Gadelle, Grainne Hambly and Billy Jackson, Revels Repertory, and The Tannahill Weavers, and some very special surprises to be added soon.

“In 2008, we are once again celebrating the best of Irish music in our line-up,” said ICONS producer Brian O’Donovan. “From the traditional ballads of Liam Clancy to some of the hottest new Irish bands on the scene, we are showcasing the wide diversity of Irish music and dance. We look at the festival as a continuum, a way to showcase the best of Irish culture and the arts to New England.”

That celebration continues through all aspects of the festival which includes a spotlight on Irish arts & crafts, step dancing, sports, literature, genealogy and much more. Some of the highlights will include:

• Harpapalooza, a fan favorite, this stage featuring performances from harp orchestras and solo performers as well as traditional Irish dancers.
• Genealogy has become one of the most popular elements of the festival. The Irish Cultural Center, in conjunction with Tiara, an organization dedicated to assisting individuals in genealogical research, will once again provide workshops on exploring family names and the roots of one’s heritage
• Gaelic Sports. The American branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) will stage demonstrations of Hurling and Gaelic Football throughout the weekend.
• Literature, an opportunity to celebrate Ireland's rich and diverse literary tradition. A highlight of this year’s festival will be Shay Duffin's portrayal of writer Brendan Behan, whose salty pen, and pure Dublin wit, entertained - and upset! - Irish society for decades.
• An Ghaeltacht –Gaelic, the Irish language is one of the oldest and richest languages in the world. From spoken word to old-style singing and dancing, ICONS will celebrate the language in an authentic replica of an Irish Thatched Cottage on the site of the Festival
• Dance- The world of traditional dance has always been an intrinsic part of Irish culture and recently has made its appearance into popular culture. Amongst the highlights, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann is (The Organization of Irish Traditional Musicians) will once again have its own area dedicated to participatory ceili and set dancing.
• Tir na nOg, - Land of the Young. From story-telling to musical performances, educational activities, crafts and workshops, Tir na nOg will be the ultimate destination for those under the age of 10.

Tickets
Advance tickets for the ICONS Festival are available at www.iconsfestival.com
or charge by phone at 617/508-931-2000.

• 3-day discounted festival passes can be purchased for $35 before August 31, providing a full weekend of entertainment at a great value.
• Single day tickets are available for $15 before August 31 and for $25 at the gate day of show.

All tickets give you full access to all parts of the festival grounds and all performances. Children under 12 are admitted FREE if accompanied by an adult. For more information, visit www.iconsfestival.com

The ICONS Festival takes place September 12, 13 and 14 at the Irish Cultural Center of New England, located at 200 New Boston Drive off Rte. 138 South in Canton, MA.

WWW.ICONSFESTIVAL.COM