www.compassrecords.com

On March 17, 2009, Liz Carroll & John Doyle are scheduled to perform for President Barack Obama at the annual St. Patrick’s Day luncheon at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The event is hosted by Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and among the guests is the the new Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, Mr. Brian Cowen. Previous entertainers at the event have included The Chieftains, Frankie Gavin, The Commitments, and Ronan Tynan.
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Kevin Crawford & Cillian Vallely
‘On Common Ground’
www.myspace.com/crawfordvallelymusic and www.cillianvallely.com

Two years of researching tunes between a heavy schedule of band commitments has led to this exciting new recording from Lúnasa’s powerhouse melody makers, Kevin Crawford (flutes and whistles) and Cillian Vallely (uilleann pipes and whistles).
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hosted by GAEL LINN
Tuesday 24 March 2009

Lively music performed by
popular broadcaster
KIERAN HANRAHAN (Banjo) and
FIACHNA Ó MONGÁIN (Accordian),
TG4 Young Musician 2007

6p.m. – 8p.m.
(doors open 5.45p.m.)
ADMISSION: €15 (incl. complimentary finger food !)
Bar open/Tea and coffee available
Booking essential (limited space !): 087-2547574

Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim
July 18th-25th, 2009
www.joemooneysummerschool.com

Yet again, a full programme of workshops will be offered in flute, fiddle, banjo, bodhrán, whistle, mandolin, concertina, button accordion, piano accordion, harp and uilleann pipes. These workshops are presented professionally by musicians of the highest calibre.
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Available in North America
Liz Carroll and John Doyle to perform at the annual St. Patrick’s Day luncheon in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, for guest of honor President Barack Obama
 
Double Play, the new release by Irish-American fiddle master Liz Carroll and Irish guitar powerhouse John Doyle, is one of those rare duo albums that holds a listener’s attention from start to finish. Individually and together, Carroll and Doyle are among the most respected traditional musicians in Irish music today and the fact that their second recording together is nothing short of brilliant will come as no surprise. In 2005, they released the critically acclaimed In Play, which first documented their duo’s fiery delivery and telepathic-like musical partnership. On Double Play, Carroll and Doyle present a honed road repertoire with a studio album that captures the essence, electricity, and lyrical nuance of their live shows.

Liz & John PR Contact:
Stephanie Fields 
stephanie@compassrecords.com 
Tel. + 615.320.7672 
www.compassrecords.com
www.myspace.com/compassrecords.com

www.rte.ie/radio1/ceilihouse/

Tune into RTÉ Radio 1 at 8.02pm on Saturday 14 March as Céilí House celebrates a three hour St. Patrick’s extravaganza live from the National Concert Hall, Dublin.

Since starting two years ago it has now become an annual pilgrimage for traditional Irish music fans, the night will be full of music from some of Ireland’s biggest names such as The Bloom of Youth, The Sligo All Stars, Mick O’ Brien, Emer Mayock and Aoife O’ Brien. Legendary Scottish singer/songwriter Dick Gaughan will also perform on the night and show why he has been at the forefront of Scottish music for the last four decades.
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www.mermaidartscentre.ie

The Irish-Spanish Connection is the name of an interesting, special concert in Bray in March. The concert is to be held on Friday, 27th March at the Mermaid Theatre. The night will feature three acts: Buille, La Musgaña and Cormac Breatnach. This concert will feature Spain’s best-known instrumental folk band, La Musgaña together with special guest, Cormac Juan Breatnach, who himself comes from an Irish-Spanish background. Explore these fantastically strong musical traditions separately and then see how they unite.

www.compassrecords.com

On the Compass Records’ CD, The Maker’s Mark, Scottish guitarist, Tony McManus, melds two of his great passions; Celtic music and a series of some of the finest acoustic guitars being crafted today. It is an unparalleled mix as McManus’ playing meets it match in the form of fifteen expertly paired instruments, courtesy of North Carolina’s Dream Guitars shop.

Paul Heumiller, who brought his expertise to The Maker’s Mark, started Dream Guitars (along with finger style guitarist extraordinaire, Martin Simpson) with a vision of gathering the finest guitars made by the top builders worldwide and offering them all in one place. Dream Guitars has grown into one of the most respected dealerships in the world.
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www.caradillon.co.uk

With an unprecedented response both critically and commercially, Cara’s latest album, Hill Of Thieves, shot into the Official UK Indie Chart at No. 7 on its week of release. This is the highest chart position Cara’s ever had and, considering it’s her most traditional and acoustic offering so far, is quite an achievement, not to mention it’s the first release on new label, ‘Charcoal Records’, set up by her and husband, Sam Lakeman, after leaving Rough Trade Records.

Cara will be performing in Frome, Somerset on St. Patrick’s night with a host of special guests including Brian Finnegan, John Joe Kelly and John Smith among others. She’ll then be touring from late May through the summer taking in a host of international festivals including Edmonton, Cambridge, Shetland, Wychwood, Beautiful Days, Stonehaven and Molesley to name a few.

Go to www.caradillon.co.uk for all news, tour dates and to purchase Hill Of Thieves on CD or digital download.

www.templebartrad.com

Cavan musicians were invited to take part in a traditional music session in the Oliver St John Gogarty pub, Temple Bar, Dublin on February 3rd. The session featured the legendary voice of Seán Ó Sé of An Poc ar Buile fame, Cavan’s lilter, Seamus Fay, Fear an Tí was Radio Éireann’s Kieran Hanrahan, singer, Dick Hogan, accordionist, Martin Donohoe, fiddler, Gene Anderson and rhythm, King Trevor Bury, as well as a host of local Dublin musicians. The session marked the end of the 2009 Temple Bar TradFest for which Designworks created the new brand identity. The festival organisers have declared it their best year to date and attribute much of the increase in awareness and numbers attending the festival to the impact of the new design and its effectiveness in print, signage and online. A brochure designed by Designworks for Fáilte Ireland to promote Connemara won a HSMAI award. The awards are viewed as the country’s flagship tourism awards. Visit www.designworks.ie for the full story.