Alasdair Fraser, Natalie Haas & Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh
Sunday, May 18th, 8pm
€15/€12

“The musical chemistry between Scottish fiddle legend Alasdair Fraser and young cello ace Natalie Haas is a rare, felicitous thing.” - Boston Herald

“Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh’s beautiful airs had us begging for more. Every corner seemed to echo with her voice long after the music had stopped.” - Dublin Evening Press

Music Network Presents The Iona Connection: Nasc Oileán Í, Featuring Alasdair Fraser (fiddle), Natalie Haas (cello) and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (fiddle/voice) on Sunday 18 May 2014 at Riverbank Arts Centre, Main Street, Newbridge, Co. Kildare

Music Network is delighted to present Scotland’s Alasdair Fraser on fiddle, Californian cellist Natalie Haas and Donegal singer and fiddler Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh in an exploration of connections between traditional Scots, Irish and American Old Time music. Join them on Sunday 18 May at Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co. Kildare as they follow in the musical footsteps of tunes that have emigrated and found their way home once more.

The remote Hebridean isle of Iona is a unique place, sitting at the crossroads of Irish and Scottish culture and at the same time a sending place for monks and travellers sailing west to the New World. It’s the inspiration for Scots fiddler Alasdair Fraser, Californian cellist Natalie Haas and Donegal native Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh as they explore the connections between traditional Irish, Scottish and Old Time American music, following in the musical footsteps of tunes that have emigrated and found their way home once more.

The result: all the raw beauty and energy you’d expect from a community on the edge of the known world, as Haas returns the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music. It’s a dream collaboration for Fraser, long regarded as one of Scotland’s premier fiddlers and a proud ambassador for Gaelic culture and traditions. He and Haas have been creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across Europe and America, and for this tour they are performing for the first time with the inestimable Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. One of the foremost singers in the Irish language and co-founder of trad legends Altan, Mairéad will revisit the themes of ‘Edge’ and ‘Threshold’ explored on her first solo album  ‘Imeall’, together with Haas and Fraser.

Music Network tours provide a wonderful opportunity to see some of the world’s foremost musicians at affordable prices in venues around Ireland, and are presented in association with RTÉ lyric fm.  Music Network is funded by the Arts Council.

For more information, visit www.riverbank.ie.
To book tickets, visit box office or call 045 448327.