Irish Trad Music Blog

Irish Trad Music Blog

  • Spirit of Folk announce 2012 line up
    English: Irish singer-songwriter John Spillane...(Photo credit: Wikipedia)Spirit of Folk, Ireland’s newest festival ‘celebrating all things folk’, today announced the line-up and addition of an extra night for this year’s festival, once again taking place in the idyllic surroundings of Dunderry Park, Co Meath.

    Returning this year from 21 – 23 September, Spirit of Folk 2012 will see musicians and storytellers from all over Ireland and the UK come together for a weekend of music, arts, craft, spirituality, philosophy and folklore. This year’s family-friendly festival line up boasts an impressive mix of traditional Irish music, folk, bluegrass and country; from established Irish singer songwriters to emerging acts, the beautiful and bespoke three-day event will truly embody the spirit of all things folk.

    Festival Director, Natasha Duffy, commented: “We are delighted and proud to announce the fantastic line up we have planned for this year’s Spirit of Folk festival. In our sophomore year, we aim to truly celebrate Irish folk in a relaxed family-friendly setting with great music and events for everyone to enjoy – a magical way to bid farewell to summer and finish the festival season in style”



    This year’s Spirit of Folk festival line up features: John Spillane, The Lost Brothers, Lisa O’Neill, I Draw Slow and Spook of the Thirteenth Lock.

    Other acts featuring at this year’s festival include: Tucan; The Hot Sprockets; Mossy Nolan; The Henry Girls; The Young Folk; Tir na nOg; Aoife Scott; Jig away the Donkey; Pete Cummins; The Bonny Men; Traz; The Man Whom, Gypsy Rebble Rabble; Bunoscionn; Trad side of the moon; Wookalilly; Alpaca Jamboree; Miriam Donohue; Joy Booth; TAC; Twin Headed Wolf; The Eskies; Cry Monster Cry; Hidden Highways and JP Trio and Niamh.

    To accompany this feast of musical acts, there will be an abundance of alternative events for all to enjoy, including storytelling and poetry reading by Pat Speight, Eddie Lenihan, Tim Evans, Jack Sheehan and Stephen James Smith; as well as talks and workshops on ancient druidism and shamanism; Tibetan Mandala making and singing bowls; Native American pipe ceremonies; dreams analysis; and ancient astronomy and permaculture.

    The evolution of Spirit of Folk 2012 sees it grow in size, with an addition of a headline stage and an organic food market to the plethora of events in the picturesque surroundings of Dunderry Park. A third night has also been added to the proceedings with camping available on Sunday night as well.

    A limited supply of early bird weekend tickets for €65 and day tickets for €35 will be available until 31 May. From June onwards, weekend tickets will cost €85 and day tickets will cost €45.

    To purchase your Spirit of Folk 2012 tickets go to www.tickets.ie


    Spirit of Folk announce 2012 line up | meg:




  • Joe Mooney Summer School
    Top end of Church Street, Drumshanbo, near to ...(Photo credit: Wikipedia)July 21st – 28th, 2012
    www.joemooneysummerschool.com

    The Joe Mooney Summer School of Traditional Music, Song and Dance will take place in Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim from July 21st – 28th,  2012. This renowned Summer School, now in its 24th year, will provide a full programme of workshops in traditional instruments– fiddle, flute, banjo, bodhrán, whistle, concertina, button accordion, piano accordion, harp, uilleann pipes, mandolin and bouzouki. Traditional accompaniment was successfully added to our programme last year and will be offered again in 2012. Tuition is also available in Set Dancing, Sean Nós Dancing, 2 Hand Dancing, Traditional Singing and Sean Nós Singing.

    These daily workshops are presented professionally by tutors of the highest calibre. All classes are graded and all grades are well catered for by experienced tutors with excellent pedagogic skills  and strong motivation in passing on our traditional culture to overseas students and especially to our next generation of traditional musicians.



    For the more advanced and accomplished students, it is a unique opportunity to gain top class tuition from traditional icons of our time in a truly traditional environment. Classes are also available for beginners in whistle, bodhrán, singing, set dancing with set dancing supremo – Pat Murphy and Sean Nós dancing with Leitrim’s own Edwina Guckian, who has made a huge impact on the sean nós scene promoting the sean nós tradition among the younger generation.

    To keep the feet tapping during the week, there is a superb selection of Céilí Bands providing the music for nightly Céilís-the ever popular Annaly from Longford, Five Counties from the south, Deenagh making their debut in Drumshanbo this year and the all– time favourites Swallow’s Tail and Glenside. Céilí Time Band will have you all dancing on High Street for Saturday afternoon.

    Congratulations to Leitrim Fiddler, Brian Rooney, winner of TG4 Gradam Award 2012 for Best Musician. The organisers in Leitrim are immensely proud of Brian and his wonderful achievement. They look forward to having him in Drumshanbo to perform the Official Opening of The Joe Mooney Summer School 2012 in Lough Allen Hotel and in Concert with John Carty and friends on Sunday July 22nd to celebrate his Gradam Award in his native County. Beir bua agus beannacht ar Bhrian agus ar gceol traidisiúnta i gcónaí.
    Drumshanbo is the heart and soul of traditional music scene in Leitrim and welcomes its visitors with a huge Céad Míle Fáilte.

    For further information www.joemooneysummerschool.com


    JOE MOONEY SUMMER SCHOOL, DRUMSHANBO, CO. LEITRIM » Irish Music Magazine:




  • June 23rd: Andy Irvine at The Model - Sligo Events
    Andy Irvine, August 3, 2008, at the Dublin Iri...Andy Irvine, August 3, 2008, at the Dublin Irish Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)€20/€18/€16 / €16 Early Bird tickets available for a limited time.

    “..one of Ireland’s most creative talents for over 20 years.” – Boston Globe

    Andy Irvine has enjoyed a long and successful career as a traditional Irish musician. He has travelled the world as a solo artist and as a member of legendary Irish groups such as Planxty, Patrick Street and more recently Mozaik. Throughout his extensive career he has maintained and developed the qualities in his music, which endear him to his audience and fellow musicians alike.

    Now the legendary Irish singer/songwriter Andy Irvine is coming to perform at The Model. With his impressive repertoire of Irish traditional songs and dexterous Balkan dance tunes, he creates an exciting new fusion of Irish and World Music not to be missed.

    Andy continues to pursue new combinations and styles of music. He has broadened his musical horizons over the course of his forty-year career to encompass the musical styles of countries he visits, such as the Balkan folk style of playing. Between the achievements of his solo, group work and collaborations, he is a highly revered troubadour of the Irish music world.

    “Andy Irvine is someone whose singing I have always loved. He always takes you to the place he’s in. He creates a world … Andy singing a song like Bonny Woodhall or West Coast of Clare, or a song like The Jolly Beggar, songs of another era, but tapped into beautifully by Andy and his treatment of them.”
    Donal Lunny

    themodel.ie/music/andy-irvine


    June 23rd: Andy Irvine at The Model « Sligo Events:




  • Will paid-for music streaming services win the hearts of Irish music lovers?
    Deezer Logo(Photo credit: Wikipedia)Online music streaming is all over the news this week, so we talked to Mark Foster, Deezer’s MD for the UK and Ireland, to see what all the fuss is about and ask why some services have ignored the Irish market.

    With SoundCloud reaching 150m users and announcing its latest iteration, SoundCloud Next, earlier this week, and the UK’s streaming chart launching next Monday, it seems that online music streaming is something worth talking about.

    Deezer's MD for the UK and Ireland, Mark Foster, has been working in the music industry since the eighties and seen its transition from hard copy to digital distribution. In 2011, after a long history with Warner Music, he was asked to spearhead the UK and Ireland launches of French-based streaming subscription service, Deezer.



    So, what’s the draw for music streaming and why is it seeing such a surge in popularity? “A streaming service such as Deezer allows people to discover, play, compile and share music legally, safely, in high quality and without needing to be a techie,” Foster explains. “Our strong editorial approach helps people find new music they wouldn't necessarily hear about elsewhere, with no risk. They are paying the same affordable subscription fee whether they listen to one track a month or 10,000.”

    Music services worth paying for
    Though online music distribution has had its reputation dragged through the mud by piracy, the growth of subscriptions to legal music-sharing sites are encouraging, showing that users are willing to pay for music, they just need to find a service that offers them something worth paying for.

    One of Deezer’s unique features is its strong editorial slant, which provides music recommendations from real music fans. “We have always placed massive importance on having real people, who go to a lot of gigs and listen to a lot of music, making personalised recommendations every week across 12 genres,” says Foster. “This makes the whole Deezer experience more accessible and more personal. Some other streaming services are more technical, more like databases of music – great if you know what you want to listen to, but intimidating if you don't really feel you know what's currently hot or might suit your tastes.”

    The first online music streaming chart
    Deezer opened for business in the UK in September 2011, reaching our shores in December. So far, the service has 1.5m subscribers and ten times as many tracks. It is the first music streaming service that doesn’t rely on software downloads and, as a streaming-only brand, Foster welcomes the introduction of an online music streaming chart in the UK.

    “I think it’s a great idea. It brings streaming into the mainstream and reflects the level of adoption and acceptability it increasingly has with the general public and the way large numbers of people now like to consume their music,” says Foster.

    The official weekly chart will rank the top 100 plays from platforms such as Deezer, Spotify, We7, Napster, Zune and ChartsNow. The first of its kind, the results from this chart show the differing music tastes of streamers compared to other music consumers. Ed Sheeran has come out on top as 2012’s most streamed artist so far, while album sales machine Adele doesn’t even make the top 10.

    “It's interesting how differently certain artists perform on the streaming chart, where tracks tend to have a longer ‘burn’ than the short-term singles chart, and where multiple tracks from one artists – Ed Sheeran and David Guetta for example – can stay on the charts at the same time, which is good for album longevity,” says Foster. “On the traditional singles chart, shelf-life is shorter, and attention focuses from one track to the next very quickly.”

    This kind of longevity could be a boon for new artists marketing themselves online, as Sheeran himself commented to The Telegraph, “Streaming services and online in general have always been an important way for me to get music out to my fans. A new official streaming chart that recognises another way of enjoying music can only be a good thing.”

    A disruptive force, or an asset to the industry?
    With its first official chart coming out on Monday, and the praise of musicians riding high in the business, online music streaming is clearly a key component to the music industry and not the disruptive element it may initially appear to be.

    The music industry is now seeing a growth in revenues from digital music, particularly streaming services, which is beginning to reverse the 10-year decline in physical sales. “There was some uncertainty at first about whether digital music in general and streaming in particular might cannibalise other formats, such as physical,” says Foster. “But the majors’ own research, as they have publicly stated recently, has shown this is not the case, but that all of these models can coexist, and, in fact, streaming is providing substantial incremental revenue.”

    Ireland’s untapped music market
    While there is revenue to be gained from music streaming, the lack of services in Ireland mean this is a largely untapped market. “The market in Ireland is in its infancy, but there’s huge potential,” says Foster. “Some companies have tried to launch a streaming service and got it wrong; some big streaming brands haven't even bothered to come here, which, in my opinion, is a massive opportunity missed.”

    It’s no secret that Irish people are big music lovers, which makes Foster excited about Deezer’s prospects here. “Though it's a small population, the level of engagement with music – especially live music – is disproportionately high compared to many other countries,” he says, noting his intentions to pay the Irish market the respect it deserves with sensible, easy-to-try offers and lots of cool events and promotions.

    “We've had tremendous support from the music companies here, and we are also talking to some potentially major distribution partners here, so watch this space!”


    Will paid-for music streaming services win the hearts of Irish music lovers? - New Media - New Media | siliconrepublic.com - Ireland's Technology News Service:




  • 'Grannygate' row as legal loophole is set to allow English students with Irish heritage to go to Scottish universities for free | Mail Online
    The cover of Irish electronic Passports as of ...Photo credit: Wikipedia)Thousands of English and Welsh students will be able to claim free tuition at Scottish universities by claiming Irish grandparents, it was revealed today.
    Last week, it emerged that students from Northern Ireland could avoid fees by taking dual Republic of Ireland citizenship and applying as EU students, which would result in them having their fees paid under European equality law.
    The Scottish Government played down the development, saying it would only apply to a small number of students.
    But it has now emerged that anyone who lives in the UK who has an Irish grandparent can obtain an Irish passport and apply under the same loophole.
    Nearly 625,000 people living in England and Wales claimed Irish ethnicity in the 2001 census – and as many as six million across the UK are estimated to have at least one Irish grandparent.


    In some cases, even UK residents with an Irish great-grandparent could apply for an Irish passport.
    The children and grandchildren of people of other EU nationalities living in England and Wales could also use the same loophole.
    Under new legislation, students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland should pay fees of up to £9,000 a year to attend Scots universities, while Scots students study for free.
    But the loophole raises the prospect of a flood of applicants from around the UK.
    The development may mean greater competition for university places in Scotland.

    Read more:
    'Grannygate' row as legal loophole is set to allow English students with Irish heritage to go to Scottish universities for free | Mail Online:




  • The police chief who saved Irish folk music
    At the dawn of the 20th century, Ireland’s traditional music was in danger. English occupiers and Catholic authorities frowned on those old Celtic tunes. Waves of emigration scattered Irish musicians around the globe. And no one was publishing their melodies.

    No one, that is, other than the police chief of Chicago.

    Francis O’Neill, an Irish immigrant who was chief from 1901 to 1905, did more than anyone to save Irish folk music from extinction. Even as he led the police force, he kept his ears open for tunes played by people from all over Ireland who had come to Chicago with their flutes, fiddles and pipes. He compiled 1,850 of those songs in a 1903 book, O’Neill’s Music of Ireland. It’s still considered the bible of traditional Irish music.

    Highland Park resident Adam Whiteman, who practices law in the Loop, discovered all this when he was producing the album “Hidden Treasures: Irish Music In Chicago” for his record label, Big Chicago Records. He decided it was a story he needed to tell on the stage.



    After eight years of writing scripts during his daily train rides, Whiteman says he has found the way to bring Chief O’Neill’s life and accomplishments back to life: by letting O’Neill tell the tale in his own words.

    Of course, it won’t actually be O’Neill who’s speaking during the new play “Music Mad” — actor Brett Tewell plays the role — but most of the words come straight out of O’Neill’s writings.

    “You are hearing him speak. It’s chilling,” Whiteman says. “I wrote the entire show in an interview format. Imagine Dick Cavett interviewing Chief O’Neill. Every once in a while, we segue into dramatic re-enactments of a story.”

    O’Neill’s memories also prompt performances by musicians including Laurence Nugent, a master of the Irish flute. “He can capture the emotion of a song in such a way that you are mesmerized,” Whiteman says.

    “Music Mad” is directed by Stefan Brun and co-produced by Prop Theatr, which has staged other Chicago-centric shows, including Neil Giuntoli’s smash hit about Mayor Richard J. Daley, “Hizzoner.” And starting May 5, “Music Mad” will be performed inside Chief O’Neill’s Pub and Restaurant — a Northwest Side establishment named in honor of the police chief who saved Irish music.

    “This guy really did rescue the very spirit of the Irish people as it was preserved in their music,” Whiteman says. “His book, O’Neill’s Music of Ireland, is not just a collection of tunes. It’s the collective consciousness of a people. It took someone like O’Neill to recognize the importance of it, so it could be documented and not lost to the ages.”

    One of Whiteman’s key sources for the play is O’Neill’s memoirs, which Northwestern University Press published in 2008. O’Neill’s great-granddaughter, Mary Lesch, who edited the book with Ellen Skerrett, sat in on a rehearsal for “Music Mad” and was wowed by what she saw and heard.

    “I was really astonished. The choice of actors and musicians couldn’t be better,” she says. “We like to perpetuate the role of O’Neill and what he’s done for Irish culture. And this is the best of all vehicles, really.”



    The police chief who saved Irish folk music - Lake County News-Sun:




  • Christy for Arts Festival Big Top
    00 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Galway Arts Festival and the Róisín Dubh have announced that Christy Moore will perform a rare stand-up gig at the Festival Big Top on Friday July 20. Joining Christy on the night will be high energy, vivacious trad group 4 Men and A Dog. The show is Moore’s only gig in Galway city in 2012 and promises to be a massive music highlight at this year’s festival.

    Christy Moore is one of Ireland’s most prolific singer songwriters infamous for his iconic songs Lisdoonvarna, Don’t Forget Your Shovel and Ride On. His acclaimed new album Folk Tale, produced by Declan Sinnott sees the latest result of Christy and Declan’s unique musical alliance. Their long collaboration has gained a loyal and ever increasing following. Other players featuring on the album include Gerry O’ Connor, Tim Edey and Neil Martin with The West Ocean String Quartet.

    The Kildare singer rates his performance with headliners Coldplay at Oxygen last year as a memorable experience, when hearing the sound of 80,000 young people singing along to Jimmy McCarthy’s classic Ride On. Christy believes that his collaboration began when the 12-year old Coldplay drummer, Will Chamberlain attended one of his gigs in Southampton in 1992.



    Moore was recently listed in the book Rough Guide to Bob Dylan for his recording of The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, the Rough Guide’s favourite Bob Dylan listings. Other great works include the film Come All You Dreamers which captures the work Moore loves to do, recorded from Barrowland Ballroom Glasgow, in a raw, atmospheric and very real setting. It has received repeated prime time transmissions from both TG4 and BBC4.

    Moore has also performed at The London Feis at Finsbury Park, formerly known as The London Fleadh and the New York Fleadh. The recent prestigious anthology edition of the Penguin Book of Irish Verse includes Christy’s 1983 song Lisdoonvarna. Moore had a successful reunion and collaboration with TV presenter Gay Byrne called One Night Only with Gay Byrne on RTE1. His first appearance on The Late Late Show with Byrne took place in 1972.

    Tickets go on sale Monday 14th May at 9am at galwayartsfestival.com and roisindubh.net Tickets €37.50. A limited number of Early Bird tickets will be available at €35.00.


    Christy for Arts Festival Big Top:




  • Máire Mhac an tSaoi Symposium at NUIG
    National University of Ireland, Galway (Photo credit: Wikipedia)MÁIRE MHAC an tSaoi, one of the most significant Irish poets of the 20th century, and the most important living poet working as Gaeilge, will be celebrated in NUI Galway.

    NUIG will host The Miracle of the Parish: Máire Mhac an tSaoi Symposium on Wednesday May 23 from 9am in the university’s Moore Institute.

    Along with Máirtín Ó Direáin and Seán Ó Ríordáin, Máire Mhac an tSaoi revolutionised the practice of poetry in Irish in the 1940s and 1950s and paved the way for a new generation of women poets, working as Gaeilge agus as Bearla in the 1970s and 1980s. Máire Mhac an tSaoi also gave voice to the intimate and subversive aspects of women’s experience in poems that challenged the moral orthodoxies of the time.



    Speakers at the symposium include Micheál MacCraith, Margaret Mac Curtain, Máire Ní Annracháin, Máirín NicEoin, Caoimhín Mac Giolla Léith, Ríóna Ní Fhrighil, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, and Patricia Coughlan. The event will be recorded by RTÉ radio for broadcast later in the year.



    “This is the first event dedicated entirely to her work and includes contributions from some of the finest scholars and critics of poetry in Irish,” said Louis de Paor, director of the Centre for Irish Studies. “We are delighted to recognise her unique contribution to Irish writing.”

    Ms Mhac an tSaoi was appointed Honorary Professor of Irish Studies at NUIG in 2004 while her uncle Monsignor Pádraig de Brún, served with such distinction as president. She published her autobiography The Same Age as the State in 2003 while a bilingual selection of her poems An Paróiste Míorúilteach/The Miraculous Parish came out late last year.

    Admission to all sessions is free and the public is invited to attend. For more information contact Samantha Williams at irishstudies@nuigalway.ie or 091 - 492051.


    Máire Mhac an tSaoi Symposium at NUIG:




  • RTÉ Raidió 1: Céilí House from Oriel Centre
     On Sat 12th May 2012 RTE 1’s Ceilli House will be broadcast from the Oriel Centre, Dundalk Gaol. Performers include well known Comhaltas members, tutors for Music Generation Louth and traditional music students from DKIT


    DUNDALK GAOL

    Dundalk Gaol was designed circa 1847 by John Neville, Chief Surveyor for the County of Louth who also oversaw the design and construction of a number of Dundalk’s notable buildings including its magnificent courthouse in Market Square. This Gaol featured prominently during the Anglo-Irish struggle and some of it’s most famous inmates were John Dillon MP (1888); Austin Stack (1917) the well known Kerry footballer; Sean Tracy (1917-1918) comrade and friend of Dan Breen; and Frank Aiken (1922) who later became one of the longest serving TD’s and Ministers in Irish Government.

    The lease for the male wing at Dundalk Gaol was generously donated to Comhaltas in 2008, by Louth County Council, with a view to developing a regional cultural centre. The Oriel Centre, Dundalk Gaol is now one of eight strategically placed regional resource centres under the auspices of Comhaltas which were established through it’s Cultural Development Programme.

    Today, the Oriel Centre at Dundalk Gaol combines the role of a cultural resource centre, a visitor attraction, a social and a performance space, which has made a significant contribution to the development of tourism locally and beyond. It’s location within the historic setting of Dundalk Gaol, offers a unique opportunity to provide a comprehensive approach to the development of our cultural traditions alongside the support of our cultural heritage.
    Comhaltas: Blog: RTÉ Raidió 1: Céilí House from Oriel Centre:




  • Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival Announces Musical Lineup
    MarylandMaryland (Photo credit: Dougtone)Maryland Traditions, a program of the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), has announced the musical lineup at the 2nd Annual Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival. The free Festival—an interactive, family-friendly celebration of traditional arts and foods from across the state—happens rain or shine, 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., June 16 at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson. The 2012 musical lineup boasts an array of master musical chops, from Rock N' Roll Hall of Famer doo-wop group The Legendary Orioles to the extraordinary Khmer classical musicians who arrived in Maryland in the 1970's as Cambodian refugees. The broad range of musical genres featured at the Festival—including Himalayan music, South African and Mexican dance, Bluegrass, Irish and Gospel music, a big band orchestra and more—showcases the remarkable richness and diversity of musical traditions happening in Maryland today.



    "The Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival presents the music and arts that tell the story of Maryland and its people, cultural communities and heritage," said Hannah Byron, assistant secretary for tourism, film and the arts at the Department of Business and Economic Development, "It's a once-yearly chance to sample the artistic diversity of Maryland's many regions in a single day and place."

    The Festival features Maryland's traditional musicians, arts masters and their apprentices playing music and leading workshops and demonstrations in screen painting, decoy duck carving, Smith Island Cake-baking and more. Maryland-made arts and crafts, plus distinctive Maryland food favorites will also be available for purchase. Top musical talent from across the state is scheduled to perform at this free festival in Baltimore.

    Folklife is the stuff of oral tradition – the stuff we learn from each other, across generations, that links our past, present, and future.

    Said Cliff Murphy, Ph.D., Director, Maryland Traditions, "Folklife is the stuff of oral tradition – the stuff we learn from each other, across generations, that links our past, present, and future. The Festival is an inspiring reminder that extraordinary art and cultural traditions are to be found right here at home."

    MUSICAL LINE-UP: 2012 MARYLAND TRADITIONS FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL

    The Baltimore Salute is led by Baltimore Irish flute master Laura Byrne and features accordionist Billy McComiskey and pianist Donna Long. Byrne is the lynchpin of traditional Irish music communities in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. A former classical flautist from the Peabody Conservatory, Byrne was transfixed by Irish musicians from Baltimore, including McComiskey and Long, and has since dedicated her life to sustaining living Irish music traditions. She is founder and Director of the Baltimore Irish Arts Center.

    Ernie Bradley & The Grassy Ridge Band (Washington County) – A third generation Appalachian banjo player, Ernie Bradley has mentored many of the young musicians who make up Western Maryland's thriving bluegrass scene. His Grassy Ridge Band is a staple of festivals throughout the mid-Atlantic, from Gettysburg, PA to Washington, D.C.

    The Cambodian Buddhist Society (Montgomery County) is home to extraordinary Khmer classical musicians and dancers, many of whom arrived in Maryland as refugees in the 1970s. The group appearing at the festival includes the dancing of 2011 Apprenticeship Award recipient Masady Mani and master pinpeat musician and 2007 NEA Heritage Fellow, Chum Ngek.

    The DeBusk-Weaver Family (Cecil County) came to Cecil County, Maryland from Southwest Virginia along with scores of Appalachian migrants in the decades following the Great Depression. Their Appalachian gospel music, which they've recorded for Smithsonian Folkways, reminds listeners of the Carter Family, who lived not far from where DeBusk family patriarch, Burton DeBusk, was born.

    The Legendary Orioles (Prince George's County) originated on a Pennsylvania Avenue street corner in Baltimore in 1948, led by the charismatic vocalist Sonny Til. They are considered by many music historians to be the "first" doo-wop group, and their songs "It's Too Soon To Know" and "Crying in the Chapel" earned them an induction into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Singer Diz Russell has been with the group since 1952 and has been the leader of the Orioles since Til's death in 1980.

    Prem Raja Mahat & The Himalayan Music Group (Baltimore) – For nearly two decades, Nepal's answer to Elvis has made his home in Baltimore. Using the sarangi (Nepali mountain fiddle) as his chief instrument, Prem brings the sounds of the Himalayas to Baltimore's Highlandtown.

    Lesole Maine's South African Dance Troupe (Prince George's County) performs a stunning form of percussive dance, rooted in the mining communities of South Africa. Maine is at the forefront of Prince George's County's burgeoning African immigrant music and dance community.

    Since 2003, México Vivo has celebrated and performed a variety of dance traditions from all over Mexico in after-school programs and at events in Baltimore's growing Latino community. Originally from Mexico City, María Guadalupe López and her brother Federico began México Vivo upon arriving in Baltimore to maintain a connection to their Mexican Heritage and to pass those traditions down to future generations; they perform today with the Mariachi band, Son de América.

    The Singing and Praying Bands of Maryland (Eastern and Western Shores) perform what is perhaps Maryland's oldest and distinct living gospel music tradition. Winners of the 2011 Maryland Traditions ALTA Award, they are closely affiliated with the African American United Methodist churches, where they have provided music ministry for centuries.

    The Soaring Eagles – Louis Campbell, Jason Warwick -- Lumbee Regalia, Dance & Drum Thousands of Native Americans – mostly from North Carolina's Lumbee and Haliwa-Saponi tribes – migrated to Baltimore following the Depression for work in the city's booming industrial plants. They settled in Fells Point and founded the Baltimore American Indian Center (BAIC) in 1968. Master artist Louis Campbell and apprentice Jason Warwick design and create Lumbee ceremonial regalia used at pow-wows. Regalia are, in Louis' words, "a suit of armor that you wear when you dance." Campbell's work is influenced by inter-tribal pow-wows, and uses materials from feathers to eagle claws to buffalo bone. Campbell and Warwick don their regalia today as part of BAIC's Soaring Eagles.

    Sweet Heaven Kings (Prince George's County), led by Norvus Miller, Sr., deliver a raucous, trombone-driven form of gospel music. They come to the festival from the United House of Prayer for All Peoples in the metro DC area, where their "shout band" music can be heard every Sunday.

    Eileen Torres & La Leyenda Salsa Big Band Orchestra (Anne Arundel/Montgomery County) – For decades, salsa dancer Eileen Torres has inspired legions of dancers at the famous DC club, Zanzibar on the Waterfront, to dedicate themselves fully to this flashy Latino dance. With her apprentice, Socorro Reyes, Eileen will teach festival-goers how to dance to the live sounds of La Leyenda's 14-piece salsa orchestra.

    Washington Guzheng Society (Montgomery County) is led by the talented Bing Xia, a master of the Chinese guzheng. The guzheng is a 24-string Chinese zither with roots in the Qin dynasty, circa 237 B.C. The group was established in 2000 and has performed at a variety of places in Maryland and beyond, such as the Baltimore Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the University of Maryland, the U.S. National Arboretum, the Smithsonian Institution and at the Kennedy Center in 2003.

    The Wolf Pack play music traditional to the Greek islands. All members of the group trace their heritage to the Greek island of Karpathos, the same island where most residents of Baltimore's Greektown neighborhood hail from. The Wolf Pack pays tribute to their late friend and collaborator, Antonios Nicolaidis of Greektown. Nicolaidis was a master of the Greek lyre who received a Maryland Traditions Apprenticeship Award in 2005 to apprentice Antonios Minadakis. Minadakis and the other members of today's group perform regularly at Greek community events in Baltimore, the mid-Atlantic and abroad.

    Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival Announces Musical Lineup | Cybergrass Bluegrass Music News: