This weekend I attended the Dublin (Ohio, USA) Irish Festival and saw the following bands:
1.) Kevin Burke & Ged Foley: I attended three shows and bought the Patrick Street “Street Life” CD;
2.) The Cottars: remarkably talented group of young people, two brother and sister pairs ages 15 to 18 from Cape Breton; they will be making good music for many years to come. I attended two shows and bought their new CD, “On Fire”;
3.) Tannahill Weavers;
4.) Cherish the Ladies: I talked with Joanie Madden for a little while after her performance. I like her. The Ladies have a new CD coming out soon;
5.) Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul: Eileen performs an eclectic and extremely energetic show and is a fine violinist. I bought her “Crossing the Bridge” CD;
6.) McComiskey, Mulvhill & McLeod;
7.) The Kells: I have seen them before; Brian McCoy is an exceptional whistle and flute player. I have The Kells’s second CD, “The Kells,” and bought their first, “Feast of the Archangels,” at the Festival. The Kells have a third CD coming out in a few months; and
8.) some great regional bands: I believe that many regional/local bands everywhere (of any genre) are every bit as talented as some nationally or internationally recognized bands. Those great regional bands simply do not have the marketing power that the well-known bands have. For instance, I don’t believe that Brittany Spears is evidently the best talent America has to offer because she is widely known and makes lots of money. Or David Hasselhoff;
I planned to see Flogging Molly, but they played only one show, and that was at the end of the third day. I was too tired to stay. More bands performed but there wasn’t enough time to see them all: Bad Haggis, Tommy Makem, Brigid’s Cross, Baka Beyond, Black 47, Seven Nations, and others. I don’t know these bands but would have liked to hear what they offer.
I don’t have any Chiff & Fipple logo-wear of my own, but I looked for anyone else who was exhibiting some sign of C&F membership. I hoped to meet another board member in the flesh but, unfortunately, didn’t see anyone wearing the C&F logo. If any C&F members were there I couldn’t tell them from normal people. I’ll try to remember to get a C&F ball cap for next year.
I bought two fine whistles (C Aluminum Narrow-Bore and Bb Composite) from Mike and Susan Burke. Mike told me that the Dublin Festival is the only festival at which he sets up a booth to display all of his whistles.
The Dublin Irish Festival provided a very satisfying and relaxing weekend.
I very much like the festival season. Coming this month are the Greek Festival here in Columbus and the Renaissance Festival just north of Cincinnati, Ohio.
