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Noel Hill, Alec Finn, and Tony Linnane, March 7th, 2008 - Watch Video

Dia dhaoibh go léir!

Our next folk club is next Friday, 7th March. We are very proud to welcome three legends of Traditional music to Carlow. We know you would love to be present at this very unique event to meet, greet and listen to these fine performers in our intimate venue. Because the demand for this gig is so high, we are trying out a system to be fair to all. I will set up a table at the top of the stairs and sell tickets to the first 60 lucky trad lovers there. This will start at 8pm and that is the total amount we can fit in for safety and comfort reasons. I hope you will appreciate that we are only doing this so everybody knows where they stand regarding entry and not have to hang around till 9.30 and then possibly not get in. The admission is the usual ?15.

Noel Hill is one of those standard-setting voices in Irish music today. Few musicians in any field or in any generation achieve a position where both audiences and experts agree on their preeminence and mastery of an instrument; Noel Hill's virtuosity has firmly established him as the defining Irish concertina player of our time.

Noel Hill comes from County Clare on the west coast of Ireland, where the concertina tradition is so strong the instruments was nicknamed "the Clareman's Trumpet" and legend has it there was once a concertina in every other household. It was into one of these households that Noel Hill was born, and as a young child Noel was forbidden to touch his older brother's concertina. But he couldn't keep his hands off the instrument and was always stealing away with it. One day when his brother was labouring through a hornpipe Noel gave himself away by taking the concertina and playing the tune with ease. That got everyone's attention, and he's had it ever since.

Noel Hill has taken the humble concertina from the house dances of County Clare on the west coast of Ireland to stages throughout the world. The concertina, like Irish music itself, is currently enjoying a tremendous increase in popularity, and Noel Hill is at the forefront of this movement, not only as an awe-inspiring performer but as teacher and a well respected authority on Ireland's music.

In his hands the concertina is a new instrument, yet resounds with the integrity of generations, for Noel Hill makes the music new not through experimentation in other genres, but through consummate exploration and illumination from within traditional Irish music.

Alec Finn has lived most of his life in the West of Ireland. Although his main influences have been from Irish traditional music, he has been involved in a wide range of music including blues and rock and roll. He is a member of De Danann, one of the longest standing influences in traditional Irish music throughout the world. De Danann's distinctive style and approach to the tradition both musically and vocally, has been a cornerstone of Irish music for three decades.

As a founder member of De Danann, Alec has been integral to the arrangement and production of all their albums and live performances, several of which incorporated elements of rock and blues with traditional Irish music. He has also worked with a long list of international artists and in 1994 finally produced his first solo album "Blue Shamrock" In 2003 Alec released his second CD "Innisfree" to great critical acclaim.

In the world of traditional Irish music, Tony Linnane is renowned as a fiddle player of outstanding ability. His distinctive playing has superb fluency and flow in its style and is characterised by impeccable technique and a wealth of feeling and sensitivity. He is recognised as on of the finest exponents of the instrument in Ireland today. Tony Linnane was born into a musical family in Corofin in the North-West region of Co. Clare in the late 1950's. His father Pat was a whistle player and a renowned collector of tunes. As a result Tony was exposed to music at a very early age. Beginning on the mouth-organ he advanced to the fiddle and was an accomplished player in early adolescence. By the time he graduated from school he was much sought after to play in the country's leading folk/traditional clubs. Since then he's become a veteran of all the major music festivals in Ireland and has performed frequently on R.T.E. radio and television. Tony was a fonder member of "Inchiquin" a short-lived group who had moderate success on the club circuits of Britain and Ireland. "Inchiquin" released one self-titled album that has long since become a collector's item. Following the demise of that group Tony continued to play professionally with fellow Clare man and concertina player Noel Hill. The duo released 'Noel Hill & Tony Linnane', recorded in 1979 on the Tara label and to this day it is still regarded as one of the finest traditional Irish music records of all time. It was re-released on CD in 1996. The duo were highly regarded for their seminal performances both as headliners and opening act to the likes of The Bothy Band, Planxty, The Chieftains, De Dannan and Clannad.

I hope you can make it along to this special event- it promises to be a mighty night and should remain in the memory for years to come!!

Slán go fóill,