Fiddler finds his worldly corner

Fiddler finds his worldly corner: "Colm Mac Con Iomaire drew on his Gaelic roots to create his first solo album, writes Liza Power.

COLM Mac Con Iomaire is a firm believer in doing things when the time is right. Which is why, after 20 years playing fiddle for Irish rock bands The Frames and The Swell Season, he decided to release his first solo album. Called The Hare's Corner, it was recorded in a caravan in an open field in County Wexford, south of Dublin; skirted by green fields and the cold breath of the Irish Sea. He locked himself away in splendid isolation to weave fragments of song that have played in his mind for years.

''Recording ideas is like putting a pin through the butterfly, so I'd been trying to put it off and save the fragments until I had time to sit down and devote my attention to it fully.''"

Basque accordionist Kepa Junkera performs in Glasgow

"Basque accordionist Kepa Junkera and new young female choir Leioa Kantika Korala performed at the Main Auditorium at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (Scotland) on Thursday, January 20th as part of Celtic Connections, a festival that takes place from January 13th to 30th.
According to the Scottish newspaper Scotsman 'Kepa Junkera is a great ambassador for the Basque country, and his concerts rarely disappoint'.
'The imaginative settings of ancient ballads of the Bay of Biscay, collected by improvising bertsolari poet Xabier Amuriza, use beautiful melodies and in novel style several involve recorded fragments of Mongolian throat-singing', the Scottish newspaper Scotsman reported on its website on Monday."

Basque accordionist Kepa Junkera performs in Glasgow - EiTB News Entertainment:

Joe Derrane is the Irish Echo’s top traditional artist of 2010

"Since 1993, the Irish Echo has honored these 16 musicians — and two radio hosts — with its highest annual accolade, “Traditional Artist of the Year”: Charlie Lennon, James Keane, Joe Derrane, Seamus Egan, Joanie Madden, John Whelan, Mick Moloney, Liz Carroll, Kevin Crawford, Seamus Connolly, Mike Rafferty, Andy McGann (posthumous), Monsignor Charlie Coen, WFUV-FM’s Kathleen Biggins and WGBH-FM’s Brian O’Donovan (co-recipients for 2006), Micheal O Suilleabhain, Brian Conway, and John Doyle.
Boston-born button accordionist and composer Joe Derrane now becomes the first to receive this most coveted award twice."

Joe Derrane is the Irish Echo’s top traditional artist of 2010:

Three Reels On Anglo Concertina