If you don't like bag pipes, you might want to skip Molly's Revenge, a California-based band, consisting of David Brewer (highland bag pipes, whistles, bodhran), John Weed (fiddle), Pete Haworth (bouzouki, vocals) and Stuart Mason (guitar/mandola), because you are going to hear a lot of piping in their concerts. On the other hand, once you hear or see David Brewer perform you may just be converted. He is a fiery player who will take your breath away with his incredible speed and virtuosity, be they sets of stately or lively Scottish and Irish tunes or his own traditional-style compositions.Through all this incredible music making, David dances around on stage as if the pipes were playing him. Think of Jimmy Hendrix on bag pipes and you get the idea. The wild stuff is interspersed with the lyrical sweetness of traditonal Irish and Scottish airs with David on whistles of all kinds, taking turns with masterful fiddle and guitar solos by Stuart and John. Stuart also plays his own compositions. For those who cannot do without song, Pete sings some great ballads, among them the one the band was named after: "Molly's Revenge".
Molly's Revenge are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year and have released their seventh CD for the occasion. It is called the Western Shore and, as a guest, features Irish singer Moira Smiley. If you missed last October's concert in Aberdeen, Washington, you will have another chance to see their wonderful show at the Skagit Valley Highland Games, July 10-11, 2010 and in Seattle, July 11, 2010.
Moving from the Western shore to the East, the Seasons, a sibling trio consisting of Mary Kate Spring Lee ( Harp/Hammered Dulcimer), Mary Teresa Summer Lee (Harp/ Mandolin/ Percussion) and Peter Winter Lee ( Hammered Dulcimer), will delight your family with the sparkling, bell-like quality of their very unique interpretation of Celtic dance music and songs. Seasons are a very young homeschooled group. Mary Kate and Peter attend Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. On their CD Which Way To Dublin Town (The link gives you some music samples), they team up with a number of musician friends to present traditional Irish jigs and songs along with original ballads composed by Mary Kate. The intricate sound of the Seasons' two hammered dulcimers plus harp gives their music the freshness and complexity of a running brook which is perfectly complemented by the clear harmonies of singers Clare, Hannah and Mary Callaghan. Mary Kate's Dalriada is a perfect Saint Patrick's Day song, telling the story of the saint's captivity in Ireland and ending with the words of the famous Saint Patrick's Breastplate:
"Christ before me
Christ beside me
Christ beneath
Christ above me
Christ all around me
Christ where it's too dark to see
Christ be within me
Upholding my soul."
If your family likes Celtic dancing, you will love the Boston Kiltics, a New England group specializing in the music and dance of Novia Scotia (New Scotland) where the Celtic music tradition was kept very much alive by the descendents of Scottish fiddlers who fled there from persecution in their homeland. The Boston Kiltics are Doug Lamey (fiddle), Cliff Mc Gann ( guitar/whistles/vocals), Matthew Phelps (bag pipes) and master step dancers Pam Campbell and Christine Morrison. TheBoston Kiltics have not published any CDs but you can watch some of their great Celtic foot-tapping music on youtube. Tri is the name of the three guys without the dancers who have released a beautiful CD A-measg Chairdean.
Take the time to enjoy the beautiful music of the Celtic tradition with your kids and rejoice in continuation and the ever-changing, wonderful variations on this music by musicians born in this country. Don't forget to tell your family the story of Saint Patrick whose feast day we will celebrate tomorrow.
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