CEOL AGUS CRAIC -
Thanks a Million, Jacquie!
By ERIN MULLAN
Ceol binn a bhaint as an saol! Vancouver Celtic music fans should raise a glass in gratitude this month to Jackie Metzler, one of our town's finest publicans. She provided a home for much of the local session scene at the Wolf & Hound, and at Culpeppers before, with a spirit of warmth and generosity. As she steps from behind the bar at the W & H to head off to her next adventure, her many friends and patrons wish her all the best. Slainte, Jackie!
Concert listings:
• Congratulations to Celticfest Vancouver for a fab and fun festival filled with some very fine music, and a big thank you to Jaime RT for co-hosting the Great Big Session with me. Looking forward to the next year of this growing festival
• For fiddle music of a different flavour, this month sees Vancouver's first Django Reinhardt Festival at St. James Hall with four hot bands playing gypsy swing. Marc Atkinson Trio and Hot Club of Mars play April 21, and Van Django and Roma Swing Ensemble headline April 22, when there will also be a swing dance and a Parisian-style café
• Next month the Rogue Folk Club celebrates its 20th anniversary with Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart on May 4
• Finnish/Norwegian septet Frigg play on May 18
• In June there will be a CD launch for the excellent Victoria band Outlaw Social June 1
• English poet Les Barker returns June 6.......If you're into old time string bands, check out Whiskey Hollow Bound on June 17. It features at least six of Vancouver's finest, including The Breakmen, Plough, Mountain Bluebirds and Dyad
• Dougie MacLean returns to B.C. this summer to play Island Musicfest and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in July
• Watch for an amazing old time string band called Carolina Chocolate Drops at Jericho Beach as well
In August, English guitar maestro Martin Simpson returns and there'll be an interesting show that month when Swedish fiddler Ellika Frisell teams up with African kora master Solo Sissoko
• The Rogue Folk Club hopes to bring the reunited Irish group Four Men & A Dog to town, given that they are playing the Edmonton Folk Festival in August and would love to get back to Vancouver
• In the great news for Irish music fans department, Dervish will kick off the next Folk & Roots Series at Capilano College in September. The series will also feature Scots fiddler Alasdair Fraser with cellist Natalie Haas on November 3 and plenty more-stay tuned.
Local motion:
• The last Scottish ceilidh dance of the 2066/07 season is April 27 at the Scottish Cultural Centre with live music by
• No partner required, all dances are taught and previous experience needed, open to all ages
• For over 50 summers, there has been Scottish Country Dancing in Stanley Park on Monday evenings. This year, however, Ceperley Playground is being renovated and expanded to include the Air India Memorial so the dancing will move for this season only to Queen Elizabeth Park, starting June 18
• For information on the ceilidhs or Scottish country dance groups and classes around the Lower Mainland call (604) 536-9481 or visit the revamped website: www.rscdsvancouver.org
• For information on the Irish Set Dancing and Social Group call (604) 984-8261 or (604) 731-9513
• The Wolf and Hound has traditional sessions on Monday and Wednesday nights
• Irish Heather has an Irish traditional session on Thursday nights.
Recording news:
• Humdinger features Paul Brock on the melodeon, Enda Scahill on tenor banjo with Ryan Molloy on piano and percussion by Tommy Hayes. They say it evokes "the atmosphere and artistry of the Irish dance hall era in dazzling fashion"
• Jaime RT & Andy Hillhouse launched their lovely new CD Spark on April 5 at St. James
• Scottish folk-pop singer Eddi Reader has a new disc on Compass Records called Peacetime which features an all-stars cast of backing musos.
Questions, comments or complaints? Write me c/o The Celtic Connection, #741 - 916 West Broadway, Vancouver V5Z 1K7, or e-mail: maura@telus.net. [Erin Mullan hosts the Celtic music radio show In the Claddagh Ring, Friday evenings from 6:30 to 8 PM on CFRO 102.7.]
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