Episode 50-Framing the Stories
Irish Music Stories Podcast
How much power does a backdrop have? As the Irish Music Stories production team works to assemble episodes and bonus materials, Shannon explores the wooded hills of Medford, Massachusetts to find visual and organizational surrounds that look and feel like time-worn jigs, and ballads, and nights of music and dance.
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Episode 49-The Naming of Birds
Irish Music Stories Podcast
After a horrific week of social unrest in the U.S., and as Irish Music Stories begins a major overhaul, host Shannon Heaton offers a meditation on how cataloging and organizing can soothe the soul.
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Episode 48-Between the Tunes
Irish Music Stories Podcast
What’s up with stage banter? And why all the joking around between tunes in a session? Host Shannon Heaton explores the on- and offstage chat that surrounds traditional music with Máirtín de Cógáin, Paddy League, Joanie Madden, Rus Bradburd, Liz Carroll, and Jean-Michel Veillon.
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Episode 47-The Myth of Tragedy
Irish Music Stories Podcast
How do composers conjure melodies in traditional Irish and Scottish styles? Where do the tunes come from, and what do they carry? Composers Liz Carroll, Dáithí Sproule, and Katie McNally discuss creativity, resilience, and the myths behind the music.
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Episode 46-Ancient Tongues, Modern Times
Irish Music Stories Podcast
Learning just a few words in Gaelic is mannerly when visiting Ireland and Scotland. And it can be a way IN to cultural values and humor. Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Séamus Ó Flatharta, Ciarán Bolger, Michael Coult, Julie Fowlis, Mary Jane Lamond, and Brian Ó hAirt help me understand connections between language and music. And how songs in Irish and Scottish Gaelic transmit emotion, carry history, and lift people up.
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Episode 45-Trad in the Classroom
Irish Music Stories Podcast
There’s no definitive Irish or Scottish music method book. A lot of seasoned practitioners learned their music in kitchens and pubs. So how do they bring that immersive, social learning approach into the classroom? The latest IMS episode features traditional musicians who share ideas about teaching and learning traditional music.
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Episode 44-Not Easy Playing Green
Irish Music Stories Podcast
The topic of sustainable travel for touring musicians has been reframed, as Covid-19 has cancelled most music live music events for an unforeseeable amount of time. But as activity kicks up again, conversations about responsible, viable, grateful travel—and conservation—remain vital. The latest IMS episode features traditional musicians who advocate for marine ecosystems, planet conscious travel, and the health bees.
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Episode 43-From the Fringe to the Fore
Irish Music Stories Podcast
Hear how the banjo came into common acceptance in Irish circles from Daniel Neely, Enda Scahill, and Martin Howley… and check in with the joys and challenges of outsider status from harpist Maeve Gilchrist, cellist Natalie Haas, and saxophone players Susan Lindsay and Isaac Alderson.
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Episode 42-The Long Arm of the Irish Tradition
Irish Music Stories Podcast
Persistent infections like Covid-19 … and social injustice.. and racism… loom large. And still, these little Irish jigs and reels are forming bridges across oceans. What happens when people fall in love with a foreign music culture and pull themselves out of their comfort zones to travel and learn to play? Learn about the perspective Irish music has offered players on five continents.
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Episode 41- Transplanting Tradition in the Land of the Trees
Irish Music Stories Podcast
What do rampant evictions, military ship collisions, and Christmas trees have to do with jigs and reels? Learn how Gaelic culture resonated in Canada’s “New Scotland,” and down in the Boston States, from singer Mary Jane Lamond and fiddle players Troy MacGillivray, Andrea Beaton, Alasdair Fraser, Katie McNally, and Lee Cremo.
info_outlineHow do Scottish and Irish music intersect? How are they distinct? And why do so many trendy tunes come from Scotland? Host Shannon Heaton talks with Aaron Jones, Ed Pearlman, Natalie Haas and Hanneke Cassel to learn what it means to be a traditional Scottish musician today—in Scotland, and in the States. Warning: this episode contains very few mentions of haggis… or kilts.
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Thanks to everybody for listening. And a special thank you to Sharon Murphy, Mike Lagana, Brian Edmiston, Michael Craine, David Vaughan, Brian Benscoter, Joe Garrett, and Gerry Corr for underwriting this episode.
Please CLICK HERE if you can kick in to support this podcast!
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Music Heard on IMS Episode 31
all music traditional, unless otherwise indicated
Tune: “Medium Man,” from Happy Daze
Artist: Battlefield Band
Tune: “Hector the Hero Medley,” from 2015 Worlds Competition
Artist: Inveraray District Pipe Band
Tune: “Lady Carmichael,” from Thunderstruck
Artist: Gordon Duncan
Tune: “A Modal Groove,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories
Artist: Matt Heaton (guitar)
Tune: “Strathspey,” from Celtic Mouth Music
Artist: John Macdonald
Tune: “Bb intro,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories
Artist: Matt Heaton (guitar)
Song: “Lon-Dubh,” (the Blackbird), from Lon-Dubh
Artist: Julie Fowlis
Tune: “The Anniversary Reel,” from Out for the Night
Artist: Battlefield Band
Song: “Star o’ the Bar,” from Four on the Floor
Artist: Old Blind Dogs, feat. Aaron Jones vocals
Tune: “Nonna Pina / Space Ghettos,” from Free One
Artist: Kinnaris Quintet
Tune: “The Burrian,” from Arc Light
Artist: Lau
Tune: “Scraping the Barrel,” from The Arms Daughter’s Dealer
Artist: Shooglenifty
Tune: “G Meditation,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories
Artist: Matt Heaton (guitar)
Tune: “Sabai Sabai,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories
Artist: Matt Heaton (guitar)
Tune: “Open to the Elements,” from Between Wind and Water
Artist: String Sisters
Tune: “Cuffe’s,” from On the Edge
Artist: Ed Pearlman and Neil Pearlman
Tune: “Triumph Theme,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories
Artist: Matt Heaton (guitar)
Tune: “The 24th Guards Brigade At Anzio,” from Happy Daze
Artist: Battlefield Band
Tune: “Cathkin Braes,” from Another Gem
Artist: Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain
Tune: “Run to Fly,” from Run to Fly
Artist: Alba’s Edge
Tune: “Travel Theme,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories
Artist: Matt Heaton (guitar)
Tune: “Leather Britches,” from Aereo-Plain
Artist: John Hartford
Tune: “After Hours Theme,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories
Artist: Matt Heaton (guitar)
Song: “Will Ye Go Lassie, Go,” (AKA Wild Mountain Thyme), from Wild Mountain Thyme
Artist: The McPeake Family
Track: “Scottish Reel Rhythm Demo,” from Instructional Video
Artist: Hanneke Cassel
Tune: “Mutey Big Build,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories
Artist: Matt Heaton (guitar)
Song: “The Low Hum,” from California Calling
Artist: Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards
Tune: “Crabbit Shona,” from The Red House – The Heritage of the Scottish Fiddle
Artist: Chris Duncan, Catherine Strutt & Julian Thompson
Tunes: “Jig Runrig, The Ramnee Ceilidh,” from Highlander’s Farewell
Artists: Alasdair Fraser, Natalie Haas
Tune: “Adelaide / Keeping up with Christine,” from Ports of Call
Artist: Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas
Tune: “Ron Burgundy Tribute: The Glass Case of Emotion/Sweet Grandmother's Spatula,” from Silver
Artist: Hanneke Cassel
Tune: Jenny Dang the Weaver,” from Jam at PDB c/o Isabelle
Artist: Students and Faculty
Tune: "Miller of Drone," from Tall Tales
Artist: The McKassons
Tune: “Black Bread,” from Journey Begun
Artist: Athena Tergis & Laura Risk
Tune: “Hometown Lullaby,” from Production Music Made for Irish Music Stories
Artist: Matt Heaton (guitar)
Tune: “Julia Delaney,” from Jam at PDB c/o Isabelle
Artist: Students and Faculty
Tune: "Brooklyn’s Lullaby," from Lullabies for Love
Artist: Hanneke Cassel
Song: Bonny Labouring Boy, from A Different Life
Artist: Emily Smith