Coconut Dog/Morning Dew (Traditional/Solas)

SLAINTE! Watch/listen to these talented musicians:



Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of us (even those of you without a drop of Irish blood). While I am only 1/4 Irish, I definitely feel a connection to my Irish roots...in many different ways. One of them is music. I even own a bodhran.

I have been a fan of Celtic/Irish music for many years. First exposed to it, like most "Americans," through The Chieftains. A trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1992, hanging out with the local bands in small venues, sealed the deal. But when I started listening to it for real was after hearing a series of interesting performers at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. TBF is NOT just a place for hillbilly music - it's an amazing platform for any music that has some sort of "roots" base. And the range of performers within the broad rubric of Celtic is a good indication of the diversity of music heard in the beautiful box canyon every summer solstice: Natalie MacMaster, Wolfstone, Chieftains, Ashley McIsaac, Maura O'Connell, Great Big Sea. I first heard Solas at Bluegrass too - in 1997. They are an amazing group of musicians, combining innovation and 21st century approaches while respecting the beauty of the original music.

On St. Paddy's Day it's way better to listen to stuff like this than drink that horrible green beer.