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Irish Music Cruises
the music...
Irish Music Concerts at Sea: 2011 cruise
Embark on this grand journey with one of the most popular Irish Ballad groups of all time, The Irish Rovers, along with America's favorite Irish sons, The Makem and Spain
Brothers, and Scotland's legendary Archie Fisher, Evans
& Doherty, Gabriel
Donohue, Matt &
Shannon Heaton, Hanneke
Cassel, Jez Lowe, James Keelaghan, and Fiona Walsh.
Enjoy ten nights of Irish musical entertainment by your favorite Irish
performers. Sing. Dance. Laugh. Cry. You're in for a very memorable
time. It's a great chance to meet and be entertained by some of today's
best Irish traditional musicians. Listen to a sample of each artist's
music by clicking on a picture below.
 The
Irish Rovers
The new millennium will mark the 36th anniversary of the birth of the Irish Rovers. These international ambassadors of Irish music have charmed and entertained people around the world, and continue to delight audiences with their exciting stage shows. The Irish Rovers have never lost their timeless ability to deliver a rollicking, rousing performance of good cheer, that will soon have you singing and clapping along.
The story of the Irish Rovers starts in Canada in 1963, when the 16-year old George Millar and 23-year old Jim Ferguson, both new emigrants from N. Ireland, met in Toronto at an Irish function. They ended up singing together 'til dawn; and so the Irish Rovers were launched. They performed as a duo until George's cousin, Joe Millar, immigrated to Canada the following year. Joe, who played button-key accordion and harmonica, and also sang traditional ballads, was recruited as he stepped off the plane. After several months of engagements around Ontario, the trio made their way to Calgary, Alberta, where they joined forces with George's brother, Will Millar. The four Rovers then headed off to "Americay"...
Landing in at the famous folk club - "The Purple Onion" - in San Francisco, where they ended up headlining for an unprecedented 22 sold-out weeks. The folk clubs of California became the learning grounds for the young Rovers, and (through old-fashioned hard work and a wee bit of Irish luck) they were offered a recording contract with Decca Records.
In 1966, "The First Of The Irish Rovers", a live album recorded at "The Icehouse" in Pasadena, was released. It generated enough excitement to warrant another album, and from this release came the million selling single "The Unicorn", the band's signature song to this day.
Wilcil McDowell, an old friend from Ireland, joined the band at this time, enhancing their sound and rounding out the group.
Through the 1970's and early 80's, the Rovers brought their magic to television with a weekly series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and later, a series on the Global Network in conjunction with Ulster Television in Ireland.
In 1980-81, The Rovers once again soared to the top of the pop and country charts with "Wasn't That A Party". This real-life celebration was written by their friend, U.S. folk singer Tom Paxton, after he witnessed one of the band's famous post-show parties. It went on to become an international anthem of good cheer. The band recorded "Grandma Got Run-Over By A Reindeer" in 1982, which has become a seasonal hit.
The Irish Rovers continue to perform in theatres around the world, with original members George Millar, Joe Millar and Wilcil McDowell. Will Millar retired from the band in 1995; and sadly, Jimmy Ferguson passed away in 1997. Completing the Irish Rover line-up today is Kevin McKeown, who has been with the band since 1984, and John Reynolds and Wallace Hood, who both joined in 1995. Sean O'Driscoll, a multi-instrumentalist, accompanies the band on many of their tours, and plays on new Rover recordings.
The Irish Rovers are still passionate about performing and will continue to tour and entertain their legions of fans. Like the Unicorn, the Rovers are legendary and magical, and a good time is guaranteed for all.
 Listen to
a music sample of The Irish Rovers. Here's another music sample of The Irish Rovers.
 The
Makem and Spain Brothers
Shane, Conor and Rory Makem represent the
third generation in their legendary family of Irish-born singers. The
Makem Brothers, professional entertainers since 1989, have had the
unique opportunity to study first hand from many of the top acts in
Irish music, growing up at sing-songs and sessions frequented by some
of Ireland's best known and prolific singers and musicians.
Mickey and Liam Spain grew up listening to songs at the knee of their
father in the mill town of Manchester, New Hampshire. Influenced by
such diverse acts as The Weavers, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem,
Woody Guthrie and Doc Watson, The Spains were able to take the common
elements in all and fuse them into a style all their own. Mickey's
baritone voice is strong and pure, and his deft work on the guitar and
bodrhan provide this duos sturdy framework. Around this, Liam's endless
skills on the guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica finish the picture
as only a true artist can. Together they produce a sound that is
original, yet still steeped in the song tradition. Their live
performances have been called an "energetic" and "electrifying" mixture
of Irish, Scottish, and American folk songs.
Listen to
a music sample of The Makem & Spain Brothers. Read
more on The Makem & Spain
Brothers group below.
 Archie
Fisher
Although Archie Fisher is a legendary figure
in the Scottish folk music world -- everybody's favorite singer and an
enormously influential presence both musically and philosophically --
he has remained largely unknown to the greater pop music mainstream.
While the mainstream's a poorer place for that, one gets the idea it
suits Archie Fisher just fine.
Fisher was born into a family of
semi-professional musicians and learned to play the guitar at a young
age. Fisher and his sister Ray formed a skiffle group in the mid-'50s,
as most musically inclined young Britons did around that time.
Eventually, the siblings formed a vocal duo, releasing their debut
album Far Over the North in 1963. In the tradition of the Coppers and
the Watersons, Archie and Ray joined with their parents and sister
Cilla and her husband Artie Tresize to form the Fisher Family. Playing
both traditional material and Archie's own compositions, the Fisher
Family were fixtures on the British folk circuit through the mid-'60s
and released the album The Fisher Family in 1965. The family group
split up in 1966 when Ray married and moved to London and Archie began
his solo career.
Fisher's first album, Archie Fisher, was
released in 1968. Around that time, Fisher also began his decades-long
association with the BBC; Fisher wrote original songs for BBC
documentaries on subjects like rural island communities in the
Hebrides, and also appeared on radio and television music programs with
regularity. Eventually, Fisher began working regularly with the BBC as
a producer of radio documentaries and features; in the '80s, he
inherited the series Traveling Folk, which he now produces and hosts,
from the previous presenter Robin Hall. Fisher's recorded output, for
someone with such a long and prolific career, is surprisingly sparse,
consisting of a handful of solo albums and a live duo album with
Canadian fiddler Garnet Rogers. Fisher has been much more active both
as a live performer at festivals and concerts around the world (he
directed the much-respected Edinburgh Folk Festival from 1988 to 1992)
and as a producer for other artists, including several albums by the
duo of Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy and the phenomenal group Silly
Wizard.
You can listen to Archie
Fisher here.
You can listen to another
clip by Archie Fisher here.
Jez Lowe
By the time Jez Lowe recorded his first solo album in 1980, he'd already spent almost a decade playing and absorbing the traditional music of his native North East England, an area rich in working-class values, with a wealth of songs and music unique to that windswept corner of the British Isles. This was to be the substance from which he would create a body of work that would make him one of the hardest-working, most popular and enduring of the many singer-songwriters to emerge from Britain in the last twenty years. Born in 1955 into an Irish family, in the coal-mining community of Easington in County Durham, Jez's early interest in pop music steered him into a fascination with blues and folk, especially Bob Dylan, John Mayall, Big Bill Broonzy and Woody Guthrie. A chance visit to a local folk club in 1973 to hear Martin Carthy led him down another path, and by the mid-70's Jez had begun to play a mixture of Dylan, traditional, contemporary and original material, in partnership with school friend Ged Foley, later of Patrick Street and The House Band.
Together they formed the group Hendon Banks in 1974, which found some local success before reverting to a duo in the late '70's, until Lowe went solo as the decade ended. He was to record four albums of his own songs in the 1980's on the Fellside label, and it was these songs about working class North Eastern life that would spread his reputation around the world's folk stages over the next few years.
In partnership with hurdy-gurdy pioneer Jake Walton he toured Europe and North America numerous times in the mid-80's. The duo's 1986 album "Two A Roue" was one of that year's biggest sellers. Suddenly everyone on the British folk scene was singing the songs of Jez Lowe. A songbook of 30 of his songs quickly sold out in 1988. Among those who were to record their own versions of Lowe's songs over the succeeding decade were Fairport Convention, The Dubliners, The Tannahill Weavers, Cherish The Ladies, Gordon Bok, The McCalmans, and literally hundreds more. Songs like "Back In Durham Gaol", "The Bergen", "Black Diamonds" and "These Coal Town Days" have generated scores of cover-versions, and are now classics of their kind.
In 1990, Jez was joined by the first line-up of a backing group that was to accompany him, off and on, to the present day. The Bad Pennies appear half of the year in concert with Jez, while the remaining time he tours solo. Constantly traveling, to Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and regularly to the USA in the past four years, Jez Lowe thrives on the live performance, while his albums regularly feature in the lists of best sellers around the folk scene. His last two albums, "Tenterhooks "(1995) and "The Parish Notices" (1998) have been on the Green Linnet label, and his entire back-catalogue is now available on CD from Fellside Records in the UK and Musica Pangaea in America.
In 1997, the BBC commissioned Jez to write and present a 7-part radio series on the music of North East England, entitled "A Song for Geordie", further establishing him as an ambassador for his native region. The success of these programs has resulted in a follow-up series next year. Meanwhile Jez returns to Australia in September '98, and the US in November '98, before The Bad Pennies regroup for a European tour taking them into Spring 1999.
In 2000 Jez released his latest live recording, "Live at the Davy Lamp".
- One of the best song writers to come out of England
- Nominee for BBC Folksinger of the Year 2008
- SONY Radio Academy Award Winner 2007 with the Radio Ballads
- Winner of the IAP USA "Album of the Year 2009"
Listen to a
music sample of Jez Lowe.
Here is another
music sample of Jez Lowe.
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Hanneke Cassel
"Exuberant and rhythmic, somehow both
wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an
irresistible playfulness," says The Boston Globe about Hanneke Cassel’s
playing. Such charismatic fiddling has brought Hanneke Cassel many
honors and awards. She is the 1997 U.S. National Scottish Fiddle
Champion, she holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from
Berklee College of Music, and she has performed and taught across the
U.S., Scotland, Sweden, China, New Zealand, France, England, and
Austria.
In addition to her solo act, Hanneke
has played for the Cathie Ryan Band, and is a member of Boston-based
fiddle bands Childsplay and Halali. She has made guest appearances with
Cherish the Ladies, Alasdair Fraser, Matt Glaser and the Wayfaring
Strangers, Ensemble Galilei, Aine Minogue, and Joey McIntyre (from New
Kids on the Block). Her fiddling has graced the stages of Boston’s
Symphony Hall (opening for Judy Collins), Mountain Stage, The Plaza
Hotel, Lincoln Center, the Boston Hatch Shell, and the Kennedy Center
Millennium Stage.
Listen to a
music sample of Hanneke Cassel.
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 Gabriel Donohue
Gabriel Donohue, another transplant
from Ireland to the U.S., will be singing and playing the guitar and
the piano for us on the cruise. He was for a time a part of Riverdance
star Michael Flatley's ensemble and they shared an interest in Flamenco
which became part of the stage show. He has performed with a group
called Jigsaw with musical friends Eileen Ivers and Joanie Madden and
toured Europe and the USA with The Chieftans and Paddy Maloney. In 1995
Gabriel had the distinct good fortune to be selected to perform at The
White House and he has played five times at Carnegie Hall and he has
appeared on many television shows as well.
You can listen
to Gabriel's song here.
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 Evans &
Doherty
Kevin Evans & Brian Doherty have
been an integral part of the East Coast music scene for twenty years.
They have been together as Evans & Doherty for eighteen years.
To capture the essence of an Evans & Doherty performance, take
a lively blend of traditional, original and contemporary songs, add a
liberal sprinkling of stories and humour, then sit back and enjoy these
fine entertainers.
As well as performing front and center on
stage, Evans & Doherty are involved with many aspects of the
music industry. Brian owns and operates Eastern Entertainment Agency, a
booking agency and production company which co-ordinates tours of
Atlantic Canada for many Canadian and international acts. Kevin owns
and operates Modtrad Music, a publishing company, through which much of
the material performed by Evans & Doherty is published and
licensed. Through Eastern Entertainment Agency, Evans & Doherty
have produced recordings for a number of East coast groups, as well as
three compilation recordings (A Taste Of The Maritimes, A Taste Of
Atlantic Canada and An East Coast Christmas) for national labels.
Listen to a music
sample of Evans & Doherty.
James Keelaghan
"The influences never stop." That's Canadian singer songwriter James Keelaghan talking. Could be the slogan for folk music.
But James is answering a question about his own musical background. Who influenced him? How did someone who "didn't come from a musical family per se" become a leading international musical figure? First, he says, the family loved music and offered appreciation and support. Then there is that influence factor: "My father was a great influence as a story teller, my mother for a sense of humour. I listened to a lot of Irish traditional stuff when I grew up, tempered with Jethro Tull, Neil Young, Bruce Cockburn, Joni Mitchell and Captain Beefheart."
"Liam Clancy for voice and guitar style, the poetry of Yeats. I loved Harry Belafonte - the world's greatest stage performer; and Pete Seeger - a fine balladeer. But influences never stop. I am influenced by David Francey, Oliver Schroer, Hugh McMillan and a host of others now.
Don't forget to throw in the history influence. Keelaghan studied history at the University of Calgary and his passion for it has inspired some of his most celebrated songs.
Listen to a
music sample of James Keelaghan.
Listen to another
music sample of James Keelaghan.
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 Matt
& Shannon Heaton
Matt & Shannon Heaton play
traditional and modern Irish music with vocals, guitar, bouzouki, and
Irish flute. They combine some of the best aspects of traditional
music--instrumental prowess, great rhythm, and a sublime melodic
sense--with home-grown American song-craft.
You can listen to
Matt & Shannon here.
You can listen to another clip
by Matt & Shannon here.
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 Fiona Walsh
Fiona Walsh is an actress, comic, writer, producer and activist and President of Westwood Entertainment. She trained at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin under the tutelage of Joe Dowling (AD at the Guthrie Theater). InLondon she appeared in television on shows for BBC, LWT and Carlton television. Her credits on screen include The Commitments and The Education of Max Bickford (working with one of her favorite actors, Richard Dreyfuss) along with many indie films and foreign TV shows. Favorite stage roles include Nellie Nora in Eclipsed at the Irish Repertory Theatre, Moya in The Shaughraun (also at the Rep) Sister Impartial in Celtic Tiger (me arse!) at the Irish Arts Center and The Yellow Peril in Da at the Guthrie, directed by Doug Hughes. Most recently she appeared in Mind the Gap's production of Britbits 5 at Manhattan Theater Source and also in a A Celebration of Brian Friel at the Irish Arts Center. She was also in Origin Theatre Company's Mondays in May Reading Series of the acclaimed "Pump Girl"
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And more to be added!
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The Makem
and Spain Brothers
During the winter of 2003 the Makem Brothers joined forces with Irish
music's Spain Brothers to form a quintet as strong and unique as
anything offered in Irish music today. The result is a musical act far
greater than the sum of its parts and an electric onstage chemistry
that few acts ever achieve. Their sound comes from powerfully backed,
precise three-part harmonies, varied instrumentation and a strong
appreciation for the history and progression of folk music.
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