The Irish super-group Altan is coming to the Freight! PopMatters call them “Ireland’s leading interpreters of its musical tradition.” “Altan’s special strength,” says the New York Times, “is the clarity and coordination of its textures.” As the Irish Echo declares, “Under no circumstances should they be missed in concert.”
Altan has its origins in Ireland’s County Donegal, where two teachers Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy, began performing as a duo in 1981. A band gradually came together around them, playing in little clubs in Dublin and Belfast and at great festivals. Frankie was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1990s, but continued to play with the band through his treatment, until shortly before his death in 1994. His influence continues to inspire the band, which has gone on to even greater success with gold and platinum albums in Ireland and popular tours around the world. With Mairéad on fiddle and vocals, Ciarán Curran on bouzouki, Ciarán Tourish on fiddle, Dermot Byrne on accordion, and Mark Kelly and Dáithí Sproule on guitar, the band brings alive the beauty and joy of Irish traditional music. Their eleventh and latest studio album, The Widening Gyre, explores the connection between the music of Ireland and American bluegrass. The result is a celebration of the ongoing vitality of both traditions. The name Altan comes from a deep and mysterious lake behind Errigal Mountain in Donegal. It’s a perfect fit for a band that makes music of great depth and beauty.
Liz Carroll, born in Chicago to Irish parents, “is, without quibble, one of the finest living fiddlers and most highly regarded composers of original tunes in the Irish tradition,” says Fiddler Magazine. A former junior and senior All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, she earned a Grammy nomination in 2010 and became the first American-born composer honored with the Cumadóir TG4, Ireland's most significant traditional music prize, in 2011. Her new album, On the Offbeat, has won raves. Irish Music Magazine calls it “one of the best albums of the decade.” The Irish Times calls it “a magnificent collection.” “A joy and a gift,” says FolkWorks. For Liz Carroll, says the Boston Irish Reporter, “there are no boundaries.”
Visit Altan's website
