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Song of the Week: The Children’s March by The River Drivers
Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms, especially to you Mother Jones. This song by the Bristol Borough-born Celtic folk group The River Drivers chronicles the efforts of Mother Jones (Mary G. Harris Jones), an Irish-American labor organizer, to force the government to enforce child labor laws in Pennsylvania mines and mills. In 1903, she led a group of factory children from Kensington in Philadelphia to the home of President Theodore Roosevelt in New York, […] Read More
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Song of the Week: “Rainbow,” sung by Raymond Coleman
Born in Ardboe, County Tyrone, folk singer Raymond Coleman has amassed a huge fan base in the Philadelphia area for both his ballads and his humor. He has appeared at festivals all over the US and Ireland and is a regular at pubs in both the Philly area and in New York and New Jersey. You can find his recordings on Apple, Bandcamp, Spotify, Soundcloud and others. This April Ray embarked on a month-long campaign […] Read More
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Song of the Week: “When You Weren’t Looking” by The Consequences
An exciting and fun new trad group, The Consequences, shared their Kickstarter video with us (there are still a few days left to contribute!). The group includes James (fiddle), Lexie Boatright (concertina/harp), Cara Wildman (bodhrán/dance), and Ryan Ward (piano/piano accordion) who create great on-stage chemistry as they take audiences from exciting dance tunes to lovely slow pieces with slick arrangements and lush harmonies. Their much anticipated debut album will be released in summer 2023. Individually, […] Read More
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Song of the Week: RUNA
RUNA is an internationally acclaimed Celtic roots band that has its own roots in the Philadelphia area. Shannon Lambert-Ryan who “grew up at The Irish Center,” her husband, Dublin-born guitarist Fiona de Barra, and percussionist Cheryl Prashker, a Canadian who made her home in Philly for many years, are the foundation of this band whose fans around the world call themselves “Runatics.” They’ve racked up many awards over the years, including top group and top […] Read More
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Song of the Week: Mary Courtney Sings “The Patriot Game”
Singer Mary Courtney appeared at the 2015 Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival. We were fortunate to have the camera running when she sang the brilliant and heartbreaking tune, “The Patriot Game.” Dominic Behan, younger brother of Brendan Behan, wrote the tune, released in 1958. The melody comes straight from a folk song called “One Morning in May,” but the lyrics could hardly be more different. “The Patriot Game” relates the story of a young Irish Republican […] Read More
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Michael Londra, in Tune
The shut-ins, lockdowns and the quarantines of Covid-19 might now be in our rear view mirror, but many are still longing for opportunities for connection with others. Singer Michael Londra is happy to be making those connections again. “It’s about communication and how you are with people in the world that brings you success,” he says. “Certainly it’s as much about singing in tune as it is about being in tune with people.” In recent […] Read More
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Derry Bishop Honors Philly Parade Grand Marshal
Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal Dan Harrell has received many honors and plaudits on this side of the Atlantic. Now, the Most Reverend Donal McKeown, Bishop of Derry, has added his praise from the Emerald Isle.
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Song of the Week: Singer-songwriter Rob Curto Sings “Ersatz Angel”
Rob Curto is a current recipient of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant from the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, which provides funding to further deepen his study of the Irish button accordion alongside his teacher and mentor, Billy McComiskey. Along with Irish traditional music, Rob, who lives in Philadelphia, performs a variety of international music, including Brazilian dance and Klezmer music. He often performs with local musicians, including Hollis Payer, John Byrne, and Tim Buchanan, […] Read More
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Song of the Week: The Parting Glass by Meghan Davis and Alex Keller
Meghan Davis, 2012 Philadelphia Mary from Dungloe who went on to be crowned the International Mary from Dungloe in Ireland, is a rarity: a harpist who sings while she plays. These days, this mother of three is performing and producing recordings with her husband, cellist Alex Keller, whom she met in 2009 when the two were getting their Masters degrees in music at Temple University. Their debut album, The Nearness of You, was released in […] Read More
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