Cowboy Celtic at Edinburgh Folk Club - 2 June 2010

Subject: RE: Cowboy Celtic at Edinburgh Folk Club - 2 June 2010
From: Johnny J
Date: 03 Jun 10 - 05:06 AM

OK, so you didn't come....... Well, a few of you did but it could have been busier.

Understandable, perhaps(?), as the band had an "unfortunate" name and maybe you weren't totally convinced about the concept of the whole thing?

However, I have to say that it was a wonderful night. Cowboy Celtic are a very entertaining and professional outfit in all respects with a total respect for the traditions of both American and the traditional music from these shores. Some people here might wish to argue that their research and choice of material is "selective" but it's impossible for any one band to represent every aspect of American traditions in one concert or even during an entire career although, undoubtably, many try. What's wrong with focusing on one particular area in which you happen to have the most knowledge and interest?

Anyway, along with everyone else at the club last light, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted. They were a charming and friendly bunch and also highly accomplished musicians (harp, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and vocals) and many Scottish acts could learn a lot about stage presentation from watching this band.

Also, a special mention should go to Steven Clark. He is a highly underrated and extremely talented songwriter of conteporary and extremely relevant Scottish song. Really clever, often humorous, and very well constructed material.
If you didn't already know, he was the composer of "Coming Home" as popularised by The Macs and others which was written to commemorate "the Year of Homecoming".

Subject: RE: Cowboy Celtic at Edinburgh Folk Club - 2 June 2010
From: Johnny J
Date: 31 May 10 - 11:15 AM

If you are still a little wary about coming along... Come on be adventurous......... we also have a very good support in the form of Steven Clark

http://www.myspace.com/stevenclarksongs

Subject: RE: Cowboy Celtic at Edinburgh Folk Club - 2 June 2010
From: Johnny J
Date: 29 May 10 - 03:36 AM

Don't worry, it won't be quite like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkg2C_EIea0

but it's good fun reminiscing. :-)

Subject: RE: Cowboy Celtic at Edinburgh Folk Club
From: katlaughing
Date: 29 May 10 - 12:28 AM

Interesting mix. Thanks for the links and good luck with the show!

kat

Subject: RE: Cowboy Celtic at Edinburgh Folk Club
From: Willie-O
Date: 28 May 10 - 10:35 PM

Yeah you'd be laid back too after a long day ridin the range and punchin cows...ouch....seriously, this is a good band and a cool link in the chain.

W-O

Subject: RE: Cowboy Celtic at Edinburgh Folk Club
From: Johnny J
Date: 28 May 10 - 05:24 AM

You can check out their recordings here

http://www.cowboyceltic.com/recordings.htm

and if you have access to SPOTIFY there's quite a few tracks there.

The music is great albeit with a "laid back" feel.

Subject: Cowboy Celtic at Edinburgh Folk Club
From: Johnny J
Date: 28 May 10 - 05:24 AM

Venue: Pleasance Cabaret Bar
Wednesday 2nd June 2010

It may seem like a very unfortunate name but this band are rather good. They are over here for "The Buffalo Bill Conference" in Glasgow..seriously... and we're delighted to have them at EFC.

Cowboy Celtic

"We don't play traditional Celtic music and we don't play traditional cowboy music. We play the kind of music that you'd have heard if you pushed back the swingin' doors at an Irish pub in Tombstone or Dodge City." David Wilkie

David Wilkie, the founder of Cowboy Celtic, started tracking down the roots of cowboy music more than 15 years ago. The premise is that cattlemen from Scotland and Ireland, whose industry dates back hundreds of years, brought their culture and musical traditions with them when they moved to North America.

The music of Cowboy Celtic demonstrates that those traditions live on in the music of today. The stories of love and loneliness, lawbreakers and lynchings all reflect the very real world of both the Scottish drovers and the North American West. The connection is in the stories and in the music. You might recognize it in the traditional songs, in old tunes with new lyrics, or in Wilkie's original material.

Cowboy Celtic, centered in Alberta, Canada, includes David Wilkie on mandolin and vocals, Denise Withnell on guitar and vocals, Keri Lynn Zwicker on harp and vocals, and Joseph Hertz on fiddle. Their second CD, "Cowboy Ceilidh," features some of Scotland's and Ireland's finest musicians, and won the Oklahoma City National Cowboy Hall of Fame Wrangler Award for Outstanding Traditional Western Music Album in 1999. The group has recorded four new CDs since they were last in Scotland.

"This is more than music. It's theatre and imagery and history and storytelling and more, all wrapped up in sagebrush and tartan."

http://www.cowboyceltic.com/

£8, £7(conc), £5 (members)