Milwaukee Irish Fest Announces Scotland Music Showcase for 2014 Festival
Scottish bagpipes, ballads and more to be highlighted alongside other Celtic acts
MILWAUKEE (April 4, 2014) – In advance of National Tartan Day (Sunday, April 6), Milwaukee Irish Fest announces a Scotland Music Showcase for the 2014 festival taking place August 14-17. For the first time, Milwaukee Irish Fest will feature Scottish music in its own showcase alongside more than 100 other Irish and Celtic acts.
The Scotland Music Showcase will celebrate the richness of Scotland’s diverse traditional music. Despite a flourishing culture of popular music in Scotland today, Scottish traditional music has remained vibrant and has only gained in popularity on the international music scene. While many people link Scottish music with the Highland bagpipes, which are a dominant part of Scottish music, Scottish music is so much more.
“Scottish music is not all bagpipes,” said Patrick Boyle, executive director of Milwaukee Irish Fest who will travel to Scotland in May. “There are wonderful ballad and fiddle traditions, too. The history of stringed instruments such as the harp and fiddle stretch back many generations in Scotland as they do in Wales and Ireland. Scottish fiddling is the root of much American folk music, such as Appalachian and bluegrass fiddling. It has also had a profound effect on the fiddling in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.”
Eight of Scotland’s contemporary folk bands will participate in the Scottish Showcase: The Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Manran, Skerryvore, Dougie MacLean, Gria, Dallahan, the ALT, and Alisdair Fraser and Tony McManus. More than 100 other Irish and Celtic acts will be featured at the festival, including fan favorites like Gaelic Storm and The Willis Clan and legends like Sharon Shannon and Andy Irvine.
“This year’s lineup features both traditional music and new music from emerging artists,” said Boyle. “From singer-songwriter to Trad to rock, there’s truly something for everybody.”
The Scotland music theme will also come to life during the annual Milwaukee Irish Fest Summer School, held each year the week leading up to the festival on the campus of the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). Alisdair Fraser will present a two hour Scottish fiddle master class on Friday, August 15. The Summer School will also teach easy-to-learn Scottish Céilidh (party) dance classes throughout the week as well as a Scottish Céilidh sampler class on Friday morning.
Scotland Music Showcase
Alisdair Fraser & Tony McManus
Master Scottish fiddler, Alasdair Fraser combines his creative force with Tony McManus, one of the most admired guitarists on the Celtic scene, in a partnership of incredible musical power and beauty. Drawing from deep wells of tradition and technical prowess, they explore the rich range of Scottish music, from the pipe tunes and song airs of the Highlands to the music of Scotland’s noted fiddler/composers such as Marshall, Skinner, and the Gows.
The ALT
This exciting new collaboration with John Doyle, Nuala Kennedy, and Eamon O’Leary, brings stellar harmony singing, exquisite musicianship and arrangements, and all around good craic (fun). Each have dedicated many years delving into the treasure trove of traditional Irish, Scottish and English song with some American pieces thrown in for good measure. Each member of The ALT is an instrumentalist and singer of the highest caliber – together the alchemy is peerless.
Dougie MacLean
Dougie MacLean is one of Scotland’s most successful, respected, and popular musicians. MacLean is a singer-songwriter, composer, guitarist, fiddle player, and magical performer. His moving songs have been featured in the film The Last of the Mohicans and enjoyed by millions worldwide.
Dallahan
The members of Dallahan met in Edinburgh where they shared their love of all styles of music from jazz to classical. Their love of Irish music brought them together in 2013 to create their own unique sound. Dallahan’s fresh, new arrangements of traditional Irish tunes and their own compositions take their audience on a breathtaking, musical journey.
Gria
Making their first appearance in the United States, the four young ladies that make up Gria hail from Shetland, Orkney, Lewis, and Northumberland, Scotland. Now based in Glasgow, Gria creates a unique sound combining traditional and contemporary Scottish, Gaelic and English influences. Their self-penned tunes and songs feature haunting harmonies and weaving melody lines.
Manran
The Glasgow-based Manran brings a powerful blend of Gaelic and English traditional music to the world scene. Manran is the only band to use the Highland and Uillean pipes in one lineup. They have travelled to many of the top European folk festivals in the past two years and also did a special show at the 2012 London Olympics.
The Red Hot Chilli Pipers
Over the last five years, Scotland’s Red Hot Chilli Pipers have become one of the most popular bands at Milwaukee Irish Fest. Not just a band with a cool name, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers are world-class musicians who play bagpipes with attitude. Fusing traditional pipe tunes and contemporary rock anthems, the Chilli Pipers have won fans the world over due to their unique, “bag rock” sound and energetic and enthusiastic live shows.
Skerryvore
Skerryvore was first formed on the tiny Isle of Tiree, off Scotland’s west coast, in 2005. The band shares their love of music – everything from traditional to rock and jazz, with an ever increasing fan base. Skerryvore has recorded several critically acclaimed albums featuring their bright, breezy and feel good sounds.
About Milwaukee Irish Fest
Milwaukee Irish Fest is North America’s largest celebration of Irish, Irish American and Celtic music and culture. The four-day festival showcases more than 100 entertainment acts on 16-stages at Henry W. Maier Festival Park on Milwaukee’s lakefront. The annual festival occurs every third weekend in August. The 2014 festival takes place August 14 to 17.
More than just a festival, the Milwaukee Irish Fest organization is passionately committed to igniting a love of Irish, Irish American and Celtic culture in all people. With the help of more than 4,000 volunteers, Milwaukee Irish Fest shares Irish and Celtic music, dance, drama, sports, culture, children’s activities and genealogy through year-round programming. For more information, visit www.irishfest.com.
