Picture a young man sitting in a large cathedral in Ireland with his wife and small children. He lives around the time of our founding fathers and is a rising entrepreneur in Dublin. His name is Arthur Guinness, and he is a brewer, and it is hard to exaggerate just how important beer was to the people of Guinness’ day.

Guinness lived at a time when no one understood micro-organisms and how disease is spread. They routinely drank from the same waters in which they dumped their garbage and their sewage. Unknowingly, they polluted the rivers and lakes around their cities. People died as a result, and this made nearly everyone in Guinness’ day avoid water entirely. Instead, they drank alcoholic beverages.

Usually, this was done in moderation and all was well. Occasionally, though, excess set in and drunkenness plagued the land. This is what happened in the years just before Guinness was born, in the period historians call “The Gin Craze.” Parliament had forbidden the importation of liquor in 1689, so the people of Ireland and Britain began making their own. It was too much temptation. Drunkenness became the rage. Every sixth house in England was a “gin house,” many of which advertised, “Drunk for one penny, dead drunk for two pence, clean straw for nothing.” It was a terrible, poverty-ridden, crime-infested time.

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Hugh Allison was born in Lochaber, Scotland and has felt a strong connection to his past from an early age. Over the years he has put his experiences and learning of history into three books that show a culture that originated in the highlands and lowlands of Scotland, over many centuries, but ended up spreading across the world. His first book, Roots of Stone, tells the story of those who came before, a direct connection to the author’s personal heritage.

His next book, Rivers Running Far, tells the story of those who went away, the thousands of Scottish immigrants that spread their heritage halfway around the globe. His latest book, Culloden Tales, are stories about the place that ended the Highland way of life and would eventually help populate our country with many ideas that became the basis for our formation as a nation.

These stories that have been passed down, or experienced by the author, and show the impact of a single location and moment in time on the future of a country. Hugh weaves all of the tales with passion and humor, leaving the reader, or listener, yearning to know more about this magical, ancient place known as Alba (Gaelic for Scotland). www.scottishtalespinner.com

You don’t want to miss this unique opportunity to meet an entertaining speaker, and possibly a distant relative, if you have Scottish roots or an interest in all things Scottish.

Hugh will be at the following locations; Sept. 26, River House Inn in Grassy Creek, NC (www.riverhousenc.com), Sept. 27 Old Salem Tavern, Winston Salem, NC (www.oldsalemtavern.com), Sept. 29 Tirnanog Irish Pub, Raleigh, NC for whiskey tasting and dinner (www.tirnanogirishpub.com) and at the Williamsburg Scottish Festival on Oct 1 & 2 (www.wsfonline.org)

For just $10 you and a family member or friend can enjoy one of five tour packages to Scotland or Ireland – winners choice.  The Williamsburg Scottish Festival, in partnership with Guardian Travel Chesapeake and Celtic Force Enterprise, will be raffling a tour for two on Saturday October 2 at the Main Parade Field closing ceremony. 

You do not need to be present to win.  Only 3,900 tickets will be sold.  All proceeds of this raffle will be used to pay for Festival Competition cost and scholarships of winners.  Here are the tour raffle options.  You do not need to make a choice until the day you win.

For more information, visit the raffle site: http://www.wsfonline.org/tour-raffle.org

This weekend Celtic Force is handling the entertainment for the Greater Greenville Scottish Festival in South Carolina.

This is a newer event that has grown quickly over the past few years and uses a couple of quality venues. This year will feature Albannach and Coyote Run, both favorites of the festival, at both the Friday night ceilidh (kay-lee), held downtown behind the Peace Center, and all day Saturday at the Entertainment Pavilion at Furman University.

Saturday is full of typical activities for a Scottish event such as highland athletics, pipe bands, clan tents, herding demonstrations, vendors and kids activities.

This year the festival welcomes as a special guest…Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

Check out the festival web site at www.greenvillegames.org  for details and schedules. See you there!

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Source: http://charlotte.broadwayworld.com

The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center’s Education Department will host a free “Get To Know The Show” event for CELTIC CROSSROADS on Fri., March. 19 at 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. at the Wachovia Atrium. The afternoon’s program will feature the participatory activities to help you learn more about Celtic music (and stories from the past and present).

All participants at the “Get To Know The Show” event will receive a flyer for a discounted ticket to CELTIC CROSSROADS at the Knight Theater on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. Offer valid so long as tickets are available.

Get to Know the Show – CELTIC CROSSROADS – Wachovia Atrium (301 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202)

12:00 p.m- Get to Know the Show program

1:00 p.m. – Get to Know the Show program

The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center’s Education Department will host two free “Get To Know The Show” events for TAO on Mon., Mar. 20 at 12:00 p.m. at ImaginOn and on Wed., Mar. 31 at 12:00 and 1:00 p.m. at the Wachovia Atrium. Japanese Taiko drummers, Yoko and Rocky Iwashima will offer a glimpse of their cultural history by providing a demonstration and participatory activities based on the traditional art of Japanese Taiko drumming. The World of Music Family Festival at ImaginOn on Sat., Mar. 20, 2010 is from 12:00PM – 3:00PM, but the Get to Know TAO will be at 12:30PM and at 2:00PM

For more information, CLICK HERE

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Iconic singer-songwriter James Taylor will spend the majority of the upcoming spring and summer months on a co-headlining tour with Carole King, but he also has some more intimate concert plans set for the future.

The “Carolina on My Mind” songman has announced a special four-part “Perspectives” concert series at New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall, but fans will have to wait another year to experience it. Combining live music, guest appearances and discussions of his career, Taylor will take the stage on April 12, April 20, May 6 and May 9, 2011.

Each night at the Carnegie will have a different overarching theme, with special guests expected to step in throughout. The first evening will be a celebratory gala for the Carnegie’s 120th anniversary, followed a week later by an exploration of Taylor’s musical influences “from bluegrass and blues to Celtic music and church hymns,” according to the official program.

The first event in May will focus on Taylor’s instrument of choice, the guitar, with some of the musician’s fellow guitarists joining him onstage for a discussion and performances. The four-part series will end appropriately as Taylor is joined by his backing band for a set that spans his catalogue and highlights his greatest hits.

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This year’s Celtic Connections festival got underway this afternoon with 130 torch-bearers braving the snow and ice. Led by the Scottish Power Pipe Band and the city’s provost, the procession walked from Glasgow’s George Square to the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

Events kick off this evening at the opening concert with a line up of fifty performers including Aidan O’Rourke, Carlos Núñez, Lau, Catriona McKay and Chris Stout.

On Monday we will be updating our Celtic Connections site with photos from the opening weekend’s concerts and don’t forget you can catch the Jewels Of The Ocean concert live from The Old Fruitmarket on BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal on Sunday (17th Jan) evening at 20:00 and also highlights from A Scottish Songbook at the Concert Hall on BBC Two Scotland on Monday (18th Jan) evening at 21:00.

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By: Pauline McLean

Never mind 66 shopping days till Christmas.

There are only 86 days till the start of the 2010 Celtic Connections festival, and a fair amount of excitement at the launch this morning in Glasgow of the new programme.

Since his appointment three years ago, the artistic director Donald Shaw has pushed the world music element of the festival and he admits himself it is an important strand of this year’s programme.

One of his biggest coups is reuniting Ry Cooder with The Chieftains – who’ll perform a concert exploring Celtic and Mexican musical connections.

“I didn’t know there was a connection between Celtic music and Mexican music,” he admits, “but if The Chieftains say there’s a connection, there’s a connection.”

Negotiations to confirm the gig were only finalised in the wee small hours of this morning, with Ry Cooder, who toured Europe in his own right earlier this year, not keen to travel to Glasgow in the middle of January.

And although Donald Shaw admits the concert – which will also feature Cara Butler from the original Riverdance show and Mexican band Los Cenzontles – is something of a coup for the festival, he hands most of the credit to Chieftains founder and leader Paddy Moloney.

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While the Celtic Force Team was working in Williamsburg this past weekend, on the other side of the state of Virginia, Celtic Force had a presence at the Radford Highland Games.

Teribus, the band that caught many by surprise at Grandfather Mountain this year, delivered their brand of rhythmic music to an appreciative crowd. This mix of pipes, drum & strings is making their mark on the Celtic music world with their musicianship and energy. These performers are experienced and deliver quality shows. Check out more information and song samples at www.teribusmusic.com

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By: Donovan Murray
www.TheCelticForce.com

The sounds from the stage this weekend at the Williamsburg Scottish Festival matched the turnout. It was GREAT! This is the second year Celtic Force has handled the entertainment for the festival, now into its third decade, and the combination of styles and personalities of the performers left those attending with wonderful memories. The weather turned out to be fantastic (no rain, a little warm) and the full moon that delivered its smile on Saturday night topped off a perfect evening. Seems that a new attendance record was set as well. Those performing not only complimented each other but there were several times during the weekend that different artists joined others on stage for a once in a lifetime jam.

As usual the power and sound of pipes and drums delivered by Albannach had everyone moving to the primal tunes and screaming loud enough to reach Richmond. Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas wowed the audience with their blend of fiddle and cello that delivered listeners the passion and intensity of instruments that have left their marks on Celtic music history. Coyote Run, normally a long way from home, were pumped to be playing in their own backyard with sets that demonstrated their unique abilities, highlighted by tight harmonies and theatrical presentations, that took the audience to new places in the Celtic music experience. And when you consider that Williamsburg honors the military during their weekend, it was fitting to have the Air Force Heritage Aire Celtic Ensemble, based out of Langley, playing traditional and lighthearted tunes that showcased those individual musicians’ talents.

You know you have a good blend of talent when you see members of Coyote Run, along with Alasdair Fraser, join the Air Force Ensemble for a tune. To see the crowd on its feet getting dance step instructions from Alasdair so that everyone knows how to do a Scottish reel adds a special something to the day. Having local musicians such as So’loch & a group based out of the Green Oak Pub in Virginia Beach add their talents to the mix. And then Albannach invites Coyote Run & Graham Smith to join them on the final song of the weekend to end with a bang. That’s special!

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