Presented By

NTIF 2013 Headline Performers

Arvel Bird

Arvel Bird, a masterful violinist and Native American flutist, is known around the world for his dramatic connection between Celtic and Native American traditions, stirring up scenes that echo from North American memory. Dubbed “Lord of the Strings” by fans and music critics, his music evokes the soul of North American history and is thoroughly entertaining, but also enlightening and humanizing. In a language and experience that captures the hearts of all audiences, he’s emotional without being condescending, intellectual without being pretentious.

Bird’s first private violin teacher in Salt Lake City saw his early potential. She brought the magic of music to life and taught him to play with passion. Bird attended Arizona State University on a music scholarship, and later transferred to Champagne/ Urbana, IL, where he studied classical violin with renowned Hungarian violinist Paul Roland at the University of Illinois.

Bird returned to Arizona in 1986 and was quickly hired by Glen Campbell to tour worldwide for six years. In 1991, he moved to Nashville and also toured with Loretta Lynn, Tom T. Hall, Ray Price, Louise Mandrell, Clay Walker, and others.

His dream to record and perform using the violin as a lead instrument – completely contrary to the Nashville view of the fiddle as a backup or side-musician instrument – began in 2001. The result was a fusion of both his Scottish (Clan Kennedy) and Native American (Southern Paiute) roots that is uniquely his own and intricately woven throughout his songs. Bird has released 20 CDs and 2 DVDs, earning him many music awards in Canada and the United States, from Best Producer to Best Instrumental album and Artist of the Year.

North Texas audiences will remember him as a headline performer at the 2010 Cowtown Celtic Festival

Barra MacNeils

As a group, the six MacNeil siblings are widely regarded as one of the greatest live concert acts in the Celtic world. Hailing from Sydney Mines, on the far east shore of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, the family group is deeply rooted in Celtic music, culture, dance, language and history. Their numerous critically acclaimed recordings have included their own original songs as well as tried and true standards, both instrumental and vocal.

The Barra MacNeils live concert experience brings so much more to the stage than most live acts ever can. Multiple lead vocalists, beautiful sibling harmonies, top drawer instrumental prowess on a wide variety of acoustic, stringed, percussion and wind instruments blended with dancing, storytelling, Gaelic songs and a journey through an ancient culture; it is family entertainment at its highest level.

Steeped in Cape Breton tradition with strong Celtic roots and musical artistry, this diverse and talented family group continues to wow audiences around the world with their captivating vocals, harmonies and extraordinary musicianship.

NTIF is happy to see the Barras performing on our stages once again.

The Black Brothers

Shay, Michael and Martin, along with their sisters, Mary and Frances, have been performers all their lives. Both parents were singers, with dad Kevin being an accomplished piper, fiddler and mandolin player. Kevin came from Rathlin Island, a small remote community off the north coast of Antrim, between Ireland and Scotland. Music was intrinsic in Kevin’s family, and they were in high demand for celebrations and ceilidhs on the island in the thirties and forties. He moved to Dublin to find work in the 1940s.

There he met Patty Daly, one of four children, living in the Liberties of Dublin. She had a passion for music and dancing, and would often frequent the music halls and theaters of old Dublin. Patty and Kevin married in 1949 and had five children, Shay, Michael, Mary Martin and Frances, none of whom had any formal music training but who all inherited a love of music and song.

As they got older, Shay played the piano and guitar, Michael became proficient on banjo, guitar and mandolin, and Martin on fiddle, but also plays guitar and mandolin. Their influences initially were bands such as The Dubliners, The Johnsons, and individuals such as the youthful Christy Moore, Andy Irvine.

In the early 70s, both Michael and Shay lived in England and their exposure to other singers and musicians there further expanded their repertoire. The first paid gig for the brothers was in 1978 at St Mary’s College in Strawberry Hill, London where Sister Mary joined them for a raucous night of songs and ballads. That following summer the four siblings had their first adventure abroad when they spent three months busking on 5th Avenue and the Staten Island ferry in New York. Thus began the Black Brothers and they have now performed both in America and in Europe. They have recorded their own album as well as three other Black Family albums where they were joined by sisters Mary and Frances.

Their current repertoire is very broad. It includes old Dublin street songs, music hall songs, historical ballads, songs from the Irish, English and Scottish traditions, along with songs by contemporary writers. They intersperse their performance with stories and humourous anecdotes from their childhood with the occasional joke thrown in for good measure.

Brian McNeill

This year Brian McNeill celebrates the 43rd year of a career that has established him as one of the most acclaimed forces in Scottish music. Brian has been described as ‘Scotland’s most meaningful contemporary songwriter’ (The Scotsman); add to that his work and influence as performer, composer, producer, teacher, musical director, band leader, novelist and interpreter of Scotland’s past, present and future and you have a man who has never stood still. He has performed around the globe, both as a soloist and with some of the era’s most influential bands, including Battlefield Band, which he founded in 1969, and Clan Alba.

Brian plays fiddle, octave fiddle, guitars, mandocello, bouzouki, mandolin, cittern, doubleneck mandocello, viola, English concertina, bass and hurdy. The importance of his songwriting, mostly about Scotland's past and future, has long been recognised. Songs including The Yew Tree, The Lads O' The Fair, The Snows of France and Holland, Strong Women Rule Us All With Their Tears, Any Mick'll Do and No Gods and Precious Few Heroes have established him as one of Scotland's leading songwriters.

In 1990 Brian left Battlefield Band to concentrate more on writing and solo projects. Since then he has also toured with Dick Gaughan, Clan Alba, Kavana, McNeill, Lynch and Lupari, Martin Hayes, Natalie MacMaster and Feast of Fiddles.

His audio visual shows, The Back O' The North Wind, about Scottish emigration to America, and the sequel, The Baltic Tae Byzantium, which explores the influence of the Scots in Europe, have won wide critical acclaim. His continuing connection with America's Lone Star State led to him being created an honorary Texan by the then Governor George W. Bush. There is no truth to the rumor that he led the entire Bush family in a chorus of "Join the Union"!

Brock McGuire

Paul Brock is a multiple All-Ireland champion born in Athlone, County Westmeath, and now residing in Ennis, County Clare. He pursued a solo career through the 60’s and 70’s by mastering the single-row, two-row, three-row, and five-row button accordions. His collaborations with fiddle player Frankie Gavin during the 70’s and 80’s culminated in their 1986 Gael-Linn classic recording, “A Tribute to Joe Cooley,” regarded by critics and fellow musicians as one of the outstanding traditional albums of the modern era.

In May 1989, Paul co-founded the group Moving Cloud with Manus McGuire. This Clare-based band produced two albums including their 1994 self-titled release that was selected by music critic Earle Hitchner as the best Irish traditional album of that year. Paul has appeared as a special guest of the Chieftains on various occasions.

Manus McGuire was born in Tullamore, County Offaly, raised in Sligo Town, and residing in Scarriff, East Clare. Manus is an Irish fiddler who blends dazzling technique with faultlessly far-ranging taste. In Sligo, Manus instinctively developed the local fiddle style made famous by such legendary Sligo fiddlers as Michael Coleman, James Morrison, and Paddy Killoran. Manus’s musical mettle became apparent to all in 1970, the year he won Sligo’s prestigious Fiddler of Dooney competition at age 14.

Since then, he has recorded ten albums, including three with Buttons and Bows, two with Moving Cloud, and two solo albums: “Saffron and Blue” (Green Linnet) and “Fiddlewings” (Shelly River Music). He was voted “Male Musician of the Year” in 2006 by the Irish American News and also received the Bravo Award from Trad Magazine in 2007.

Garry O'Meara is a tenor banjoist, mandolin player and vocalist Garry O’Meara has an impressive pedigree in Irish music. He started playing music at the age of 9, winning Young Musician of the Year when he was 15, judged by renowned conductor Gearoid Grant. He has a strong Tipperary background and is now based in Dublin and is regarded as one of the hottest banjo players on the scene today. He has performed and toured with a variety of bands including the Furey’s and Stockton’s Wing.

Denis Carey is a native of Newport, Co. Tipperary. Denis is a musician/composer/arranger with a diverse musical background from Irish traditional to classical, jazz and pop. He has performed and recorded with leading international artists. His compositions have been performed by various international groups and orchestras, including Symphony Nova Scotia and the Scottish National Orchestra.

The Elders

Take a group of Kansas City musicians with a passion for Celtic music, an Irishman with a love of all things American, and you get a cross-pollination of elements that is high octane and progressive, yet rooted in tradition. What they have come to discover is something unaffected by fads, trends and the giant maw of mind-numbing commercialism. Some call it arsekickin music from the heartland.

Since forming in 1998, The Elders have brought their musical mix of amped-up roots rock, powerful vocals, blazing instrumentals and top-notch songwriting to festivals, pubs and theaters across the United States and Ireland. Through it all their four studio albums, two live albums and DVD have become sales staples at festivals and gift shops across the US.

The Elders are fronted by charismatic Irishman, Ian Byrne from County Wicklow, and backed by a group of wicked-fine Kansas City musicians. Band members include guitarist Steve Phillips (The Rainmakers), bassist Norm Dahlor (Tommy Shaw Band), violinist Brent Hoad, drummer Tommy Sutherland, and keyboardist Joe Miquelon (Asleep at the Wheel). All are well-known veteran musicians having played in numerous recording and touring bands before forming the Elders.

FullSet

FullSet released their debut album, Notes At Liberty in 2011. Having received critical acclaimfor this release, even being compared to supergroups such as Danú and Altan by respected IrishMusic Magazine. FullSet are set to thrill audiences throughout the world in the future.

With his smooth and free flowing style of fiddle playing, Michael Harrison creates a distinctive sound using original and colourful techniques. Six times All-Ireland champion Seán McCarthy is known for his complete use of the uilleann pipes and employs his skills and mastery of this instrument in all pieces arranged by FullSet. Talented musician, Janine Redmond, on button accordion maintains a rich traditional style that is becoming ever so rare in traditional music today. Eamonn Moloney on bodhrán and Andy Meaney on guitar, effortlessly blend the music together with a sensitive yet driving accompaniment section. The emotive singing style of Teresa Horgan completes the ensemble and adds a whole other dimension to overall sound.

All accomplished young musicians in their own right, together they create a stunning and unique sound that is full of energy and innovation, whilst all the time remaining true to their traditional roots.

To date FullSet have performed at various festivals and venues across Europe including the Kann al Loar folk festival in Landerneau, Brittany, and also the Festival Interceltique de Lorient. During this time they have shared the stage with some of the biggest names in folk and world music including Moya Brennan, Fred Morrison, Lúnasa and Carlos Núnez. 2011 saw the release of their debut album entitled, Notes at Liberty.

Grand Dérangement

Grand Dérangement est un groupe de la Baie Sainte Marie, une région acadienne au sud-ouest de la Nouvelle-Écosse. Grand Dérangement...le nom même du groupe dévoile une prise de conscience particulière au sujet de son histoire.

Grand Dérangement is a group from the Saint Mary's Bay area of Southwestern Nova Scotia. The name Grand Dérangement refers to the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755, but the name also alludes to the group wanting to rouse its audience. The music is exciting, the show is a visual feast, and the highly poetic songs, while insightful, defy the audience to sit still. The bow fires up the fiddle ... the sparks fly.

This award-winning group is very eclectic in its musical approach, drawing from such disparate musical inspiration as French chansonniers, folk, Celtic, rock, and Broadway. The rhythms are contagious, the dancers enthralling.

Grand Dérangement is ambitious in targeting an audience and has succeeded in acquiring an acclaimed international reputation. The group acts as an Acadian ambassador and its popularity in Europe and the United States is on the rise. The musicians are raising the profile of Acadians and Michel Thibault's songs are setting new standards for Acadian songwriting.

Grand Dérangement is creating a new Acadian musical repertoire, one that will survive for as long as Acadian culture remains alive and vital. NTIF is excited to welcome the return of Grand Dérangement.

Sliabh Notes

Comprised of Limerich-born accordionist Donal Murphy, a founding member of Four Men & A Dog, County Cork's master fiddler, Matt Cranitch and County Kerry guitar ace and vocalist Tommy O'Sullivan, this trio brings together Sliabh Luachra's instantly identifiable dance sound with songs and tunes that reflect the Irish contribution to the music of the American south.

The three musicians came together to form the cannily-titled Sliabh Notes (pronounced "Shlee-av Notes") in 1994, following a particularly memorable session in Dingle, Co. Kerry. Sliabh Luachra (meaning "rushy glen'), a geographical area spanning east Kerry, north-west Cork and south Limerick, is well-known for its unique style of Irish traditional music, particularly its distinctive repertoire of slides and polkas.

The pairing of Murphy's unique box style with Cranitch's fiddle has resulted in one of the leading Sliabh Luachra-style box and fiddle duos. The guitar-playing of O'Sullivan, as well as his very personalized singing style, adds the final ingredient to this feisty triumvirate. Defined by a dynamic playing style with its dance roots clearly showing, Sliabh Notes have tapped into the appetite for gutsy traditional music among listeners and dancers alike.

Patrick Ball

Patrick Ball is one of the premier Celtic harp players in the world and a captivating spoken word artist. He has recorded nine instrumental and three spoken word albums which have sold well over one-half million copies internationally and won national awards in both the music and spoken word categories.

Along with Celtic Harp and Story, his beguiling blend of music and spoken word concerts, Patrick has written and currently performs two acclaimed solo musical theater pieces: O'Carolan's Farewell to Music, which brings to the stage the legendary life, the turbulent times and the glorious music of Ireland's most celebrated and beloved musician, Turlough O'Carolan, and The Fine Beauty of the Island, a musical journey to Ireland's legendary Blasket Islands in search of a deeply haunting tune and the vanished islanders who played it. Patrick also presents an ensemble performance, The Flame of Love, a spoken word and Early Music retelling of the greatest of medieval legends, The Romance of Tristan and Iseult.

Patrick Ball is "a rare artist." For in playing the ancient, legendary brass-strung harp of Ireland with its crystalline, bell-like voice and performing marvelous tales of wit and enchantment, he not only brings new life to two cherished traditions, but blends them in concert to create "a richly theatrical and hauntingly beautiful performance."