Temple Bar Tradfest 2014

A new edition of Temple Bar TradFest was held in Dublin (Ireland) from 22 to 26 January, 2014. Temple Bar TradFest is one of the most important and dynamic showcases for Celtic music. Since its beginning in 2005, this unique festival in Dublin has been growing and gaining a well-deserved international reputation, becoming a reference point and an encounter to enjoy the best ancient and contemporary traditional music of the countries with Celtic roots.

For neophytes, we’ll clarify that the “Temple Bar” is the name of a district in central Dublin, where most of the “pubs” and cultural activities are concentrated. Nights are spectacularly agitated by the large number of all types of people. If you want, you can discover it through its webcam:
earthcam.com/world/ireland/dublin/?cam=templebar.

This festival, lasting five days, was created and organized by The Temple Bar Company, exclusively designed to promote Irish music. In fact, anyone who has visited Ireland knows that it is common to see musical performances within different “pubs” scattered throughout the country. Furthermore, the fact of having this event in its capital Dublin, benefits this city considerably, since previously it didn’t have any similar event.

The program for this year had its relevance on Saturday the 25th, with a concert by the Irish band Altan in the magnificent Cathedral of Saint Patrick, where they commemorated the life and music of its founding member Frankie Kennedy, who died of cancer 20 years ago at the premature age of 38. Several friends of the group participated in this concert, such as the as the pairing of violinist Dermot Diamond and flutist Tara Diamond. Also vocalist Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill and her sister Triona Ní Dhomhnaill, a well-known singer and pianist who played in legendary groups such as Skara Brae, The Bothy Band, Touchstone, and the most famous Nightnoise. All these big names in the Irish scene shared the stage with American songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, one of the favorite singers of the late Frankie.

Altan’s concert was at all-time a very emotional moment. Band founder and vocalist Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh, who was Frankie’s wife in his later years, was the host and presenter of this whole concert. Certainly at each moment with her vibrant words she provided an anecdote or story related to deceased bandmate. The highlights came at the end, where all the musicians and guest singers came on stage, beginning with an intimate and poetic M.C. Carpenter song, “The Moon and St. Christopher”, ending this lovely remembrance and tribute to the figure of Frankie Kennedy with a series of vivacious jigs that overjoyed all participants and got a standing ovation from the audience.

 

 

As for the other scheduled concerts, the one that undoubtedly attracted me was Bellowhead, an orchestral group of which I had very good references, especially from my British colleagues, plus the endorsement of the 2011 BBC award to best live band. The concert was held at The Button Factory club that was packed. Bellowhead surprised me and captivated me from beginning to end. This contemporary folk orchestra was created by singer and fiddler Jon Boden and accordionist John Spiers, and features a brass section of four, a drummer, a guitarist, two fiddlers, and an excellent cellist, Rachael McShane.

Their music is a fusion of different styles and influences from traditional British folk of different areas, traditional dances, minimalist music (Spiro, Michael Nyman), and the “shanty ” an old style of sailor work songs. All this combined plus its own personality raised by the group, resulting in a distinctive British sound, while creating an impressive show.

For more information about this festival go to http://www.templebartrad.com