It's been a good music week. A friend called the other night and invited us to see The Chieftans with her and some friends at UMass' Fine Arts Center. What a show....there were lots of guests and surprises. Irish style dancers, a scottish "mouth music" singer, and full on local bag pipe group. They mixed up their set with all kinds of musical influences...bluegrass, spanish guitar, mexican ballads. Apparently they have a new album out featuring Ry Cooder. The album is called San Patrico where the musical souls of two nations, Ireland and Mexico, come together. Interesting. Lets see if I can find a song to post.... Even better, I found a post about the making of the album which is totally inspiring! The video highlights a beautiful example of the coming together of communities of musicians and cross cultural sharing. It's one of the reasons I love music so much! Check it out...

Tonight I saw more great, live music of the local vein and I only had to roll down the hill to the local "corner store" to enjoy it. Appalachian Still is the name of the band and some friends of mine are in the group. They all played a wonderful set of old time string band music: originals and old favorites like Deep Ellum Blues and Easy Chair. Good fun. It was a full house and was an excellent way to shake off the damp chill this evening. I'll be singing Honey Bun with this band in a couple weeks. Appalachian Still's bass player is hosting a South Pacific themed party. Interesting, huh? Old time string band meets South Pacific. I can't wait.
Here's a link to their website if you are so inclined to check them out...
http://www.appalachianstill.com/