Tradcafe

The Ugandan folk singer-songwriter and mult-instrumentalist sat down with Neil to share stories ranging from from his first experiences learning music to travelling to India to showcase Ugandan music and dance for millions of people. More info at tradcafe.org

As she prepares to release her long awaited second solo album Fidl Afire, Alicia Svigals sat down with Neil to share stories from her life as a major figure in the revival of Klezmer music. Listen in to hear about the early days of the Klezmatics, the creation of Svigals seminal first solo album Fidl, Itzhak Perlman's In the Fiddler's House and more!

Finnish fiddle powerhouse and founding member of the band Frigg, Esko Järvelä shares his journey from growing up in one of the most musical families in Finland to touring the world with Frigg, Baltic Crossing and Tsuumi Sound System.  More info and links at www.tradcafe.org/blog-1/2024/4/3/episode-69-esko-jrvel

In this special crossover episode, Cameron DeWhitt, the host of Old-Time music podcast Get Up In The Cool trades off the host and guest roles with Neil in between taking breaks to play tunes together. Listen to Cameron share some of their journey with the Old-Time clawhammer banjo while interviewing Neil about his background growing up in a family band playing Scottish and Cape Breton music. As always, more details and info can be found at tradcafe.org Check out Get Up In The Cool wherever you get your podcasts and follow up with Cameron's projects at camerondewhitt.com

Fiddler, organizer, teacher and co-founder of Tune Supply-- you never know what Caitlin Warbelow will be up to next! In this episode Caitlin shares her unique musical journey growing up in Alaska before moving to New York. She talks about her relationship to music as a means of survival and shares some of the stories behind joining the broadway production of Come From Away and starting up the website Tune Supply to help traditional musicians during the pandemic lockdowns. 

In a special edition of TradCafe Neil sits down with Sam Sadigursky and Nathan Koci to talk about their recent triple album release The Solomon Diaries and how their musical lives have let up to this collaboration. Featuring some clips from the new project as well as the usual live music collaborations. Check out the Solomon Diaries at bandcamp: https://samsadigursky.bandcamp.com/album/the-solomon-diaries-vol-i

One of the top mandolinists working today, Maddie Witler joins Neil for a conversation about music making, creativity and her experiences working in the bands Della Mae and The Lonely Heart String Band. maddiewitler.com della

Iconic New England fiddler Becky Tracy shares her journey through fiddling and folk dancing including her years as a core member of two of the most important bands in New England traditional music, Nightingale and Wild Asparagus. More info and links at tradcafe.org blackislemusic.com rachelbellmusic.com wildasparagus.com

Mandolinist Joe K. Walsh joins Neil to share thoughts and stories on community, identity and artistry in the bluegrass and new acoustic music worlds.  Opening music: Seneca Square Dance Closing music: Verona (by Bill Frisell)

Alasdair White kicks off the new season with a wide ranging conversation about growing up on the Isle of Lewis, touring the world with the Battlefield Band, developing his unique fiddle style and more! Opening Tunes: Keep the Country Bonnie Lassie, The White Houses of Shieldaig, Oran an Teine (Song of the Fire), Doctor MacPhail's Reel Closing Tunes: Trip to Jordan Jig and Trip to Jordan Reel by Alasdair White Alasdair's website: www.alasdairwhite.com More info and links at www.tradcafe.org

The one and only Natalie MacMaster shares insights from her remarkable journey. From first learning how to open up to an audience to touring the world to raising a musical family, listen in as she shares why music is still such a central part of her life. More info: www.natalieanddonnell.com  

Brilliant Scottish multi-instrumentalist Anna Massie sits down with Neil in the middle of Celtic Connections to share her story growing up with traditional music in Scotland. Along the way she shares some of her strongest musical influences and tells the story of how she started playing with Blazin' Fiddles.

This episode features a legendary innovator in the world of contradance music. Mark Hellenberg is known for pushing the envelope with the role of percussion in this traditional music and dance scene and over the years he has worked with many of the top bands driving dance halls around the US. In this conversation he chats with Neil about his journey, variety of musical tastes and his perspective on experimenting without destroying the core traditional feel.  Tunes in this episode: Sweet Sue (opening) and Irishman's Heart to the Ladies (closing)

Janos (Jani) Lang is a Hungarian fiddler living in Glasgow and in this episode he shares a unique story of moving to Scotland to follow his love of Celtic music only to find himself tapping back into his roots playing Romanian, Hungarian and Roma music. He talks about the experience of immigrating to the UK and his current work with Ando Glaso, featuring traditional musicians from the local Roma community to build bridges between them and the mainstream Scottish culture. Ando Glaso: https://www.andoglaso.org/ Dallahan: https://www.dallahanmusic.com/ Music in this episode: opening is a Romanian tune we learned from the Slovenian Fiddle Gang and the closing is a couple of tunes by Liz Carroll: Anne Lacey's and Sevens. 

A pillar of the traditional music community of northern Vermont, Pete Sutherland is widely recognized across the US and beyond for his unique musical voice on fiddle, piano, banjo, song and as a songwriter. This conversation focuses in on Pete's work mentoring the next generation and his thoughts on tune and songwriting, but hits on many other subjects in the process. It was recorded at the Northeast Heritage Music Camp, partly in front of a live audience and completed later in the week at a spare moment.  Music in this episode: The Dying Californian (opening) and Rye Straw (closing) Pete's current project: https://www.petesposse.com/

Fiddler, composer and one of the lead organizers of the Stringmania camp in Australia, Chris Stone chatted with Neil live in front of an audience at Alasdair Fraser's Sierra Fiddle Camp 2019. The conversation ranges from Chris' search for his musical voice to the traditional music scene in Australia to the work of building communities and cultures that are open to connection and understanding across social boundaries. Music: And That’s Ok (Chris Stone) and A Song for All Seasons (Oliver Schroer)  http://www.thestringcontingent.com/ https://www.stringmaniacamp.com

Flynn Cohen has toured the world with major Irish music acts and been a mainstay in the Irish and Bluegrass music scenes of New England. In many ways his path is a classic example of a folk musician growing up in the wake of the folk revival. In other ways it is a study in contradictions. In this episode Flynn shares his path discovering acoustic music through Led Zeppelin, Irish music while studying in America and Bluegrass while studying in England.  Check out Flynn's new Irish Backup Guitar course here: https://pegheadnation.com/string-school/courses/irish-backup-guitar/ Flynn's Website: www.flynncohen.net

One of Scotland's top folk singers, Jim Malcolm is well known for both his original folk songs and his interpretations of great traditional Scots songs. He and Neil sat down backstage before a show in Boston to talk about his journey from aspiring rock star to being a key member of legendary folk band Old Blind Dogs to arrive finally at his solo show, which features his voice, musicality and humor front and center.  For more on Jim: www.jimmalcolm.com Music in this episode is two songs by Jim: "The Road to New York" and "Lochanside" (based on the bagpipe tune by the same name)

One of the biggest names in Gaelic song today, Mary Jane Lamond can just as easily be found at a small Gaelic community event on Cape Breton, at an academic conference in Scotland or thrilling an audience of thousands at a folk festival somewhere around the world. She sat down with Neil to talk about her unconventional journey and her thoughts on practicing a traditional art in the 21st century.  www.maryjanelamond.com   Music: The Blue Mountains Lullaby (Jeff MacDonald and Brian O hEadhra) and a medley of traditional Puirt a Beul

Ruthie Dornfeld's fiddling has been a huge influence on dance musicians in New England and her native Northwest and her work with Scandinavian musicians over the years has seen her tour overseas extensively. Neil caught up with her at her home in Seattle to talk about her musical journey from her first experiences with the fiddle to current creative projects in the US, Denmark and Finland. Along the way she talks about following her ear to all kinds of musical projects like writing an album of music for the medieval fiddle and more.