2018 Featured Performers & Tutors
Moya Brennan and Cormac de Barrra
Moya Brennan the “Voice of Clannad,” & Cormac De Barra make their first visit to the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival
In the days to come the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival will be “spotlighting” many of the performers that you can look forward to seeing in 2018. We begin with the renowned Irish musicians, Moya Brennan and Cormac De Barra.
Over the years Moya and Cormac’s reverence for one another has grown strong and they have forged a powerful musical relationship.
The past decade has seen the musicians unite their creativity on several projects. Along with their collaborative albums, “Voices and Harps” (2011) and “Affinity” (2013), Moya and C0rmac joined forces to host two “Voices and Harps” workshops (in Moya’s hometown of Donegal), geared toward those with a keen interest in combining singing with harp playing.
Grammy award winner Moya Brennan is the eldest of 9 children born into an exceptionally gifted musical family. She has been the lead singer of Clannad since 1975, releasing 18 albums with the group, including two with world famous sister Enya. Simultaneously Moya has managed to parallel an incredible solo career, with 7 albums to her name. Overall her career to date includes over 20 albums, numerous film scores and performances with many great artists such as The Chieftains, Robert Plant, Paul Brady, Shane MacGowan, and Bono. Besides her solo work Moya is both vociferous and active in her championing of Irish arts and culture abroad.
Cormac De Barra is renowned internationally as a versatile harp virtuoso. He has continuously pushed the boundaries of the Irish harp through his work and collaborations with an extensive range of artists, including Hazel O’Connor, Julie Ashley Davis, and Clannad. He writes and records regularly with his family group Barcó and hosts master classes world-wide in his spare time.
Moya Brennan and Cormac de Barra
Lunasa
From Lunasa to Spanish Peaks
Music is one of Ireland’s most celebrated exports, and Lúnasa, a band like no other, has been at the forefront of that musical migration. Since the release of their 1997 recording debut LÚNASA and the band’s first tour of the U.S.—when word-of-mouth led to SRO shows and rave reviews (“This is the hottest Irish acoustic group on the planet” said The New York Times)—the all-star quintet has become one of the most popular bands on the international Celtic music scene. (from Lunasa Biography ) This year we are excited to welcome three elite musicians who have played with this legendary group.
Kevin Crawford – Born in Birmingham,UK, Kevin’s early life was one long journey into Irish music and Co. Clare, to where he eventually moved while in his 20’s. He was a member of Moving Cloud, the Clare-based band who recorded such critically-acclaimed albums as Moving Cloud and Foxglove, and he also recorded with Grianán, Raise The Rafters, Joe Derrane and Sean Tyrrell and appears on the 1994 recording ‘The Sanctuary Sessions’. He currently plays fiddle and main chat man for Lunasa. A virtuoso flute player, Kevin has recorded two solo albums, ‘’D’Flute Album’ and ‘In Good Company’ and ‘On Common Ground’ with bandmate Cillian Vallely . Kevin also tours with Martin Hayes and John Doyle as The Teetotallers. LunasaBio
Bor
n in Manchester, England, Colin Farrell was from a very musical family with parents from Co.Galway and Co.Cavan. Colin started playing the fiddle and tin whistle from an early age and won numerous titles at the Fleadh Cheoil. He began playing with St. Malachy’s Ceili Band when he was 12 years old, and was a founding member of the band Ceile, with whom he recorded the album Mancunian Way. Since then, he has made a name for himself performing and recording with an array of great musicians in Europe and the US, including such groups as Flook, Grada, Karen Casey, John Doyle, Tim O’Brien, The Elders, Julie Fowlis, The Michael McGoldrick Band and now with Lúnasa. Colin’s 2010 solo debut album ‘On The Move’ was named one of the years 10 best albums by The Irish Echo and his second album ‘Make A Note’ released in 2015 was awarded Instrumental Album of the year by LiveIreland. Colin Farrell official website
Patrick Doocey is an All-Ireland winning multi-instrumentalist, who is quickly becoming one of themost in demand accompanists on the Irish music scene today. Predominately self taught on guitar, Patrick’s exciting style on both nylon and steel string guitar combines influences from many genres.
Born in Worcester, Massachusetts and having lived in Foxford, County Mayo, Patrick now resides in New York City. His talents have brought him all over Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
In addition to Lunasa, his musical journey so far has seen him perform with artists such as Sharon Shannon, Liz Carroll, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Teada, Buille, Cathal Hayden, Karan Casey, Sean Keane.
Colin Farrell, Kevin Crawford, Patrick Doocey
From Lunasa
Heron Valley
From Scotland: Heron Valley
The Spanish Peaks Celtic Festival draws Heron Valley to the Cuchara Valley.
Heron Valley are an energetic, young traditional band from Scotland who have serious enthusiasm for the music they play. Their roots lie in Scottish and Irish traditional music, while taking influence from various Folk, Country and Bluegrass styles. Normally comprised of six members, Heron Valley tours the U.S. as a 5-piece line-up, which includes piper/guitarist/whistle player Euan McNab, banjo player/drummer Nick Hamilton, pianist Arlene Mackechnie, guitarist/vocalist Abigail Pryde and bassist Callum Cronin.
Heron Valley are an extremely friendly group of individuals who love to travel the world, and so the opportunity to play music in the US only adds to their energy on stage!
Since their inception in 2011, Heron Valley have always ensured that they are conveying the highest amount of energy they have to every crowd they play to, ensuring that people who come to see them live have a fantastic experience.
Heron Valley has quickly made a massive impact on the folk scene in Scotland, and 2016 seen them on their tour of 11 Festival stages over the UK., while 2017 seen them on a tour of over 20 festivals around the UK and Europe. Johnny Walley at Folk Music Radio was ‘particularly impressed by the structure of their set, building up the energy incrementally in a series of waves, taking the audience along with them every step of the way.’ With the unbelievable reaction they received at these gigs, and the demand for more recordings of their music, Heron Valley released their debut album, Roam, in May 2017. This has been extremely well received by the public, and has been the focus of their gigs during their 2017 Summer tour.
Heron Valley
Dylan Foley
Dylan Foley,
4-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion,
Joins 2018 Lineup!
As Brian Conway said, Dylan Foley is one of the finest Irish fiddlers of his generation. A 4-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, Dylan was a student of the great Rose Flanagan (the original fiddler in Cherish the Ladies).
He is a vibrant stylist whose playing has been called “impeccable and spirited.” At age 12, Dylan made an appearance on the HBO special “The Music In Me”. With the help of Irish Aid, In January 2013, Foley travelled with Dr. Mick Moloney (NYU Ethnomusicologist and Folklorist) to Vietnam in order to bring Irish music, song, dance and culture to those who were effected by Agent Orange and other Vietnam War atrocities. Dylan also performed with Mick Moloney, Joanie Madden, Bobby Hicks, Matt Molloy and Sharon Shannon.
In April 2018 Dylan released “Deliriously Happy”, a recording in memory of his grandmother , Maggie Smyth. All tracks were recorded on her fiddle. Her favorite phrase was “I’m very rich and deliriously happy.” Irish music credit Paul Keating said of the new CD, “It is exquisite, he has really hit his stride and found a style that suits him to a T. It is one of the best fiddle albums that I have heard in a very long time. He is playing with great command like the young master he is, but with such exuberance and joy that it really lives up to the album title… This album will be a classic.” Paul Keating
“Patsy O’Brien’s songs are sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, but always delivered with a strong sense of style and energy.” FREETIME NY
DylanFoley
Patsy O'Brien
Patsy O ‘Brien
“Ireland’s Best Kept Musical Secret”
Patsy O’Brien is called “Ireland’s best-kept musical secret” by The Irish Examiner, and is an award winning songwriter with three critically acclaimed CDs to his credit. He has been featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered, and is one of Irish music’s most respected guitar accompanists. Born in Co. Cork, Patsy began performing his genre-hopping, blues and jazz influenced originals in clubs throughout Ireland. He then took his extraordinary talents to the United States.
Patsy’s guitar playing 
moves from driving rhythm to delicate and melodic finger picking, drawing an astonishing range of emotion from his instrument. “Like a good wine, singer/songwriter Patsy O’Brien has let his musicianship flourish…. throaty vocals, languid guitar.” The Irish Times
Patsy O’Brien
Joanna Hyde
Joanna Hyde and Tadhg Ó Meachair Delighted Festival in 2017 & Return to Festival in 2018, With Dave Curley
Joanna Hyde made her first visit to the Festival in 2017 with her brother Iain, and husband to be, Tadhg Ó Meachair. Together they charmed audiences and students with the joy they expressed in their music. Joanna and Tadhg will be returning in 2018, and bringing with them Dave Curley, a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and dancer from Corofin, Co. Galway.
The three together form an exciting and dynamic transatlantic trio that presents a rousing blend of Irish and American folk music, having already won over audiences on both sides of the ocean. The group is made up of Dublin’s Tadhg Ó Meachair (Goitse), Galway’s Dave Curley (SLIDE) and Denver, Colorado’s Joanna Hyde (The Hydes), and features a mix of Irish and American folk music and song – both traditional and newly-composed – presented in an energetic and engaging manner. Their performances strike a tasteful balance between the stories found in ballads across both sides of the Atlantic and the respective instrumental music traditions of these places.
Award-winning instrumentalists each in their own right, Dave, Tadhg & Joanna take a unique twist on the diverse strengths of their individual backgrounds, weaving between traditional melodies, their own compositions, and songs from the broader folk canon. The results are highly personalized and thrilling in their daring and forthright grasp of their material. Through a shared deep-rooted passion for Irish traditional music, this trio highlights the vital role of Irish traditional music as an origin of many American folk musics, and explores how those styles can interact with one another in a manner both eclectic and grounded. Having collaborated on the recently-released ‘One for the Foxes’ CD, this trio looks ahead excitedly to its upcoming 2018 US tours. All three can also teach workshops on their respective instruments.
Dave Curley, a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and dancer, has been making big waves in the Irish music scene in Ireland, Europe and the USA in the last number of years. After graduating from the University of Limerick’s groundbreaking Irish Music and Dance programme with a 1st class honours, Dave became a creative member of award-winning bands SLIDE and RUNA. He also regularly performs with Grammy Award winner Moya Brennan of Clannad, who is also performing at the Festival this year. More recently, Dave has been performing with ‘Instrumental band of the Decade’ The Brock McGuire Band. Dave has also recorded with producer Donal Lunny and Grammy award Winners Ron Block, Jeff Taylor and Buddy Greene. His most recent record, ‘A Brand New Day’, marks a new beginning in his musical career and showcases his vocals and writing style which has a contemporary sensibility whilst rooted in tradition.
Tadhg Ó Meachair has established himself as a force in the world of traditional Irish music. A recent All-Ireland piano title win is among the various awards for piano, piano accordion and accompaniment that have cemented this fact in the minds of the traditional music community. As well as extensive tours of the US and Europe with Goitse, he has performed on a variety of stages around the world to huge crowds and esteemed audiences; from Ireland’s National Concert Hall to Music Crossroads in Zambia and from the infamous Festival Interceltique de Lorient to a garden party hosted by Uachtarán an hÉireann, the President of Ireland.
Tadhg has also taught extensively at festivals across Europe and can teach a variety of classes from piano and piano accordion, to accompaniment classes for a range of accompaniment instruments. Having grown up in an Irish-speaking home, and having studied the Irish language to University level, he has even been known to teach a few Irish or ‘Gaelic’ classes.
Joanna Hyde’s musical talents include classical, Irish, Cape Brenton, Texas swing, bluegrass, American folk among other styles. Joanna graduated magna cum laude from Colorado College with a BA in Music in 2009, and was recognized with the Music Department’s top performance and academic awards. In 2011, Joanna was selected as one of 10 scholars from across the United States by a panel of distinguished arts professors and professionals to receive the Jack Kent Cook Foundation’s Graduate Arts Award. With this generous scholarship, she moved to Ireland to pursue three years of studying Irish traditional music as well as teaching at the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. Joanna graduated with an MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance in 2014, and currently splits her time between Colorado and Ireland, performing and teaching music. She is known for her collaboration with her brother, guitarist Iain Hyde, as well as with husband and Irish pianist/accordionist Tadhg Ó Meachair .
Joanna Hyde
Tadhg Ó Meachair
Tadhg has also taught extensively at festivals across Europe and can teach a variety of classes from piano and piano accordion, to accompaniment classes for a range of accompaniment instruments. Having grown up in an Irish-speaking home, and having studied the Irish language to University level, he has even been known to teach a few Irish or ‘Gaelic’ classes.
Joanna Hyde’s musical talents include classical, Irish, Cape Brenton, Texas swing, bluegrass, American folk among other styles. Joanna graduated magna cum laude from Colorado College with a BA in Music in 2009, and was recognized with the Music Department’s top performance and academic awards. In 2011, Joanna was selected as one of 10 scholars from across the United States by a panel of distinguished arts professors and professionals to receive the Jack Kent Cook Foundation’s Graduate Arts Award. With this generous scholarship, she moved to Ireland to pursue three years of studying Irish traditional music as well as teaching at the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. Joanna graduated with an MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance in 2014, and currently splits her time between Colorado and Ireland, performing and teaching music. She is known for her collaboration with her brother, guitarist Iain Hyde, as well as with husband and Irish pianist/accordionist Tadhg Ó Meachair .
Tadhg Ó Meachair
Dave Curley
Joanna Hyde and Tadhg Ó Meachair Delighted Festival in 2017 & Return to Festival in 2018, With Dave Curley
Joanna Hyde made her first visit to the Festival in 2017 with her brother Iain, and husband to be, Tadhg Ó Meachair. Together they charmed audiences and students with the joy they expressed in their music. Joanna and Tadhg will be returning in 2018, and bringing with them Dave Curley, a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and dancer from Corofin, Co. Galway.
The three together form an exciting and dynamic transatlantic trio that presents a rousing blend of Irish and American folk music, having already won over audiences on both sides of the ocean. The group is made up of Dublin’s Tadhg Ó Meachair (Goitse), Galway’s Dave Curley (SLIDE) and Denver, Colorado’s Joanna Hyde (The Hydes), and features a mix of Irish and American folk music and song – both traditional and newly-composed – presented in an energetic and engaging manner. Their performances strike a tasteful balance between the stories found in ballads across both sides of the Atlantic and the respective instrumental music traditions of these places.
Award-winning instrumentalists each in their own right, Dave, Tadhg & Joanna take a unique twist on the diverse strengths of their individual backgrounds, weaving between traditional melodies, their own compositions, and songs from the broader folk canon. The results are highly personalized and thrilling in their daring and forthright grasp of their material. Through a shared deep-rooted passion for Irish traditional music, this trio highlights the vital role of Irish traditional music as an origin of many American folk musics, and explores how those styles can interact with one another in a manner both eclectic and grounded. Having collaborated on the recently-released ‘One for the Foxes’ CD, this trio looks ahead excitedly to its upcoming 2018 US tours. All three can also teach workshops on their respective instruments.
Dave Curley, a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and dancer, has been making big waves in the Irish music scene in Ireland, Europe and the USA in the last number of years. After graduating from the University of Limerick’s groundbreaking Irish Music and Dance programme with a 1st class honours, Dave became a creative member of award-winning bands SLIDE and RUNA. He also regularly performs with Grammy Award winner Moya Brennan of Clannad, who is also performing at the Festival this year. More recently, Dave has been performing with ‘Instrumental band of the Decade’ The Brock McGuire Band. Dave has also recorded with producer Donal Lunny and Grammy award Winners Ron Block, Jeff Taylor and Buddy Greene. His most recent record, ‘A Brand New Day’, marks a new beginning in his musical career and showcases his vocals and writing style which has a contemporary sensibility whilst rooted in tradition.
Tadhg Ó Meachair has established himself as a force in the world of traditional Irish music. A recent All-Ireland piano title win is among the various awards for piano, piano accordion and accompaniment that have cemented this fact in the minds of the traditional music community. As well as extensive tours of the US and Europe with Goitse, he has performed on a variety of stages around the world to huge crowds and esteemed audiences; from Ireland’s National Concert Hall to Music Crossroads in Zambia and from the infamous Festival Interceltique de Lorient to a garden party hosted by Uachtarán an hÉireann, the President of Ireland.
Tadhg has also taught extensively at festivals across Europe and can teach a variety of classes from piano and piano accordion, to accompaniment classes for a range of accompaniment instruments. Having grown up in an Irish-speaking home, and having studied the Irish language to University level, he has even been known to teach a few Irish or ‘Gaelic’ classes.
Joanna Hyde’s musical talents include classical, Irish, Cape Brenton, Texas swing, bluegrass, American folk among other styles. Joanna graduated magna cum laude from Colorado College with a BA in Music in 2009, and was recognized with the Music Department’s top performance and academic awards. In 2011, Joanna was selected as one of 10 scholars from across the United States by a panel of distinguished arts professors and professionals to receive the Jack Kent Cook Foundation’s Graduate Arts Award. With this generous scholarship, she moved to Ireland to pursue three years of studying Irish traditional music as well as teaching at the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. Joanna graduated with an MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance in 2014, and currently splits her time between Colorado and Ireland, performing and teaching music. She is known for her collaboration with her brother, guitarist Iain Hyde, as well as with husband and Irish pianist/accordionist Tadhg Ó Meachair .
Dave Curley
Ed Miller
At the 2010 Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival
Ed Miller has been hailed as “one of the finest singers to come out of the Scottish Folksong Revival” and as “one of Scotland’s best singing exports.” Originally from Edinburgh, he has for many years been based in Austin, Texas, where he earned graduate degrees in Folklore and Geography at the University of Texas. In addition to having recorded 9 CDs of Scottish songs, Ed is a tour leader, speaker, and teacher. He also currently hosts “Across the Pond” on Austin’s Sun Radio.
Teaching at the Spanish Peaks Celtic Music Festival
Ed has become a staple at the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival, having performed and taught here five consecutive years. His humor and warmth matches his knowledge of Scottish folk music. But even more impressive to me is the love for song that he expresses in his singing. He honors every tune, seemingly caressing each in its turn..
Jonathan James
Ed Miller
Máirtín de Cógáin
Máirtín de Cógáin is a singing, dancing, story-telling bodhrán player who also is a noted playwright and actor. He performs in his native Ireland and all over the U.S. An infectious personality, Máirtín pleasantly commands the attention of any collection of people, from a concert hall to an intimate porch.
Descended from a long line of storytellers and with two CCÉ All-Ireland’s for Storytelling under his belt, Máirtín gets no more joy out of life than the telling of stories. If you are lucky enough to catch him spinning a few yarns, you are in for a treat.
When touring the globe with The Máirtín de Cógáin Project & The Fuchsia Band, Máirtín is also a true promoter of the Ballad. He is searching ever for those forgotten songs of old to give them new life, and also writes some of his own.
If not on stage singing, storytelling, dancing, or playing the bodhrán, Máirtín is threading the boards as an actor, most notably in the film “The Wind that Shakes the Barley.” He has co-written many productions with the Be Your Own Banana Theatre Company, recently playing De Bogman off-broadway in NY.
6th St. Hooley (2017 Festival) with Ben Miller and Anita MacDonald (Photo by Bob Kennemer)
Máirtín de Cógáin
Robbie O'Connell
’Connell was called “A National Treasure” by Ireland’s top music magazine, Hot Press, adding, “… a man blessed with an enviable turn of phrase and a gift for melody bestowed on only the few.”Born in Waterford, Ireland and grew up in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, where his parents had a small hotel. He began to play guitar and sing at age thirteen and soon became a regular performer at the hotel’s weekly folk concerts.
A nephew of the Clancy Brothers, he began touring with his uncles in 1977 and recorded 3 albums with them. With the 1982 release of his first solo album, “Close to the Bone,” Robbie emerged as an artist of major stature. Soon after, he began touring extensively with Mick Moloney and Jimmy Keane, and also with Eileen Ivers and Seamus Egan in the Green Fields of America. In 2006 he began an ongoing collaboration with his cousins Aoife and Donal Clancy. The Clancy Legacy.
With Rose Clancy
Robbie O’Connell
Tanya Kay Perkins
Festival Favorite, Tanya Kay Perkins,
Returns in 2018
Music theatre director Jack Bunch said,” When I met Tanya, I had not been inspired as a director since working with Carol Burnette. Tanya has that rare combination of beauty, smarts, and wonderful comic timing. She is a wonderful singer and a magnificent actress. She can be my leading lady for as long as she wants!”
Tanya has been the “leading lady” of song for the Spanish Peaks Celtic Music Festival since 2008, when Scottish singer Alison Bell initiated the festival’s informal singing program where participants could learn favorite traditional songs taught by Festival performers. That’s when Tanya began teaching her workshop “Take Your Voice Out of the Shower.” In 2009 Tanya was asked to help develop a regularly scheduled ‘Singing for Fun’ program. Tanya’s singing workshops have proven to be perennial favorites among festival goers, according to Festival founder, Barbara Yule. Although Tanya does not claim to be a veteran of the Celtic music scene, she does have extensive experience in teaching singing to students of all skill levels with interests across all musical genres.
As Tanya herself says, “I don’t have any street credits as a Celtic performer, unlike some of the prestigious performers that bring their talents to Spanish Peaks. However, I can teach you “how” to sing. My goal, especially for my more reticent ‘shower students,’ is to teach them singing techniques so they can have fun and satisfaction singing in a group. I am passionate about teaching new singers and feel strongly that everyone has a voice. Equally, I love helping veterans with subtleties to help elevate their performances.”
Tanya Kay Perkins
Take Down the Door
Live From Lyons, Colorado:
“Take Down the Door”
Featuring (left to right): Eric Thorin, bass ; Jessie Burns, fiddle; Adam Agee, fiddle;
Beth Gadbaw, vocals & bodhran; Jon Sousa, guitar
Listen to “Live in Lyons”
While each of these musicians can be featured in their own right, we are looking forward to hearing them together as they “Take Down the Door.” All of these fine musicians have individually enchanted Festival goers in the past, some more than once, but are returning in 2018 to not only to share their individual talents, but together as a new group.
Described as “a powerhouse Celtic band” (Boulder Weekly), Take Down the Door hearkens the old Irish tradition of taking the door off its hinges and throwing it down on a dirt cottage floor when it was time for a party. Now inspiring the modern Celtic world to do the same is Take Down the Door, a new trad band from Lyons and Boulder Colorado. The band’s foot-stomping, heart-stopping, wide-open sound reflects both the band’s name and its natural habitat.
With nothing but stellar musicianship from all five of its members, Take Down the Door takes the stage with a variety of dance tunes and songs from Ireland and her diaspora. With an impressively high-energy traditional sound that is guaranteed to make you want to join in the fun, Take Down the Door is ready to get the party started.
(photo credit Wil Bryington)
Fiddler Jessie Burns comes from a mix of English, Irish and American cultures and has explored the folk music of each of these countries from a young age, thanks to the encouragement of her large, musical family. She has lived on three continents and has traveled extensively and no matter where she has ended up, she’s found welcoming Irish and folk music groups to play with and form community. Her main instrument is the fiddle, but she also plays piano, tenor banjo and mandolin. Most recent adventures include six unforgettable years touring internationally for over 200 days a year with American-Irish Supergroup Gaelic Storm.
(Photo credit: Eric Frommer)
Erin Thorin is a musician based in Lyons, Colorado. Raised in a musical family, his first professional engagement was playing trombone next to his father in a big band. Current projects include The Matt Flinner Trio, with Mandolinist Matt Flinner, and guitarist Ross Martin, as well as playing with Mollie O’Brien and Rich Moore, and with Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band. Eric lives in Lyons, Colorado with his wife fiddler Jessie Burns.
(photo credit Louis Krupp)
Described by Irish Music Magazine as “exceptional,” singer Beth Leachman Gadbaw made her mark as singer for acclaimed traditional group Siucra. She is a Celtic traditional singer and drummer based in Lyons, Colorado. Her live shows and solo CD feature a tour de force of acclaimed traditional musicians, including Roger Landes (bouzouki), Frederic Pouille (guitar), and Sandra Wong (nyckelharpa & fiddle). She currently performs with high-energy Celtic band Take Down the Door, with ethereal Celtic harp and vocal duo Gadbaw & Krimmel.
“There is a joy in her face and in Beth’s whole being when she sings her stories.” Lyons Recorder
“Her voice is an instrument in its own right.” Sing Out! Visit Beth at Beth Gadbaw
(Photo credit: Inga Pae)
Adam Agee and Jon Sousa are two of Colorado’s most sought-after traditional Irish musicians. Their music has been called “sincere and from the heart” by top traditional fiddler Martin Hayes. Since 2004, they have been journeying together through the Irish idiom on fiddle, guitar, and tenor banjo, enchanting listeners on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Adam and Jon have put down musical roots in County Clare, where they lived together, and now make frequent visits. Their connection to their instruments and the transcendent energy in their music is guaranteed to captivate and uplift audiences of all ages. In recent years, they have appeared at the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival, where they performed on stage with Dennis Cahill, John Doyle, Robbie O’Connell, as well as Martin Hayes. They were honored to headline at the first annual Durango Celtic Festival in March of 2013, and recently performed with Bonnie Paine of Elephant Revival fame in Loveland, Colorado. Visit Adam and Jon
