DARTRY CÉILÍ BAND

Céilí bands are traditional dance bands made up of amateur musicians. Their primary purpose is to entertain at Irish dancing parties. Although there are an impressive number of them in County Clare (west), there are céilí bands just about everywhere, particularly in County Sligo. A region from which the Dartry Céilí Band hails. And to celebrate their region of origin, the cover of Dance Upon The Mountains, their third album, features Mount Ben Bulben, the county's iconic mountain, at the foot of which the great poet W.B. Yeats is buried.

Formed in 2007, the Dartry Céilí Band won the All Ireland competition at the national Fleadh in 2009. Two albums followed in 2010 and 2014.
With over 42 minutes of music, the current album features 13 tracks combining 31 reel tunes, jigs, hornpipes, barndances, polkas as well as two songs, Nóra and I Wish I Was Single Again. Nóra borrows its melody from Dé Danann's Maggie.
In this eleven-piece band led by fiddler Philip Duffy, we are surprised to find a few familiar faces like Michael Rooney and June McCormack (Draíocht) or Mossie Martin, also a fiddler.
The first two albums received excellent reviews in Ireland, the UK and the US. Albums that perfectly reflected the roots of the North West. Once again, this excellent group revisits Sligo tunes and some traditional standards. You'll recognise Apples in Winter, The Pinch of Snuff and The Laurel Tree.
And as proof of their talent, this group has been invited to many major gatherings: St Patrick's Day in Dublin, the Irish presidency house and the Easter weekend as part of the official celebrations of the 1916 revolution. If you've never heard a céilí band, this is an excellent opportunity to fill the gap.

Autoproduit DARTRY003 – www.dartrycb.com