Dancing with Lunasa

One of my favourite memories is making an almost two thousand kilometer round trip from NSW to South Australia to take my two children, Callum and Imogen, to see the marvellous Lunasa at Womadelaide earlier this year. Lunasa, a band steeped in the rural tradition, put on a storming session in front of thousands just as the sun was going down. We danced and danced all night. Funnily enough, Lunasa was started by our very own Trevor Hutchinson of Cookstown. Few people around the town seem to know that, even fewer seem to care but that's Cookstown. Anyway, if you haven't heard Lunasa before I strongly recommend them.

Kila, another favourite and interesting band, have just brought out a new album, Gambler's Ballet. If it is like all their other albums it should be well worth a listen.

Finally, I caught the tail-end of ther Transatlantic Sessions on RTE last week which included excellent performances by Paul Brady and Sharon Shannon. It really was playing and enjoyment of the highest order. I am told that the 'Sessions' are not available on DVD because of 'contractual arrangements'. That's a real shame but there is always YouTube. This excerpt has Maura O'Connell with Nanci Griffith playing 'Trouble in the Fields' (and that looks like Danny Thompson in the background on double bass). Just type in 'Transatlantic Sessions' and watch the feast.