CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Friday, March 19, 2010, 8pm Over the past 25 years, Altan have established Altan albums to win the prestigious Celtic/British Zellerbach Hall themselves as one of the most important live acts Isles Album of the Year Award from the National to play traditional Irish music in Ireland and on the Association of Independent Record Distributors world stage. Altan have toured all over the United and Manufacturers. States and Europe. They also enjoy popularity in Ciarán Tourish on fiddle and whistle joined Altan Japan, where they frequently tour, and have hosted the band for the Harvest Storm recording, adding Altan festivals in the middle of Tokyo to thousands his innovative harmonies and countermelodies. of enthusiastic fans. The context of having three fiddles in the band The founding members, the late Frankie helped drive Altan to newer heights and intro- Kennedy and his partner, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, duced the Donegal fiddle tunes, which the band lead singer and fiddler with the band, began became renowned for, to a much wider audience. their musical career whilst teaching in a school Altan are no stranger to the Billboard world mu- in Malahide in North County Dublin, playing sic chart: Island Angel was its fourth-bestselling music for fun and enjoyment, not knowing that album in 1994. it would end up as their main way of life and In the meantime, Frankie Kennedy was diag- bring them all over the world. Mr. Kennedy and nosed with cancer, but continued to steer the band Ms. Ní Mhaonaigh started out by playing with to international recognition and negotiating with and meeting older musicians from the Donegal Virgin Records U.K., to sign the band before his tradition, like John Doherty, Con Cassidy, James death in September 1994. This was a significant Byrne, Dinny McLaughlin, Vincent Campbell signing, as up until this traditional music was not and Ms. Ní Mhaonaigh’s own father, Francie, who on any major label. Altan recorded three albums shared their music with them and most important- for Virgin records: Blackwater (1996), Runaway ly, their friendship. The pair learned their music, Sunday (1997) and The Blue Idol (2002). This tried to emulate their style and listened to their merger with a major record label helped Altan general philosophy of life, which in retrospect was bring their music, song and culture to a wider au- just as important as the music. Later, it would be dience worldwide and paved the way for up and Francie who translated the beautiful Gaelic songs coming younger bands to tour extensively all over into English on all of the Altan recordings to date. the world—crucially, the band made no musical IMN Francie was also responsible for the translations of compromise to the traditional music they played “Barbara Allen” and “In the Sweet Bye and Bye” and recorded. on two projects with the legendary Dolly Parton Altan have proven to be important ambassa- that involved Altan. Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Ní dors of the music and culture of Ireland, so much Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh lead vocals, fiddle Mhaonaigh made their first forays into live shows so that they were invited to accompany the Irish Ciarán Tourish fiddle, tin whistle, backing vocals in the United States in 1985, releasing two albums President, Mary McAleese on several State vis- together as a duo: 1983’s Ceol Aduaidh (“Music of its, visiting Greece, Korea and Japan. Altan were Dermot Byrne button accordion,