Featuring Bua's Brían Ó hAirt (Irish Celtic), Joaquín Díaz (Merengue)
and Leroy Thomas (Zydeco) Accordion Traditions will compare and
contrast accordion styles from Ireland, the Dominican Republic and
Louisiana.
Claire Lynch and her band demonstrate the musical roots of bluegrass, in an
informal discussion with Bob Blackman.
Always one of the Great Lakes Folk Festival's favorites, Fiddle
Traditions will compare and contrast fiddle styles as performed by
Bua's Devin Shepherd (Celtic), David Bass (Old-time) and Bryan
McDowell (Bluegrass), as well as the generational relationship of the
three styles.
Many people think of folk music as a guitar and banjo and fiddle. And
while we certainly have plenty of those at the festival each year,
many cultures have found unique ways with which to produce sounds and
music... sometimes with but a string or two; sometimes with dozens of
strings. In this showcase, we will feature the Indian Sitar (Hasu
Patel), the Kamanche (Saeed Kamjoo), the Begena and Krar (Temesgen
Hussein) and the Kanun (Ara Topouzian).
Guitars and fiddles and accordions often get most of the attention
while those that keep the beat are kept (often literally) in the
background. In this showcase, we will feature the Indian Tabla (Vishal
Nagar), the Iranian Daf and Tumbak (Mehdi Darvishi), Merengue Tambora
(Peter Barzey) and Guira (Raul Villa Rojas) and Zydeco Rubboard
(Charles Fontenot).
It is not uncommon for musicians to cross paths in airports, and it's
very uncommon for musicians to not want to play music together when
they've got the chance. René Meave (Tex-Mex), Leroy Thomas (Zydeco),
Devin Shepherd (Irish Celtic) and Frank Lee (Old-Time) will each kick
off a tune and the rest will follow.
