kilt

Helping a musician in need

Many of you, especially in the NY area, are familiar with James Riley, the phenomenal Bronx-based singer/songwriter who grew up in Ballyfermot, Dublin. He recently released his first solo album, and has played in-studio and on stage with the likes of Solas, Eileen Ivers, Cathy Ryan, Mick McCauley, Martin and Marie Reilly, Steve Holloway, Ben Power, Jane Hunt, Donie Ryan and Nigel Davey, to name a few.

Like so many before him, James grew up in a loving but underprivileged family, and came to America in 2000, in the hopes of creating a better life and helping his family.

Sadly and unexpectedly, James' mother Kay passed away early Friday morning, and on Saturday he flew back to Dublin.

We all know that making a life as a musician is not easy, even for the most talented. The airfare, funeral and other costs are posing a tremendous hardship upon both James and his family.

Among his many projects in NY, James ran the Tuesday night Singer's Seisiun at An Beal Bocht Cafe at 445 West 238th Street in the Bronx.

On Tuesday November 13 and 20, John Walsh will be running the seisiun as a benefit to help raise money to defray James' many expenses. Anyone who wants to stop by and play a tune, listen in, or make a donation is welcome. We'll start at 9 p.m.

If you can't make it and would like to make a donation, you can do so via paypal. You can also purchase his album via his website.



Please pass this along to anyone who may be able to help, and keep James and his family in your prayers.

Found a great Irish rock band in NY...Finn's Fury

Saw this band, Finn's Fury, the other night at a local pub on Long Island. They blew me away. Great stuff. Had a heavy rock sound mixed with bagpipe and fiddle. Some of their stuff kind of reminded me of DKM a bit. Anybody else heard of these guys? I found their MySpace page,
http://www.myspace.com//finnsfuryb…
...excellent stuff on there too. They had a player on the page with all their songs from a new CD they just released, so I'm putting that up so you can all have a listen and see if you like them as much as I do.
Sure didnt the lord himself
  • winks

Bell X1 Question

I heard recently that Bell X1 released an album in Irish not too long ago and I was wondering if anyone knows anything about it as google is bringing up very little. I know that Flame is called Bladhm on it- as I heard the song on youtube and I really want to hear all of it. So if anyone knows what it is called or where I could get it, do tell! Thanks :) 
On a tree

Call to Politicians for Coherent National Policy for Music in Ireland

The Forum for Music in Ireland wants the next Government to produce a coherent National Policy for Music in Ireland.

The Forum has two current priorities:
- equality of provision of local music services; and
- for musicians to be able to make a viable living in this country.

Both of these priorities can be addressed by the implementation of the Music Network Report (www.musicnetwork.ie). Local music education schemes have been successfully piloted in Donegal and Dublin as a result of the report by Music Network in 2003. These schemes now need to be rolled out across the country, so that every child has the chance to avail of a high-quality music education in jazz, classical, traditional or popular music – regardless of location or income.


For Politicians:

What will your party do to implement the model for provision of Local Music Services outlined in the Music Network Report ?

Is your party aware that there are potential savings in other departments – health, justice, family and social affairs etc. – from investment in music education?

Does your party realise the importance of music in developing the whole child – in terms of self-expression, communication skills and general social skills?

Is your party aware of the partnership-approach and the ‘joined-up’-thinking set out in the Music Network Report?


See www.forumformusic.ie for further information.