Carroll & Doyle Are Bringing Irish Music To Meeting House

On Saturday, January 10, Newtown Meeting House will be home to the next concert sponsored by Shamrock Traditional Irish Music Society. The fiddler Liz Carroll and the guitarist, bouzouki player and vocalist John Doyle will perform starting at 8 pm.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children. Advance reservations are suggested; Shamrock Music Society concerts have generally sold out in Newtown. Call 203-256-8453 or send email to TMQuinn@optonline.net for details or reservations.

Since turning 18 years old in 1975, when she astounded the Celtic music world by winning the Senior All-Ireland Championship, Liz Carroll and her fiddle have been amazing audiences around the globe. Her recordings – Liz Carroll in 1988, lost in the loop in 2000 and Lake Effect in 2002 – and appearances on concert stages, television and radio have established Ms Carroll as one of traditional music’s most sought-after performers.

Ms Carroll’s recordings are primarily her own compositions. Her first album was named a Select Record of American Folk Music by the Library of Congress, and lost in the loop won the Association for Independent Music (AFIM) Indie Award for Best Recording for Celtic/British Isles in May 2001.

A multi All-Ireland Champion, the fiddler Liz Carroll is considered by many to be the greatest Irish-American fiddler in history. She is also acknowledged as one of the greatest composers of her generation. Her contributions to Irish music were recognized in 1994 when she was awarded a prestigious National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest award for a folk artist in the United States. Named The Irish Echo’s Traditional Musician of the Year for 2000, Ms Carroll’s three solo albums have each been hailed as instant classics.

John Doyle is equally celebrated. Born in 1971 in Dublin, Mr Doyle comes from an extended family of musicians and singers and he has combined many of those influences into his deeply traditional yet modern style. He is one of the most influential and sought after guitarists of his generation. In addition to Ms Carroll and Ms Ivers he has recorded and/or performed with Frank McCourt, Linda Thompson, Kate Rusby, Mick Moloney, John Williams, Seamus Egan, Cathal McConnell and Kim Robertson, among many others.

The original and unique rhythmic genius behind the groundbreaking group Solas and then later an original member of The Eileen Ivers Band, Mr Doyle is a versatile virtuoso capable of composing and arranging traditional songs and tunes along with singing and producing, complementing his signature powerhouse rhythmic playing with innovative finger-picking accompaniment. His first solo recording, Evening Comes Early, was released in June 2001.

The concert is being made possible by a grant from The Wild Geese, with support from Connecticut Commission on the Arts.