JUNE2014
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Ireland's celebrated Dervish make a rare appearance at Mission Folk Fest
ISSION-This year, the 27th annual Mission Folk Music Festival will offer a rare opportunity to see one of Ireland's greatest living musical ensembles.
Dervish has been celebrated by critics and audiences as the most compelling, most soulful Irish traditional folk band playing today with one columnist declaring "Irish music fans should walk over broken glass to hear this band."
From the Great Wall of China to packed auditoriums in the Holy Land, and more recently being the first Irish band to perform at the greatest music festival in the world, 'Rock in Rio' where they played to an audience of 240,000, the legendary Irish band plays the Mission Folk Music Festival this summer after a stint at the celebrated Glastonbury festival.
Formed in 1989, in County Sligo, Ireland, Dervish has been enchanting audiences around the globe ever since with their rollicking reels and melodious tunes.
Inspired by a project performing local music of Sligo, Dervish went on to win a raft of awards, including accolades for their 1997 live album, Live in Palma, which has been reviewed as one of the best live traditional recordings in our time.
Since then they have gone from strength to strength and are making music at the top of the Irish music world.
In its 27 year history, the Mission Folk Music Festival has presented over 2,500 musicians, singers and dancers from nearly 100 countries to the festival stage overlooking the Fraser River, creating a small world village of cultures, languages and peoples under the banner of music.
DERVISH, one of Ireland's most outstanding traditional groups from County Sligo, is made up of an impressive lineup of monster musicians - Liam Kelly, Shane Mitchell, Tom Morrow, Brian McDonagh and Michael Holmes, all interwoven with lead singer Cathy Jordan's pure, lilting voice.
quest to present the best, the rarest, the unheard of that should be heard and to nurture local artists while reaching around the globe to bring in the world's great music.
The festival roster for 2014 includes the world traveling performing arts spectacle Dulsori from Korea, making its first appearance at Mission this year.
Also featured is A Celebration of Music and Dance of West Africa with Alpha YaYa Diallo and a troupe of 10 musicians, dancers and singers from Guinea, Senegal and other West African countries.
The South Pacific group VOU offers music and dance of Fiji and bold brassy music of the Balkans will be presented by the Lemon Bucket Orkestra and Orkestar Slivovica, set against the sounds, rhythms, song and dance of Cuba with Wil Campa and Orchestra.
As something of a festival within a festival, there is a featured blues element with True Blues artists Guy Davis and Corey Harris along with Zakiy a Hooker, daughter of John Lee Hooker, and one of Canada's best bluesmen, Tim Williams.
This year's festival will continue in its Other artists performing at the festival
include music made in BC with Good For Grapes, the Sweet Lowdown, and the winners of the annual Music BC Festival Showcase Awards.
Also on the roster are special guests Quartetto Gelato, Ruth Moody of the Wailin' Jennies, Fish and Bird, and more to be announced.
The festival features four stages offering concerts, workshops, collaborations and sessions.
There is also a Folk Art and Import Market, a diverse and tasty array of food concessions, licensed bistro, camping , and the best toilet amenities offered by any outdoor festival.
The festival has carved out a niche that is unique among Canadian festivals.
Programming includes yet reaches far beyond the annual roster of touring artists to present music and cultural expressions special to this festival, artists often not seen at festivals anywhere else in Canada.
The Mission Folk Music Festival runs from July 25 to 27 at the Fraser River Heritage Park in Mssion B.C. Festival details, including the Gala Concert scheduled for July 24, are available at www.missionfolkmusic festival, ca.
Celtic part of world and folk roots tapestry at Harrison Festival
HARRISON HOT SPRINGS, BC - This July 12-20, the 36th Harrison Festival of the Arts will present the finest in world, folk and roots music, in the beautiful setting of Harrison Hot Springs.
The 2014 edition is celebrating the festival's long history of presenting exciting emerging artists. It will feature the return of performers who played at Harrison in the early stages of now successful careers, and will introduce some dynamic artists who are just starting to be known.
This festival is the first for the new management team, Artistic Director Andy Hillhouse and General Manager Mel Dunster.
Andy, who is known to the Celtic scene as the leader of the band Mad Pudding, and Mel are succeeding Phyllis and Ed Stenson, who successfully ran the fes-
tival since the 1980s, and who both retired last fall.
The Harrison Festival has always placed cultural diversity at the forefront of its mandate, and Celtic music is prominent within the variety of musical styles on display.
This year, the Festival is delighted to present Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson as a feature Celtic act, on Wednesday July 16 in the Harrison Memorial Hall.
Jarlath (uilleann pipes, low whistle, voice) and Ross (Scottish border pipes, low whistle) hail from County Tyrone and Perthshire respectively.
Their show combines electrifying piping with Jarlath's singing that is evocative of another great Tyrone singer, Paul Brady.
Other Celtic oriented acts are the Fraser Valley's own fiddle and step dance family The Sabir Sisters, performing as part of the opening concert,
Straight from the Valley, on Friday, July 11, and the legendary Scottish guitarist Tony McManus, who will present two sets on the Beach Stage July 19 and 20.
The Maori/Scottish trio Pacific Curls
are returning to the Festival Beach Stage July 13 after establishing themselves as international festival favourites.
The Harrison Festival looks forward to furthering its reputation as a fun, community-oriented village festival for years to come.
By nurturing younger bands while bringing back seasoned veteran performers, Hillhouse hopes to help foster the growth of quality roots, folk, and world music in the Fraser Valley, and to continue to inspire the love of culturally diverse arts in the region and beyond.
For more information about the Harrison Festival of the Arts, visit: www.harrisonfestival.com.
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