Guide me to some great fiddle music!
March 23, 2014 10:58 AM   Subscribe

St.Patricks Day may be over, but my love of fiddle music lasts all year round. Guide me to some new fiddle music!

I've always loved that pub-fiddle sound. Being from Canada, I'm quite familiar with the likes of Ashley MacIsaac, Natalie MacMaster, Buddy MacMaster and I'm looking to broaden my horizons (beyond Nova Scotia fiddle music, I suppose?).

Rock/Punk-Fiddle stuff is also good (e.g The Pogues, Flogging Molly, Fiddler's Green, The Dreadnoughts).

Already quite familiar (and love!) with The Dubliners, Great Big Sea, The Dust Rhinos and Spirit of the West.

Bonus points: The music is available digitally. Double bonus: Not iTunes (I prefer .mp3 format), Not Amazon (not available in Canada :-( ).
posted by Snuffman to Media & Arts (18 answers total) 22 users marked this as a favorite
 
Do you know about the Carolina Chocolate Drops? You should, if you don't.

In case the link is region-restricted (grrrr), it's to Snowden's Jig. Their site is here. I love all the fiddlers you love, and so you might love the CCD too.
posted by rtha at 11:12 AM on March 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


Martin Hayes is an amazing Irish fiddler who is originally from County Clare and currently lives in the US. (I hope that link works outside the US!) It looks like you can download his albums on his website.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:12 AM on March 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


Cúlán from BBC Radio Ulster is available for free via the BBC. It features fantastic traditional Irish music.
posted by Requiax at 11:13 AM on March 23, 2014


Frank Fairfield
posted by Arbac at 11:20 AM on March 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


Eileen Ivers
posted by Flunkie at 11:27 AM on March 23, 2014


John Hartford - If you dig that tune, check out his albums Wild Hog in the Red Brush, The Speed of the Old Long Bow and Hamilton Ironworks.
posted by usonian at 11:32 AM on March 23, 2014


Solas
Alaw (a Welsh band, they have some good stuff)
Lunasa
Danu

More as I think of things...
posted by LN at 11:36 AM on March 23, 2014


You might also enjoy some of the music of the Goat Rodeo Sessions.

Other Canadians you might already be familiar with but didn't list up there include Tom Landa and the Paperboys (he always has what the GBS guys describes as a "fiddle-playing hottie") and I love the fiddle part in She Said. Kendal Carson, who has played with him, also plays fiddle wtih Dustin Bentall and on Alan Doyle's solo project. You might also want to look into Dan Stacey--he's formerly of Seven Nations, often tours with Cherish the Ladies, and is also part of the Step Crew which I think is still active.
posted by TwoStride at 1:55 PM on March 23, 2014


Laura Cortese!

Also here

Tim Eriksen plays some wicked fiddle too.

And then there's Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem.

For more fiddle awesomeness, check out Joe Kessler. He also plays in Klezwoods, and used to be in Boiled in Lead.

Also seconding John Hartford and Tom Landa and the Paperboys.
posted by SobaFett at 6:29 PM on March 23, 2014


Bonnie Rideout
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:40 PM on March 23, 2014


Kevin Burke
posted by IndigoJones at 7:53 PM on March 23, 2014




Liz Carroll. Saw her live at Lotus in Bloomington. Fabulous.
posted by firstdrop at 8:02 AM on March 24, 2014


How about bluegrass fiddle? Vassar Clements is fantastic.

There's also some great old time Americana fiddling available. Here's one example and a list of heaps others.
posted by mosessis at 8:19 AM on March 24, 2014


Dave Swarbrick: legendary English fiddlemaster.
posted by stompadour at 10:33 AM on March 24, 2014


Ashley MacIsaac
posted by kaspen at 2:33 PM on March 24, 2014


How about some Nordic fiddling? Nordic Fiddlers Bloc is available for download from iTunes (sorry) and probably elsewhere. If you like Swedish fiddling, Väsen, Harv, Draupner, Silfver, and Raun all have downloadable albums (I found them on iTunes and Amazon, but they should be available elsewhere.
posted by klausness at 6:59 PM on March 26, 2014


Also meant to mention Celtic Fiddle Festival, a group (not an actual festival, despite the name) with fiddlers from Ireland, Brittany, and Québec.
posted by klausness at 7:07 PM on March 26, 2014


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