Celtic Christmas with a Nordic Twist!!
New World String Project will be continuing a joyful and cherished holiday tradition this year. The well-known Winterdance Celtic Christmas Celebration will return, with two members of Molly's Revenge and our champion Irish dancers. This year's music will include Celtic seasonal favorites from previous years, as well as new music with a decidedly Nordic twist. Attendees will enjoy virtuosic performances on exotic instruments like nyckelharpa, cittern, Celtic harp, and cajon, as well as fiddle, guitar, and octave mandolin.The core of the Winterdance show is New World String Project, comprised of four highly skilled and well known multi-instrumentalists that have joined forces to create an exciting tapestry of traditional music. Band members Lisa Lynne and Aryeh Frankfurter have played Swedish, Celtic and original tunes for many years together, while John Weed and Stuart Mason are known as long-time members of the legendary Molly's Revenge. Before the pandemic, the quartet honed their chops and found their voice as a band by touring up and down the West Coast, where audiences were enchanted by their rare instruments and masterful skills.
The result is something new and uniquely their own--a sound rooted in the older traditions of Scandinavia, Appalachia, and the Celtic lands, yet shimmering with modern influences as well.
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“(New World String Project) literally pranced through their hour-long program at St. Mary’s in Pacific Grove, displaying both calculated structure and unbridled abandon.” –Monterey County Weekly (CA)
“Our audience certainly enjoyed your performance... You exceeded everyone’s expectations and introduced many of them to a completely new style and sound, which is a rare gift.” –Tim Bray, Oak & Thorn Productions
“Their show was fabulous, well attended, and full of peaceful, humorous, positive, enlivening energy. They took us all somewhere sublime!” — anonymous fan

Celtic Christmas with a Nordic Twist!!
New World String Project will be continuing a joyful and cherished holiday tradition this year. The well-known Winterdance Celtic Christmas Celebration will return, with two members of Molly's Revenge and our champion Irish dancers. This year's music will include Celtic seasonal favorites from previous years, as well as new music with a decidedly Nordic twist. Attendees will enjoy virtuosic performances on exotic instruments like nyckelharpa, cittern, Celtic harp, and cajon, as well as fiddle, guitar, and octave mandolin.The core of the Winterdance show is New World String Project, comprised of four highly skilled and well known multi-instrumentalists that have joined forces to create an exciting tapestry of traditional music. Band members Lisa Lynne and Aryeh Frankfurter have played Swedish, Celtic and original tunes for many years together, while John Weed and Stuart Mason are known as long-time members of the legendary Molly's Revenge. Before the pandemic, the quartet honed their chops and found their voice as a band by touring up and down the West Coast, where audiences were enchanted by their rare instruments and masterful skills.
The result is something new and uniquely their own--a sound rooted in the older traditions of Scandinavia, Appalachia, and the Celtic lands, yet shimmering with modern influences as well.
________________________________________
“(New World String Project) literally pranced through their hour-long program at St. Mary’s in Pacific Grove, displaying both calculated structure and unbridled abandon.” –Monterey County Weekly (CA)
“Our audience certainly enjoyed your performance... You exceeded everyone’s expectations and introduced many of them to a completely new style and sound, which is a rare gift.” –Tim Bray, Oak & Thorn Productions
“Their show was fabulous, well attended, and full of peaceful, humorous, positive, enlivening energy. They took us all somewhere sublime!” — anonymous fan

On December 10th, The Fire presents their fan-favorite holiday show titled "The Fire’s Very Scottish Christmas" at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, CA. Prepare to be inspired as California’s favorite Scottish music trio joins forces with both Scottish and Irish dancers for an extraordinary performance. This unprecedented collaboration features Scotland’s visually dynamic highland dance in step with the powerful rhythms of Ireland. The Fire’s signature brand of dazzling virtuosity delivers an unforgettable experience as the band leads listeners through an evening of classic Christmas carols and lively dance tunes.

Enjoy David Brewer’s unparalleled mastery of the Great Highland Bagpipe, Rebecca Lomnicky’s internationally awarded Scottish fiddling, and Adam Hendey’s warm-emotive voice over a lush foundation of guitar and reed organ. Featuring material from their critically acclaimed album, "The Fire's Very Scottish Christmas," the live show experience presents seasonal folk ballads dating back to the 1300s alongside beloved holiday favorites. Ring in the holiday season with yuletide cheer, and join us for "The Fire’s Very Scottish Christmas."

Jim has been gracing us with his presence for several years now and his unique talents always make for a great, entertaining concert. This time, Jim is joined by his wife Susie and daughter Beth.

Susie is an award-winning Scottish traditional singer, who has been performing with Jim Malcolm throughout Scotland for 20 years and more. She sings complex harmonies in a traditional style, and is known as a tradition bearer for the ancient ballads of Scotland, with particular expertise in the bothy ballad tradition from North East Scotland.

Beth Malcolm is one of the bright young talents of the new generation of Scottish traditional singers. She recently received three notable distinctions: As a solo act, she won a coveted 'Danny' award for emerging acts at Celtic Connections, Scotland's premier international folk festival; she won a major national songwriting competition with her song about Mary Queen of Scots, called Leaving Loch Leven; and she was nominated as Scots Singer of the year in the latest Scots Trad Music Awards. We are excited to bring this rare family trio of traditional Scots singer to the Monterey Bay area.

Jim Malcolm is the ultimate Scots troubadour. Traveling the world with his guitar, harmonicas, engaging wit (and recently his trumpet!), he sings the traditional songs of Scotland and his own masterfully crafted songs in a style which is modern and accessible, yet utterly authentic. He is highly regarded as an interpreter of the songs of Robert Burns, and has been described as one of the finest singers in Scotland in any style.

As a solo performer with ten solo CDs to his credit, Jim can mix it with anyone out there. As well as a renowned singer, he is in the top handful of simultaneous guitar and harmonica players in the world. He plays mostly in the folk guitar tuning dadgad in both fingerpicking and plectrum styles.

His concerts are always highly entertaining, peppered with funny stories and observations, in the great tradition of Scottish artists through the ages.

Kevin Burke’s fiddle playing has been at the forefront of traditional music since the 1970’s. His far-reaching solo album, “If the Cap Fits” and his work with such distinguished performers as Arlo Guthrie, Kate Bush, Christy Moore and the Bothy Band established him as a first class musician. Never one to be restricted by geography or genre, his decades long career has seen several innovative collaborations with notable musicians of differing styles - Classical, Old Time, Bluegrass, Pop and Rock as well as the Irish Traditional music for which he is so well known. Some of the eminent players he has worked with are: Grammy winner, singer and instrumentalist Tim O’Brien; Liam O Maonlai, lead singer of the Hothouse Flowers; classical violinists Gilles Apap and Greg Ewer; Old Time favourites, The Foghorn String Band; renowned Irish bands Dervish, Solas and Lunasa and his most recent recording is a collaboration with veteran Rock guitarist John Brennan (Poco, Chris Hillman Band and others).

Kevin has earned international acclaim in both Europe and America as a solo performer, a teacher and as a member of some of folk music’s foremost groups including the exciting Celtic Fiddle Festival and Ireland’s long admired and respected Patrick Street. In 2007 he also set up his own record label, “Loftus Music”, which soon developed a reputation for excellence in both its musical output and its unique eco-friendly packaging.

His contribution to music has received formal acknowledgement on both sides of the Atlantic where he has been the recipient of several awards including Ireland’s “Gradam Ceoil” (Traditional Musician of the Year, 2016), and a National Heritage Fellowship, the USA's highest honor for excellence in the folk and traditional arts. (Previous National Heritage Fellows include B.B. King, Doc Watson, and Bill Monroe.) Kevin has also been honoured by his adopted home state with his induction to the Oregon Music Hall of Fame .

In 1980 Kevin settled in the USA and was performing with Bothy Band colleague Micheal O Domhnaill. Their 2 albums, “Promenade” and “Portland”, became, and still are, very influential resources for many traditional musicians.

In the mid Eighties Kevin was a founding member of two influential groups, “Open House” and “Patrick Street”, whose recordings and performances were greeted with great acclaim both in Europe and US. In the mid Nineties Kevin was a founding member of yet another successful and enduring traditional group - “The Celtic Fiddle Festival”, this time with Johnny Cunningham from Scotland and Christian Lemaitre from Brittany.


Although Kevin has spent much of his life playing in a group context, he has never lost his love for solo fiddle music – the “naked fiddle” as he himself sometimes puts it. This is very evident in his new live solo release, “An Evening with Kevin Burke”, a collection of performances and stories before audiences in Ireland and US, including his home town of Portland, Oregon.

Whether solo or accompanied, on record or in concert, Burke is an immensely engaging performer.