After the tremendous success of last year our biggest worry was "how on earth are we going to match that for 2008?" But we're absolutely delighted to have secured an amazing line-up for this year and we have no doubts that Fiddle Fair 2008 will be better than ever.
Some old favourites return and some new acts who haven't been here before and a few who are making their first ever visit to Ireland
We will present a dozen top class acts from Ireland and around the world in a series of concerts at our beautiful intimate venues, The West Cork Hotel in Skibbereen, the Glebe Gardens Amphitheatre, and the ancient Dún na Séad Castle in Baltimore
We will also be hosting workshops and sessions all weekend at the many picturesque settings in and around our beautiful village.
Concert Series:
Thursday 8th West Cork Hotel 9pm:
Annbjørg Lien with Bjørn Ole Rasch & Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh with Manus Lunny
We've never had a Norwegian musician at the Fiddle Fair before and Annbjørg
Lien is considered to be their finest exponent of the Hardanger fiddle so we
are delighted that she's going to open this year's festival, she will be
accompanied by Bjørn Ole Rasch for what promises to be a truly magical
concert
The beautiful Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh from Donegal has been down to the Fiddle Fair many times with her legendary band Altan. She's currently working on a solo album with Manus Lunny of Capercaille fame and we're thrilled that they'll be performing some of this new material for us on the opening night
Bríd Harper with Marty Meehan & PJ McDonald & Darol Anger's Republic of Strings
Bríd Harper is a mythical figure in the traditional world and is regarded by many musicians as being Ireland's finest fiddler. She will be making a rare live appearance on the Friday night and will be joined by flautist Marty Meehan and guitarist PJ McDonald
Darol Anger has long been recognised as one of America's most influential fiddlers and one of his many current projects is the wonderful Republic of Strings - an amazing quintet featuring Darol, and Brittany Hass on fiddle, Scott Nygard on guitar, Tristan Claridge on Cello, and Crooked Still's Aoife O' Donavon on vocals. Unbelievably this will be Darol's first ever show in Ireland
Saturday 10th Dún na Séad Castle 12.30pm:
Aoife and Deirdre Granville
Aoife Granville is a multi instrumentalist from Dingle in Co. Kerry. She's been down at the fiddle fair many times but this is her first concert. She plays fiddle and flute and will be accompanied by her sister Deirdre on the harp
Saturday 10th Glebe Gardens Amphitheatre 3pm:
The Polskadots
The Polskadots are a 5-piece Cork based band led by the amazing Finnish fiddler Marja Tuhkannen. When they appeared at Fiddle Fair 06 they charmed everybody with their magical mix of tunes from Finland to Argentina and beyond. We're delighted to have them back again
* Please note that the Amphitheatre concerts are weather dependant and will be relocated if necessary but the sun always shines at the Fiddle Fair
Saturday 10th West Cork Hotel 9pm:
Jerry Holland with John Doyle & Berroguetto
Two amazing acts for the Saturday night concert this year
The legendary Jerry Holland is widely recognised as being Cape Breton's greatest fiddler and is famous amongst fiddlers everywhere for his wonderful compositions and electrifying playing.
He'll be joined by guitar genius John Doyle who is making a concerted effort to beat the Fiddle Fair record for most successive appearances at the festival
We've always wanted to have a Galician band at the Fiddle Fair and as usual we went after the very best.
Berroguetto have been playing to rave reviews around the world for the past 10 years yet have never been to Ireland. This 7-piece band will rock the house with their heady mix of beautiful tunes and breathtaking vocals
Sunday 11th Dún na Séad Castle 1pm:
Michelle O’Brien & Leonard Barry
Michelle O' Brien from County Clare makes her 2nd Fiddle Fair appearance and this time she will be joined by Kerryman Leonard Barry.
This dynamic young fiddle and uileann pipes duo make wonderful music and should get the last day of the festival off to a rousing start
Sunday 10th Glebe Gardens Amphitheatre 3pm:
Caoimhà n Ó Raghallaigh & Breanndán Begley With special guest Jeremy Irons
Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh is rapidly becoming one of Ireland's favourite fiddlers with a wonderful style and understanding of the tradition. Himself and another Kerryman, (what are we doing?), Breannd´n Begley have recently recorded an album together and play magical music which might have come from the fairies.
Caoimhín has been involved in a new television series, to be broadcast later this year, for TG4 where 8 celebrities have been learning to play traditional music. He has been teaching our neighbour Jeremy Irons to play the fiddle and Jeremy will be joining the lads on stage to make his fiddle-playing debut. Long accustomed to the strains of Opening Nights in his illustrious acting career, he claims never to have been more nervous
* Please note that the Amphitheatre concerts are weather dependant and will be relocated if necessary but the sun always shines at the Fiddle Fair
Sunday 11th West Cork Hotel 9pm:
Tim Kliphuis Trio & Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill
Tim Klipuis from Holland plays fiddle in the style of Stefan Grapelli and this will be another Fiddle Fair first because we've never featured jazz on the fiddle before. This trio are sure to get the finale concert off to a great start.
To bring down the curtain on Fiddle Fair 2008 we are delighted to welcome back Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill.
Even though they're regular visitors to West Cork, it's 10 years since they opened Fiddle Fair 98 and in that time they've gone on to establish themselves as arguably the most sought after traditional act on the planet.
The programme of Fiddle Fair Workshops featuring Annbjørg Lien, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Darol Anger, Jerry Holland, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, John Doyle, Brendan Begley and more will be posted next week.
I hope you agree that this is a very exciting line-up and I'm sure there'll be a large demand for tickets so to avoid disappointment book them now and hopefully we'll see you down here in a few short weeks.
All the best,
Declan