A great player of the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle and the standard fiddle styles of his native Røros, Norway, Olav Mjelva is the third and final member of Nordic Fiddlers Bloc to be featured on the show and the third member of Sver (out of five). He takes Neil along for his journey through Norwegian traditional music from picking up the fiddle by the chance of a random childhood choice to mastering the regional style of his home town and writing some of the best new Scandinavian tunes being compo...
Jun 13, 2018•54 min•Season 4Ep. 10
A legend of American fiddling already at a young age, Brittany Haas chats with Neil about her musical journey, from touring with Darol Anger at the age of 13 to breaking new ground in the neo-Bluegrass band Crooked Still to playing regularly with Chris Thile on his NPR show "Live From Here" (formerly Prairie Home Companion). This episode also features Brittany's answers to listener questions submitted through Patreon. Music: opening tune is Calum Finlay and closing tune is Booth Shot Lincoln. Th...
May 30, 2018•48 min•Season 4Ep. 9
The Swedish third of the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc, Anders Hall sits down with Neil to talk about getting all of his gigs as a result of late night parties, living on the farm where his family has lived as far back as anyone can trace, and the intricacies and history of the Polska. Music in this episode: Troll Kärrings Låten, march from right where Anders' family farm is located, and Polska after Jonny Schönning. More info at http://www.tradcafe.org/blog-1/2018/5/16/episode-40-anders-hall...
May 16, 2018•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 8
A preview of some of the upcoming episodes for the second half of Season 4 while we take this week off! Hear some of the music that will be featured in the next few episodes and sneak peek of who is coming up..
May 09, 2018•3 min
A great teacher and performer of Irish fiddle in the Boston area, Laurel Martin talks about her journey from taking up the instrument for the first time in her 20's and studying with the great Seamus Connolly under a master/apprentice grant to becoming a teacher herself, and taking on the "master" role in passing on and sustaining the tradition.
May 02, 2018•55 min•Season 4Ep. 7
In the second part of the Doug Protsik episode, Neil and Doug discuss the power of music to transcend cultural and political differences as Doug shares his experiences playing traditional music in central Asia, eastern Europe, the middle east and Africa. Doug also shares the story of Maine Fiddle Camp and what he has done to build it into a powerhouse of traditional arts in Maine. Music in this episode: Opening is "Ida (sweet as apple cider)" Closing is "The Tajik Two-Step" [by Doug Protsik when...
Apr 25, 2018•49 min•Season 4Ep. 6
The first in a two part episode featuring Doug Protsik, director of Maine Fiddle Camp and passionate supporter of the traditions of Maine and surrounding regions. In this episode Doug shares his early journey with music from quitting the piano as a child to rediscovering it while living in a $500 log cabin in Maine, and talks about the intertwined histories of American folk music, Jazz, fiddling and foxtrots.
Apr 18, 2018•57 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Shetland fiddling wizard Kevin Henderson talks about growing up in the Shetland Islands, where Scottish and Scandinavian culture collide and many fiddle tunes are written by the mysterious and magical Trows. Kevin opens up about the experience of making music and touring with Boys of the Lough, Fiddlers' Bid, Nordic Fiddlers Bloc and Session A9 and discusses the challenges and rewards of balancing new musical projects with fatherhood.
Apr 04, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Fiddler, pianist and tune writer Andrea Beaton caught up with Neil just before playing a dance at the Canadian American Club in Watertown, MA. She talks about growing up in Cape Breton as the child of Kinnon and Betty Lou Beaton, two giants of traditional music on the island and how her relationship with music changed from being embarrassed to be associated with the fiddle to recording her own albums and writing some of the most popular contemporary tunes.
Mar 28, 2018•1 hr 4 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Hanz Araki is a long established Irish flute player and singer from the Pacific Northwest now based in Maine; but he is also a master of the Japanese Shakuhachi flute. He shares his wide-ranging musical journey from moving to Japan and practicing Shakuhachi 6 hrs a day with his father to touring 200 days a year across Canada playing the Irish flute.
Mar 21, 2018•55 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Franco-American fiddler Don Roy has been a central figure in Maine fiddling for decades. He joins Neil for the first episode of Season 4 to talk about learning music from his uncle (and Maine fiddling legend) Lucien Mathieu, the connections between Maine French fiddling and traditional music from New Brunswick and Cape Breton and his own creative work writing new tunes and leading the massive fiddle group Fiddlicious.
Mar 14, 2018•49 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Irish-American dancer Kevin Doyle joins Neil this episode to share his story of growing up in a strong Irish community in Providence, RI, learning to dance from his mother who emigrated from Ireland. He also tells Neil about the connections between American tap dance and Irish step dance and talks about what it was like to get the phone call saying that he was being named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Nov 29, 2017•51 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Bassist of Crooked Still and CEO of Concert Window, Corey DiMario joins Neil to share his journey from completely dropping music after his sophomore year at Eastman School of Music to rediscovering his passion through the traditional music scene in Boston, going back to music school and founding one of the most distinctive bands in American folk music.
Nov 15, 2017•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Master Downeast fiddler Frank Ferrel is a fixture in the New England traditional music scene. He shares his musical journey with Neil: from playing banjo in Pacific Northwest bluegrass bands to falling in love with the fiddling of Gerry Robichaud and following that trail to the nexus of New England and Canadian fiddling that is Boston. Along the way he shares stories about discovering little known home-made 78's of the great Franco-American fiddler Tommy Doucet and his compatriots.
Nov 08, 2017•54 min•Season 3Ep. 7
One of the foremost exponents of Scottish Highland music and Gaelic culture around today, Allan Henderson sat down with Neil while on a solo tour of storytelling and fiddling in the Northeast US. Listen in as they discuss the current state of Gaelic, Allan's years as a member of Blazin' Fiddles and how much of an invasive species the piano accordion has been in that part of the world.
Nov 01, 2017•57 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Boston based fiddler, stepdancer, singer and tune/songwriter Emerald Rae connects with Neil over their common experiences growing up around the Boston Scottish/Cape Breton scene of the 1990's and early 2000's and they delve into what it really means to become part of a culture--does one actually need to have the heritage in order to have a place in the community?
Oct 18, 2017•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 5
A driving force of the Scottish fiddling scene in the United States, Hanneke Cassel shares her story from discovering fiddle music through local competitions to travelling the world performing and teaching her own iconic compositions, which fuse Scottish and Cape Breton traditions with a sound all her own. She and Neil also chat about her tune writing process and what influence her travels to China and Africa have had on her music.
Oct 11, 2017•1 hr 6 min•Season 3Ep. 4
One of the top traditional musicians of Senegal, Lamine Touré shares his depth of knowledge as the latest in a 1000+ year line of tradition bearers in his family. Lamine sits down with Neil to discuss how he ended up living and teaching in the Boston area while travelling the world sharing his sabar drumming, singing and dancing. [music in the episode: Jang (meaning "study") which speaks about the importance of studying hard in order to have a good life; and Donald Willie and his Dog, which is a...
Oct 04, 2017•40 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Somali peace and de-radicalization activist Hadith Bani-Adam shares his relationship with Somali traditional music and his mission to promote inclusivity, understanding and positive life choices in his community. He discusses the role Somali traditional music plays in his own original songs, his style of Oud playing and some similarities between the music of Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia and the music of Western Europe.
Sep 27, 2017•47 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Master Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser kicks off Season 3 of TradCafe, sitting down with Neil for a wide ranging conversation about the variety of approaches he has taken over the years to playing traditional Scottish music and the new horizons he is looking towards, exploring new music styles and traditions. www.alasdairfraser.com
Sep 20, 2017•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 1
Season 2 finale episode features Neil's conversation with Syrian Oud player Kinan Idnawi. Kinan talks about growing up in a musical family in Syria, pursuing the Oud at conservatory in Damascus and travelling around the world exploring the ways in which the Oud can fit in to so many different traditions and genres and building bridges between people through music.
Apr 12, 2017•54 min
Fiddler and graphic designer Mariel Vandersteel joins Neil for episode 23 to share her artistic journey so far, from quitting the violin in 8th grade to discovering Irish and Scottish fiddle music, touring internationally with several bands, studying Hardanger Fiddle in Norway and her latest endeavor: going back to school for a new degree while practicing her graphic design work and still somehow making room for music. [Music: Return From Helsinki, by Ian Stephenson]
Apr 05, 2017•52 min
Guitarist and singer Stash Wyslouch is this week's featured guest. He talks with Neil about his eclectic musical journey, from the Colombian music his mother played for him growing up, to his love of heavy metal, to diving deep into old-school bluegrass and old-time recordings and finally ending up with an amalgamation of all of it in his own band. Along the way, Stash and Neil find common ground in their drive to create music that comes from their various disparate influences and Stash explains...
Mar 29, 2017•48 min
One of New England's finest guitarists, Owen Marshall joins Neil to talk about teaching himself Irish guitar while being homeschooled in Vermont, and all the places music has taken him, from local community contradances to jamming with Tuvan throat singers at a festival in Belgium.
Mar 22, 2017•52 min
Greg Boardman is the founder of Maine Fiddle Camp and a captivating performer and teacher whose influence on traditional music in Maine cannot be overstated. For the twentieth episode of TradCafe, Neil and Greg met in the Trinity Church of Lewiston, Maine to talk about the search for personal identity through music, how musicians are uniquely suited to build community and Greg's cross-cultural explorations with the Somali immigrant community in town.
Mar 15, 2017•51 min
Quebecois guitarist and singer Yann Falquet (of the band Genticorum) joins Neil for this week's episode. In this wide ranging conversation they talk about Yann's discovery of the guitar through Rush, the similarities between Irish and Quebecois traditions, the best dumpling houses in Montreal and more! [Note: We apologize for background noise, technical difficulties from a still young podcast!]
Mar 08, 2017•1 hr 3 min
A major force in the New England music scene, Jeremiah McLane has had a significant influence on sound of contemporary folk music in the Northeast, from contradance bands to performing artists. In this episode, Neil and Jeremiah find a lot of common ground in their experiences as pianists who come to folk music with a Jazz informed perspective. Jeremiah reflects what drew him to focus on the accordion and how his creative goals have continued to shift with each new project. (Music credits: Sound...
Mar 01, 2017•1 hr 1 min
In this episode Neil is meets up with harp visionary Maeve Gilchrist to look back at what has already been an incredibly varied musical career. Maeve takes us behind the scenes in her artistic development as she moved from Scotland to the United States and continues to explore new territory for an instrument that should not be underestimated: the Celtic harp, or Cl à rsach.
Feb 23, 2017•48 min
Pete Rushefsky is a leading revivalist of the tsimbl--a Yiddish instrument in the same family as the hammered dulcimer. Neil visited Pete at his apartment in Brooklyn to learn about a part of the Klezmer music tradition that was nearly lost to the world. Pete shares the his approach to European Klezmer traditions--simultaneously historic/academic and freshly creative--and reflects on a musical journey that began with a blues band at a Bar Mitzvah in Rochester, NY and has led most recently to per...
Feb 15, 2017•1 hr 5 min
Neil and Lissa sit down in Brattleboro, VT for a conversation about Lissa's upbringing in the rich tapestry of New England fiddle music in Maine. Along the way they talk about her evolution from a student of any fiddle music she could find to an established tradition bearer with her own recognizable sound and Lissa discusses the challenges of balancing music business with creativity and family life.
Feb 08, 2017•58 min
