Green Linnet

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Congratulations to Martin Simpson!

February 25, 2008

Congratulations to Martin on winning two of the biggest Awards of the night at 2008’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards! Martin's latest CD, Prodigal Son won Best Album of the Year and his song, "Never Any Good" about his late father, won him Best Original Song. Martin was presented with his awards by Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel fame and Aled Jones, himself a multi-million selling artist and currently presenter of one of Radio 2's biggest shows, Good Morning Sunday. Aled described Martin as "an icon" and "one of the best guitarists of his generation", whilst actor Bob Hoskins, in the audience that night, told Martin that "Never Any Good" could have been about his own father and had brought a tear to his eye. Congratulations also to melodeon player, Andy Cutting, who very deservedly won Musician of The Year and who performed with Martin on the night, alongside Danny Thompson and Kate Rusby.

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Karan Casey signs to Compass Records

February 15, 2008

New album, Ships in the Forest, to be released in North America April 8, 2008

The Compass Records is excited to announce the signing of Karan Casey, an artist whose voice has been described as "Angelic. Haunting. Spellbinding." (The Calgary Herald) and "among the loveliest in folk music..." (The Boston Globe).

Karan Casey is one of the most influential and imitated vocalists in Irish and American folk music; a natural innovator, she proves that the ancient and the modern make excellent bedfellows. On Ships in the Forest, her fifth solo album and debut with the Compass Records, Casey's warm, soulful voice ebbs and flows around ballads both timely and timeless. Produced once again by Donald Shaw (of Capercaillie fame), the album was recorded at Casey's home in County Cork and features the members of her current touring band, Caoimhín Vallely (piano), Kate Ellis (cello) and Robbie Overson (guitar) along with special guests Kris Drever, Niall Vallely and... more

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Heidi Talbot's IN LOVE AND LIGHT now available.

February 15, 2008

"Heidi Talbot sings in a voice that's both awestruck and tender."
- THE NEW YORK TIMES

Look out for a new star in the glittering firmament of great Irish singers: with the release of her new album In Love and Light, Heidi Talbot is truly set to shine. After five years as lead singer with the Irish-American supergroup Cherish the Ladies, and high praise for her debut solo outing, 2004's Distant Future, Talbot now extends her talents over a broader, bolder musical canvas, in company with a stellar cast of guests. Drawing on the full, diverse spectrum of influences that inform her singing, In Love and Light complements Talbot's exquisitely expressive, honeyed yet ardent voice with guest contributions from producer Boo Hewerdine, Eddi Reader, ex-Solas guitarist John Doyle, fiddler John McCusker and flute/whistle ace Michael McGoldrick.

The launch of In Love and Light at Glasgow's world-renowned Celtic Connections festival last... more

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Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill's WELCOME HERE AGAIN available now.

February 15, 2008

Irish fiddle virtuoso Martin Hayes and Chicago-born guitarist Dennis Cahill possess a rare, almost telepathic musical kinship. The duo's new album, Welcome Here Again, is a fresh departure; eighteen tracks, not one of them over seven minutes, but with that same burning intensity and depth of emotion found in their previous collaborations, The Lonesome Touch (1997) and Live in Seattle (1999). It was once common for Irish musicians to record one tune at a time, to make each one a self-contained masterpiece and in Welcome Here Again this tradition is revived. The mesmeric rhythms, the tantalizing slow release of melody, the extra tone from viola or tuned-down fiddle, all of that and more can be found on this album.

Welcome Here Again is the first release on Green Linnet since its acquisition by the Compass Records Group in May of 2006 and the first studio album by Hayes and Cahill in over a decade. Hayes and Cahill are featured on the... more

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Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill on NPR's All Songs Considered

February 15, 2008

Nashville, TN - "P. Joe's Reel" from Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill's new release, Welcome Here Again, was featured this week on NPR's All Songs Considered. Click here to listen.

To hear clips from Welcome Here Again, click here.
For tour date information on Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill click here.

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