Concertinas have been welcomed as a part of the Palestine festival since 2005. The concertina is a Victorian-era instrument that had a large global following in the middle and late nineteenth century – especially in America, Ireland, England, Australia, and South Africa – and has seen a great resurgence in interest in folk and traditional music circles in the past few decades. Our past concertina headliners have included Jody Kruskal, Bertram Levi, Dave Roberts, and Ann Kirrane. We concertina players have always been grateful to Jerry and to Margaret for allowing us to be part of the Old Pal fun, even though concertinas – a true old-time instrument – are not the stuff of classic American string bands!
This is a festival within a festival. The concertinas contribute a lot to Old Pal.
This year (2024), there are several fun activities:
Ann Kirrane and her group The Belles of Bell Harbour will return to Old Pal as headliners. Ann, from County Clare Ireland, plays Anglo concertina and sings beautiful old Irish songs. Her father Chris Droney was an icon among traditional concertina players, and she plays in the same rhythmic style. It’s her fifth visit to Old Pal!
Ann will lead two workshops for concertina, concentrating on old-time Irish styles as played in north Clare.
Ann and her group will lead two ‘ceili music’ slowed-down workshops of typical north Clare ceili dance music, for all instruments. The idea is to play through them slowly in the workshops, and then later to play them up to tempo in sessions. Sheet music is available in advance (now) for any coming to Old Pal…just ask!
Gary Coover, a mainstay at our workshops since the beginning, is returning (from Honolulu!) and will teach workshops in harmonic style playing and sea shanties. He is quite the book publisher these days and will bring sales copies of a score or so concertina music books and tutors.
Frank Edgely, the well-known concertina maker and musician from Windsor, Ontario, has just republished his wonderful tutor for the Anglo concertina in the Irish style. He is coming to our workshop and will hold one or more workshops focused on beginning to play the concertina, and will bring copies of the new book, which will launch in these workshops.
Ann’s band contains Maria Terres on fiddle and Amy McFarland on keyboard, both from the Milwaukee School of Irish Music. They are available for impromptu workshops on fiddle or keyboard, in Irish and American styles.
If you are interested in attending this year’s concertina workshop at Palestine, and/or for more details, please send Dan Worrall an email at danworrall@msn.com and you will be included on the email list for workshop notices and for pre-festival releases of workshop sheet music and/or recordings.
We look forward to seeing you!
