Celtic Traditions

This picture is from the Dayton Celtic Festival.  I play accordion for the band Sons O'Blarney.

You can find out more about the band here.  www.sonsoblarney.com

We've been playing together about 7 months.  When we started I didn't know any celtic music.  I like it well enough, but had never aspired to play it.  Now I like it.  Why?  It may come as no surprise that it's very conducive to getting audience response and interaction.  Since we do traditional Irish tunes, many people know all the words and sing along with us.  Some of the songs have long established traditions for when you are supposed to clap and shout responses to the band.

With the last name of Makofka, I grew up with polkas; ethnic music with Eastern European associations.  But I have to confess that Celtic music is every bit as much fun to play.  It can be fast.  ie crazy bluegrass fast.  As you can see in the picture, we don't have a fiddle player, so I get to play the fiddle parts.   It has been wonderful for my technique and dexterity.

Two of the songs we sing, "Finnigan's Wake" and "The Night that Patty Murphy Died" are about death and Irish wakes.  There is something healthy about including these subjects in music.  The Irish tradition for approaching death is rich and instructive.  I'm not Catholic or Irish, but if someone wants to have throw a wake for me when I'm gone it's okay with me.