Shannon Heaton
Irish Music Stories PodcastEpisodes
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Irish musicians, and writers, and home makers can all benefit by learning some rules and technical skills—and by allowing a little spontaneity and flexibility. But how much great technique do you need? Does that get in the way of the magic? In
Boston producer Brian O’Donovan made a lot of space for Irish music and culture. He was dedicated to sharing it widely. And though he presented music on formal stages and through his WGBH broadcast “A Celtic Sojourn,” casual, public Irish musi
Could traditional music sessions exist without listeners? Are the non-playing listeners in public spaces important for tune players? Here’s a brief podcast adaptation of a video response to this intriguing little question! _________________ For
Communities. Forests. Families. All of these different ecosystems contain a lot of different components that weave and work together. And as people, plants, and pests carry on and creep around, rich and sometimes unlikely collaborations emerge.
In part one of the Fruitful Fells, we met modern and 19th century activists dedicated to making beauty available to current and future humans. In this episode, we learn how our heroes saved acres of woods and bushels of old ballads, and we foll
There are little creatures, trees, ponds, and pedestrians all over the earth. And there are bushels of ballads about the charms of nature. And while there are ecological activists like Mike Ryan and 19th century Elizur Wright, and song collecto
The weekly Irish music session is a specific niche affair, with a particular code of conduct. Gift giving also has its own rules, at least it has in the past. As older customs like traditional Irish music and wedding anniversary gifts have move
New inventions and technology can make life—and Irish music—more convenient, more accessible, and sweeter…. and more complicated. This episode examines a few innovations like the washing machine, the personal computer, and to the electric bicyc
Lunch routines, laundry, kid art supplies, spoons, and teacups are details of domestic life that don’t usually make it into the photo albums, or the tune titles. But they shape lives. And in the midst of the thousands of jigs and reels out ther
Presenting concerts can be about a lot more than throwing someone onstage. Matt Smith manages Club Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has been the central venue and fountain of support for 20 years—and is now the official presenter—for B
Why did kids carry dead birds on sticks all over Ireland on the 26th of December? And what did this all have to do with first century Christian martyr St. Stephen? Just like traditional tunes, which can vary from player to player, the whole his
Loss can spark achingly beautiful music. It can also spark new forms of creativity for musicians. This episode is a meditation on the stubborn insistence and the transformative power of creativity, featuring beautiful conversations with Emmanue
As tunes travel they change. And to turn an old Irish reel into an old time tune can involve adjusting notes to suit different instruments, using different techniques… and also digging into the non-musical stories. In this episode I tuck into s
Beauty is in the eye of the (informed) beholder. Where many of us might overlook a grubby little copy book or an awkwardly named interlibrary loan, others can help us understand them as treasures that shine new understanding on Irish history. L
It’s really exciting and important to have kids playing Irish music. And it takes organization, skill, and willing adults to create learning opportunities for them. In this episode Annmarie Acosta, Lexie Boatright, Clare Cason, Oisín Mac Diarm
Most Irish traditional tunes have names. Some go by many different names. So what’s in a name? Do names help us associate tunes with people, or remember vast numbers of melodies… or is there another agenda afoot? In this episode, Colm Gannon, N
When flute player and police captain Francis O’Neill published his first and most extensive collection of Irish tunes in 1903, he included a LOT of tunes. Nicholas Carolan called it “the largest snapshot of this music ever taken in its 9,000 ye
Most of the Irish traditional jigs and reels I play have associations, information, history, and sentiments bundled into them. Even these dance tunes that have no words carry so much. And everybody who plays these tunes bears and shares more th
Irish Music Stories is the show about traditional music and the bigger stories behind it, like how important, ancient songs and little short folk ditties lodge in the heart, not the ears… or the eyes. In this episode, fiddle player Séamus Conno
Learn how and why Shannon Heaton creates the Irish Music Stories podcast, as Matt Heaton turns the mic around in the sunroom studio. Tune into this Old-Time radio (half) hour celebration of community, DIY ingenuity, and weighted blankets. And l
Setbacks and surprises are inevitable. Weather and illness—and all sorts of other plan disrupters—are not always foreseeable or controllable. But when disappointment and disruption descends, we can regulate our reactions. Here’s a short follow
For many Irish musicians, it can be a tricky and essential game to stay active and find balance between artistic, intellectual, social, and physical pursuits. In this episode, Aubrey Atwater, Evangelos Stowell, and Pa Sheehan share tales from t
Flute player John McKenna left troves of treasures when he recorded 78 RPMS in the 1920s; Na Píobairí Uilleann in Dublin helped preserve Irish piping; and Dr. Charles Heaton inspired his grandson to play piano with just eight bars of music. Leg
Irish Music Stories is the show about traditional music, and the bigger stories behind it. Episodes are often 40-50 minutes long (and 51 seconds). Here’s a shorter installment. With help from Ellery Klein I delve into collective wisdom; and I r
For centuries, traditional music in Wales have endured empire, organized religion, and connections with port towns in Ireland, like Wexford and Cork. In this special IMS spotlight on Cymru, Rhodri McDonagh, Ceri Rhys Matthews, Angharad Jenkins,
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