Trio to bring together rich musical traditions of Kerry, Tipperary and Yorkshire at upcoming Whitchurch Folk Club
The Weaving are guests of Whitchurch Folk Club on Friday, June 13.
The Weaving is Méabh Begley (accordion, vocals) and Owen Spafford (fiddle) and Cait Ni Riain (piano, vocals).
This trio brings together the rich musical traditions of three counties - Kerry, Tipperary and Yorkshire, their three regions of origin. Their music is imbued with the driving rhythms of the Gaeltacht of West Kerry where they first met; fierce dance music and raw harmonies inspired by a deep understanding of their musical inheritance.
The trio have performed across Ireland, France and the UK in venues such as The National Concert Hall, Paris Centre Culturel Irlandais and Sidmouth Folk Festival.
After a sold out performance at Feakle Festival alongside Martin Hayes and extensive UK and Ireland tours The Weaving look forward to releasing their debut album drawn from the rich musical wellspring of the West Kerry Gaeltacht.
"This project is about embracing our musical connections, finding the dances tunes and songs that we held in common and celebrating the different musical accents with which we play them.
“The aim was not to homogenise our approaches but to explore ideas of local identity and place through our own respective backgrounds. We feel this is particularly important in reference to the historic cultural oppression that the Irish language and music has faced under English rule. There is an honouring and healing of colonial history that can be found in sharing the traditional music of England and Ireland and while this is not a political project there is something inherently political about celebrating the music of two connected but historically divided communities.
“The fact that we can now generously share a stage playing music and song that we hold in common is testament to the power of art to cross administrative boundaries and international borders."
Méabh Begley is a singer, songwriter and musician whose musical expression and stylings are deeply rooted within the Irish music, language and song tradition of her homeplace of Corca Dhuibhne, the Gaeltacht of West Kerry, Ireland.
A native Irish speaker, Méabh was born into the renowned musical family of the Begleys whose undeniable influence has helped in shaping her energetic instrumental playing, emotive and sensitive singing style as well as inspired her development of, and transition into her passion for composing and songwriting.
Méabh has enjoyed a full time career in traditional Irish music thus far and has performed both nationally and internationally in countries such as Japan, Taiwan, America, Canada, Russia and across Europe with groups such as acclaimed Irish band Téada, The Pure Irish Drops (The Women of Ireland - The Next Generation), Cuas, Catherine Young Dance, Irish Christmas in the US and Aisling? – An Ród Romhainn directed by Darach Mac an Iomaire.
Owen Spafford is a fiddle player and composer from Leeds. He has performed for the leaders of the commonwealth states, toured with Giffords Circus and has received a scholarship to study composition at the Royal Academy of Music.
Owen is also an All-Britain Fiddle Champion in the Fleadh Cheoil na Breataine, BBC Young Composer Competition nominee and has studied with Sam Amidon and John Dipper.
Equally at home in a traditional session as he is in a free improvisation workshop, Spafford's understanding of the oral tradition and love for vernacular music from around the world enables an inventive and thoughtful fiddle style. In 2022 Owen released a debut album with guitarist Louis Campbell which Martin Hayes described as “a beautiful, moody and tasteful recording that defies classification. The arrangements and playing are truly subtle and the sounds are pristine”.
Cáit Ní Riain is a traditional singer, multi instrumentalist, and folklorist from Upperchurch in Co. Tipperary. She grew up in the world renowned music pub, Jim of the Mills, where she was deeply influenced by the constant stream of musicians and singers that came from near and far, gaining a deep appreciation for her own culture and its place and relevance in the world.
She studied music and Irish in University College Cork where she was awarded the Quercus scholarship for receiving the highest results in the arts department. She also received the Donal Doc Gleeson award for excellence in musical performance. Cáit continued her studies in the National Folklore Collection in University College Dublin, where she completed her MA thesis on the songs and associating folklore in North Tipperary, being awarded the Máire Mac Néill scholarship for excellence in research.
Cáit has received medals in the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for both traditional singing in English and in Irish. She has performed and collaborated alongside various artists, musicians, singers, and ensembles for many years in Ireland and further afield in the United States and Europe.
She is currently working on her first album of traditional songs.
The gig will be at Whitchurch Parish Hall
https://whitchurchfolk.com/whitchurch-folk-club/
Visit https://tinyurl.com/3krks3pz to book.
