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SOLAS
Late Show:
GIG Brazil, Carolann Ames |
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Saturday September 20th
Show Starts @ 8pm | $20adv - $25dos
Buy Tix |
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Solas
8pm
Official
Website
Myspace
Youtube
In a manner
befitting their name (a Gaelic word
meaning “light”), Solas burst onto a
largely dormant Irish music scene
and almost instantly became a beacon
– an incandescent ensemble that
found contemporary relevance in
timeless traditions without ever
stooping to crossover clichés. Via
spectacular musicianship, riveting
band empathy, and a bold willingness
to extend the boundaries of their
sound, Solas cleared a path for
traditional Irish music in the new
millennium. While their rapid rise
to prominence was startling and
reinvigorating, equally impressive
is Solas’ continued artistic growth.
Despite – or perhaps because of –
continued evolutions in the band’s
lineup, they have harnessed the
explosive energy of their thrilling
early era and extended it outward
across a series of albums that
showcase an increasing
sophistication and a still restless
creative spirit.
Solas’ most recent album, For
Love and Laughter (available
August 26 on Compass Records), finds
the band embracing new elements
while simultaneously looking back.
“Looking at this album, we wanted to
combine some of the previous
approaches,” explains founding
member and multi-instrumentalist
Seamus Egan. “We went in with more
of the raw, immediatementality of
our first three albums, but kept
ourselves open to other
possibilities and newelements.” The
most striking of those new elements
is the welcoming of new vocalist
Máiréad Phelan to the current Solas
lineup of Egan (flutes, whistles,
banjo, mandolin, guitar,
percussion), Winifred Horan
(fiddle), Mick McAuley (accordion,
concertina, vocals), and Eamon
McElholm (guitar, vocals). Egan is
quick to cite the rejuvenating
effects of Phelan’s addition,
remarking “Sonically, a new singer
–especially one of Máiréad’s
abilities – opens up so many
different options in terms of both
what she can sing and what we can
build around her voice.” |
Late Show:
GIG Brazil
11:30pm
Carolann Ames
10:30pm
"Given how the current glut of
Americana artists has devalued the
field to sub-prime mortgage crisis
levels, to come across one that
restores your faith in the genre is
some kind of miracle. San Diego’s
Carolann Ames is a born faith
healer. The Grand Prize winner in
the 2004 John Lennon Songwriting
Contest, she’s touched by angels as
her rich, supple voice (a cross
between Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou
Harris and Shania Twain) soars
skyward. But in such confessional
numbers as the strummy ‘70s pop of
“Broken Down Dream,” countryish
desert-rocker “Lavender Sky” and the
bluegrass flavored “Bridgewater
Creek” you can tell she’s done a lot
of livin’ and probably a fair share
of sinnin’, too. Backed by a sharp
crew of players (secret weapon:
fiddler Melissa Harley), Ames
traverses the Americana spectrum
without repeating herself a single
time, and it’s this journey she
takes you on that’ll be your ticket
to heaven. By Fred Mills , HARP
Magazine Feb.2008
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