The bouzouki, also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and a long neck with a fretted fingerboard. It has steel strings and is played with a plectrum producing a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but pitched lower. There are two main types of bouzouki: the trichordo (three-course) has three pairs of strings and the tetrachordo (four-course) has four pairs of strings. The instrument was brought to Greece in the early 1900s by Greek refugees from Anatolia, and quickly became the central instrument to the rebetiko genre and its music branches. It is now an important element of modern Laïko pop Greek music.
La Bottine Souriante is a folk band from Canada. The band specializes in traditional French Canadian folk music, often with a modern twist.
Fisherman's Blues is a 1988 album by The Waterboys. The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, traditional Scottish music, country music, and rock and roll. Critics were divided on its release with some disappointed at the change of direction and others ranking it among The Waterboys' best work. The album was the Waterboys' best selling album, reaching a number 13 placing on the U.K. charts on release, and 76 on the Billboard 200.
Tincan Experiment is the first album by the American band 6gig. It was released in 2000 by Ultimatum Music.
The Irish bouzouki is an adaptation of the Greek bouzouki. The newer Greek tetrachordo bouzouki was introduced into Irish traditional music in the mid-1960s by Johnny Moynihan of the folk group Sweeney's Men. Alec Finn, first in the Cana Band and subsequently in De Dannan, introduced the first Greek trichordo (3 course) bouzouki into Irish music.
Alec K Redfearn is a musician and composer based in Providence, Rhode Island. He has composed music for dance, theater, and film. His primary instrument is the accordion. Most notable is his body of compositional work for The Eyesores, a genre-bending ensemble of unorthodox instrumentation which spawned in the mid-1990s and whose music spans old-time Americana, Appalachian, folk and Eastern European music.
DeVotchKa is an American four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble. They take their name from the Russian word devochka (девочка), meaning "girl". Based in Denver, Colorado, the quartet is made up of Nick Urata, who sings and plays theremin, guitar, bouzouki, piano, and trumpet; Tom Hagerman, who plays violin, accordion, and piano; Jeanie Schroder, who sings and plays sousaphone, double bass, and flute; and Shawn King, who plays percussion and trumpet.
Transcendental Blues is the ninth studio album by Steve Earle, released in 2000. It features Sharon Shannon on the track "The Galway Girl". The album was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category.
Bryn Davies is an American bassist, cellist, and occasional pianist. She grew up in Livermore, California. In 1997 she majored in Jazz Performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. There she met mandolin player Billy Bright and guitarist Brian Smith, with whom she formed the Two High String Band. In 1997, Bryn began working with Peter Rowan as the Texas Trio, which toured the US and eventually would become the Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet.
A Hawk and A Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble is an EP by A Hawk and a Hacksaw and The Hun Hangár Ensemble released in 2007 on The Leaf Label. A 20-minute bonus DVD was released with the CD, titled An Introduction to A Hawk and a Hacksaw. The DVD documents two years of touring by original band members Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost with live footage, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at their travels across Europe.
Lost in the Feeling is the ninth studio album released by American country music artist Mark Chesnutt. This album marked Chesnutt's return to MCA after the dissolution of the Decca Records Nashville division in 1999. The two singles from this album, which were the title track and "Fallin' Never Felt So Good", both failed to reach Top 40 on the Hot Country Songs charts, making this the first studio album of Chesnutt's career not to have any Top 40 hits.
Irish traditional music is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
Dreamland is the second studio album by American band Beat Circus. It was released on January 29, 2008 by Cuneiform Records, and shares its title with the turn-of-the-century Coney Island theme park which burned in a devastating fire in 1911. The album is a 150-page score for 9 musicians composed and arranged by Brian Carpenter and produced by Martin Bisi. Album artwork was created by Brian Dewan, who also performed electric zither on the album. Dreamland marks the first installment of Carpenter's Weird American Gothic trilogy.
The Baseball Project's first album, Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails was released on Yep Roc Records on July 8, 2008. The album is available on compact disc and digitally on Yep Roc's site.
Hat On, Drinking Wine is an American rock band from Worcester, Massachusetts featuring guitars, piano, bass, drums, as well as occasional folk and traditional instruments, such as the accordion, tin whistle, harmonica, and mandolin. The band's first CD, bearing the same name as the band, was released on May 19, 2009, to favorable reviews from regional media, including Worcester Magazine and the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, which praised the group for their "conversational, confessional lyrics, the intimate, bare-bones vocals" and "the homespun and hands-on arrangements". Their sound blends conventional rock music with styles and instruments from other musical traditions, including blues, folk, traditional Irish music, and reggae.
Safe Upon the Shore is the ninth and final studio album released by Canadian folk rock band Great Big Sea. The album was released on July 13, 2010.
Speed of Life is the 23rd studio album from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, released by NGDB Records on September 22, 2009. It reached number 59 on the U.S. Country charts.
Fire It Up is the seventh studio album by Canadian country music artist Johnny Reid. It was released on March 12, 2012 by EMI Records. The album features duets with Serena Ryder and Carolyn Dawn Johnson.
Mícheál Ó Raghallaigh is an Irish concertina player and recording artist residing in County Meath, Ireland.
Mirrors of Embarrassment is an album by the American band Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit. It is dedicated to Wayne Bennett.
