Special Guests

Special Guests
Saturday, June 17, 2000

Dervish

DERVISH began in 1989 when five musicians from the North West of Ireland got together to record an album of music by local songwriters. They were so inspired by the experience of making the album, titled The Boys of Sligo after a reel from the recording, that they decided to turn the informal gathering into a working band. Over the next two years, Dervish honed their craft as an instrumental band and added vocalist Cathy Jordan in 1991. The group released their first album, Harmony Hill (Whirling Discs), in 1992, and they found themselves in high demand for live performances. Their popularity led the band to tour extensively in many European countries throughout 1993. Their constant touring made it difficult for the band to work in the studio, but in 1994 they finally released their second album Playing with Fire (Whirling Discs). The release of their two albums in the U.S. brought about performances at festivals in San Francisco and at Wolf Trap in Virginia. In 1996, Dervish released their third album, At the End of the Day, which won the Hot Press Trad/Folk Album of the Year award against mainstream legends like Christy Moore and Donald Lunny. The 22-track double album Live in Palma was recorded in Palma, Majorca’s Teatre Principal in April 1997. They decided to record the concert just a few hours before going on, but captured a performance that required little editing in the studio. 1997 brought Dervish to Canada for a number of festival performances, and 1998 started with a six week coast-to-coast U.S. tour, followed by their first-ever Irish tour. The band’s latest CD, Midsummer’s Night (Whirling Discs), was released last summer. Dervish are: Cathy Jordan (vocals); Brian McDonagh (mandola); Liam Kelly (flute); Shane Mitchell (accordion); Michael Holmes (bouzouki); Seamus O'Dowd (fiddle/harmonica); and Tom Morrow (fiddle). Dervish will perform in concert at the Cedar Cultural Centre tonight at 8:00 p.m. For more information about Dervish visit their website at www.dervish.ie

Tom Paxton

TOM PAXTON was born in Chicago in 1937, and moved to Bristow, Oklahoma, at the age of 10. He earned a BFA degree in drama from the University of Oklahoma, where he started writing songs as a way to amuse himself during lectures on Shakespeare. He later spent time in the army, which brought him to the East Coast. Stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, Paxton started heading to Greenwich Village on weekends. After his discharge, he began performing at The Gaslight. He also played at other Village clubs, then up and down the East Coast circuit and points west. In 1964 he signed with Elektra Records, which put out his first major-label solo LP, Ramblin' Boy, the following year. Paxton recorded seven albums for Elektra through 1971. (Many songs from these recordings are included on Rhino Records’ 1999 retrospective I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound: The Best of Tom Paxton.) He recorded three albums for Reprise Records in the early ’70s, then moved with his family to England for a few years, where his music was even more popular. Returning to the States in 1972, Paxton settled on Long Island and kept performing and recording. New Songs From The Briarpatch and Heroes emerged during the late-’70s on Vanguard, and he later cut LPs for Flying Fish, and more recently Rounder Records, with whom he has released several children’s recordings, including Goin’ to the Zoo and I’ve Got a Yo-Yo. In addition to his own renditions, his songs have been recorded by a variety of fellow performers including, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, John Denver, The Kingston Trio, The Weavers, Willie Nelson, Placido Domingo, and Peter, Paul & Mary. Paxton has also recently branched out to write children’s books, including The Jungle Baseball Game, The Marvelous Toy, and Engelbert the Elephant. He currently lives in Virginia with his wife of 31 years, Midge.