What the critics are saying about Cherish the Ladies

What the critics are saying about Cherish the
Ladies...
“Expands the annals of Irish music in America...the music is passionate, tender and rambunctious.”
Jon Pareles, The New York Times
“The Ladies are first generation Irish-American with pride in their roots, a terrific sense of fun and
heaps of music in their fingers and toes. Cherish the Ladies is their name and cherish them this
enthusiastic Glasgow audience did.”
Rob Adams, The Glasgow Herald (Scotland)
“This collection of women offers an astonishing array of virtuosity.....”
J.D. Considine, Washington Post
“It seems incredible that it was only 10 years ago that Cherish the Ladies, the first all-women’s Irish
music ensemble, came into being. They are now among the busiest, best, and most popular Irish
music groups in the world.”
Scott Alarik, Boston Globe
“Cherish the Ladies from the USA, made their connection from the first note, skillfully managing
the cheers and tears for every second of a torrential two-hour set. The band brilliantly strutted that
very Irish-American sound which simultaneously exudes a tremendous joie de vivre and deep
nostalgia.”
Fintan Vallely, The Irish Times (Dublin)
“They have converged and risen like a great wave to engulf the hearts of audiences from Brooklyn to
Belfast and from Boston to Brittany. They are currently in top form, touring the world as a mighty
example of the richness of America’s Irish music traditions.”
Steve Winick, Dirty Linen Magazine
“The six women who form the Celtic band delivered a thoroughly engaging performance brimming
with spirit, precision, wit and soul.”
Mike Joyce, The Washington Post
“While the standard has been remarkably high throughout the festival, few concerts could hope to
provide as much satisfaction as this one. Cherish the Ladies received a standing ovation, both for
their music and ebullient good humor, and were a hard act to follow.”
Kenny Mathieson, The Scotsman (Scotland)
“One of the best nights of music I’ve ever heard...I can’t rave enough about Cherish the Ladies!”
Oliver Sweeney, Hot Press Magazine (Dublin)
“...the group that closed the festival was also the group that stood out instrumentally above all
others... Cherish the Ladies proved once again why they are among the best traditional performers
we have. Brava! Long may this ensemble continue.”
Earl Hitchner, The Irish Voice
“...Only recently have Irish-American women challenged the male-dominated traditional music
scene, and proven themselves capable of as much poetry, exuberance, and soul as the tradition
requires. An outstanding ensemble...”
Leslie Berman, The Village Voice
“The two-and-a-half hour concert was one of the finest traditional performances I’ve ever attended
and ‘the Ladies,’ are the musical equals (some would say betters) of the Chieftains...Cherish the
Ladies provided a stellar evening.”
Marybeth Phillips, Irish Edition (Philadelphia)
“Cherish the Ladies is the real thing. Their pure love of the music jumped off the stage and into the
audiences’ hearts. Through the unique combination of their extraordinary musicianship and dance,
Joanie Madden and her band delivered and experience we will never forget!”
Jonathan Martin, The Spokane Symphony
“... What made this ensemble even more fascinating was the fact that they are America’s first allfemale group in was has always been a male dominated field...Among the highlights: bubbling good
humor, infectious enthusiasm and the exuberant step dancing.”
Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times
“After an evening in their company, it’s easy to understand why critics have a hard time finding
enough superlatives to describe this all-female Irish traditional music group. A capacity crowd truly
cherished Cherish the Ladies and they succeeded in bringing down the house during the finale… I,
for one clapped until my hands hurt!”
Melody Parker - The Cedar Falls Courier
“Cherish the Ladies is something that we all must be proud of. They can rightly challenge any band
coming out of Ireland. I feel they will become the top performing group of the `90’s and the standard
bearers into the next century.”
Dan Ryan, The Irish Music Newsletter
“Cherish the Ladies is a wonderful group of entertainers: energetic, fun and innately musical. They
are a joy to work with and quickly earned the admiration and affection of audience and orchestra
alike.”
Keith Lockhart, Conductor, The Boston Pops
A Celtic classic
Laxson overflows with sounds of Ireland
By Christine G.K. LaPado
This article was published on 03.05.09.
My friend, local Irish dance teacher Maria Oliver, whispered to me at one point during last
Thursday’s show of world-renowned Irish-American musical group Cherish the Ladies, “She’s
very much like Rosie O’Donnell.”
Minutes later, Joannie Madden, the jovial bandleader, good-naturedly announced to the
audience, “Many of you think I’m Rosie O’Donnell.”
Madden’s funny, coincidental comment was one of many entertaining moments during Chico
Performances’ well-attended, 2 1/2-hour-long production. Madden showed an impressive ability
to entertainingly emcee while singing back-up and playing her flute and assorted pennywhistles
for her talented group—featuring fellow New Yorker Mary Coogan on guitar; Belfast fiddler
Roisin Dillon; accordionist Mirella Murray, from Connemara, Ireland; Scottish pianist Kathleen
Boyle, and Irish vocalist Michelle Burke.
From their opening “Road to Boffin” to the brisk instrumental encore that got them their second
standing ovation of the night, the Ladies put on a hell of a fine performance.
Burke, the newest member of the group, appeared on stage only at select times, singing what
quickly came to be understood as her specialty—slow, sad, love songs. Wearing a short, black,
long-sleeved dress; iridescent, silver cowboy boots and a softly punkish, dyed-red-and-blonde
haircut, Burke delivered poignant vocals tinged with her captivating Irish accent. “Go on and
leave me,” she sang, accompanied by Madden’s beautiful flute, “Go and leave—Oy don’t
moynd.”
“They used to cost a penny,” said Madden, at one point, holding up a pennywhistle she had taken
from her bag of whistles in all keys and sizes. “This one cost $1,700.”
That stated, Madden launched into a slow, pretty, whistle tune she had written, called “The
Waves of Kilkee.”
Two accompanying male dancers, Joe Dwyer and Dan Stacey, pulled Madden and Boyle to the
fore for a brisk round of foursome dancing during the Ladies’ encore, after which Madden got on
the mic and said succinctly to the audience, “Bless you. Go home.”
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May 19, 2009
Irish medleys wrap up symphony's season
Music of the Emerald Isle brought the Springfield Symphony's 74th season to a spirited, toe-tapping
conclusion Saturday at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.
Conductor Ron Spigelman led the orchestra in several Ireland-inspired selections from Hollywood and
Broadway ("Tara's Theme" from "Gone With the Wind," medleys from "Titanic" and "Finian's Rainbow")
before turning the evening over to the multi-talented Irish-American group, Cherish the Ladies.
In the concert's first half, leader Joanie Madden gave a taste of things to come with "Ma Scola" ("The
Level Plain"), a melodic showcase for her fluent playing of the Irish flute. She then served as
player/emcee, bringing wit and self-deprecating humor to between-songs patter and introductions of
fellow band members Mary Coogan, guitar; Roisin Dillon, fiddle; Mirella Murray, accordion; and
Kathleen Boyle, piano.
Irish vocalist Michelle Burke joined them for several haunting ballads, including "The Fox Hunter" and
"High Germany," while Canadian fiddler/step dancer extraordinaire Dan Stacey wowed the crowd with
his expressive and vigorous accounts of "Rose of Allendale" and "The Bird in the Tree."
Four additional dancers appeared during the show, and Maestro Spigelman even got into the act in
comical "Lord of the Dance" fashion at the tail-end of the rousing finale. After a sustained standing
ovation, the group offered a lovely encore of an all-time Irish favorite, "Danny Boy."
The concert was recorded for broadcast at 10 a.m. May 27 on KSMU 91.1 FM.
To help fill the void left by the demise of Firefall, Spigelman and company will take themselves out to
the ballgame on June 19 for a fireworks-and-music spectacular following the Springfield Cardinals
game at Hammons Field.
Spigelman also trumpeted the upcoming 2009-2010 season, which marks the symphony's 75th
anniversary. Of special note is "Three Maestros," the Sept. 19 opener that welcomes back past music
directors Apo Hsu (1995-2003) and Charles Bontrager (1978-1994) for a triple-threat conducting gig.
A special fanfare composed by Carlyle Sharpe joins familiar works by Berlioz ("Roman Carnival
Overture") and Beethoven ("Symphony No. 5").
More Berlioz is on tap Nov. 14 when his "Symphonie Fantastique" joins a yet-to-be-determined work
performed by the Silver Medalist of the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The Gold
Medalist will appear Feb. 13, 2010.
Baritone Jubilant Sykes returns to Hammons Hall for the Jan. 16 program, "American Dreamscapes."
Aaron Copland is the featured composer, both instrumentally ("Appalachian Spring") and vocally ("Old
American Songs").
On March 20, "Ancient Splendor" offers Carl Orff's popular choral work "Carmina Burana," while the
April 10 "String Sing" lingers in the 20th century for Prokofiev's "Violin Concerto No. 1," with Anne Akiko
Meyers as guest soloist.
The three "pops" concerts honor the music of Louis Armstrong on Oct. 17, celebrate sounds of the
holidays on Dec. 12 and, with the assist of vocal group Five By Design, revisit the shows and
celebrities of television's early years on May 15.
1 of 2
5/27/2009 1:39 PM
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'Before Cherish the 'Ladies was a gr()qp,lt',!asan"~a~a'in~thelle~d of~cltM()loneY~Whom~St'pU(M
together a group of top female Irish-American mtisiciansfor a concert series, and then convinced the
National Endowment for the Arts to fund production of an album. As Madden put it, "Everything was
based on his idea. We got together because of him, and he sort of created a monster."
36
October/November
'05 #120
Madden explained how this ,one-time
collaboration turned into a group. "In the beginDing, we had major help from the Ethnic Folk
Arts Center. There were these major grants thank God for them because they got us going,
especially
the one from the National
Endowment for the Arts. That got us going,
and when the money ran out, they said
'That's it. You're on your own.' I didn't
want it to die, so a few months later, I called
the girls and said 'Guys, I don't want it to
end here. If I got some gigs, what do you
think?' They said, 'Sure,' so I got on the
phone. I used to spend my days on the
phone! I would call and say 'This is Joanie
Madden from Cherish the Ladies' and they
would say 'What church are you with?' and
I'd say 'No, no, Cherish the Ladies.' I would
call and call everybody, and these were the
days before the Internet. It's so easy now.
Then I was going through newspaper clippings and going through Dirty Linen's
calendar to see where everyone else was
playing. That's how I used to get gigs. It was
very difficult. It was a lot oflegwork. Now
you can type 'Folk club Montana' and come
up with 10places to play. My phone bill was
at least three or four hundred dollars a
month back then. For 100 calls you would
get one gig. Especially when people didn't
know who we were. Now I can call and. if
we're going anywhere, people know who we
are because we have done so much legwork."
The group's success in the last several
years has allowed Madden to delegate much of
the business end ofleading the group. "For 14
years we didn't have management- I did it
all myself. I always said I would wait for the
manager to come to us, and he did. Now we're
with Don London's management group, and
the IMN Booking Agency, and life is a lot
easier.When you have a great team, that's what
it's all about."
The ability to offload some of the business
duties has been a boon to Madden personally.
"I didn't really have a life except for Cherish.
Now I can go and do other things when I know
the store is being taken care of. I've composed
a lot more music in the last three years than I
had in the previous 10 years. I was so
exhausted from the phone and everything that
I wasn't really inspired. I'm writing a lot of
music now."
.
Another benefit of the group's relatively
high profile of recent years has been fewer, but
better,gigs. "We're not touring like we used to.
For years there, we were doing like 200 days
a year, which is nuts. We're still doing plenty,
trust me. We do a lot of really good gigs now.
We love the folk clubs. They're still my
favorite gigs to do, biJt when you're hauling
ninepeople around, it's a lot of mouths to feed.
It's nicenow to be at the perfonning-arts-center
level,and we're doing a lot of symphonies
now,andthat's a very nice thing as well."
.
Madden described how the symphony
concerts nearly didn't happen. "The first time
I got the call from the Boston Pops, I thought
it was a joke. We had just played for Bob
Dylan's 35th anniversary, and I had met Eric
Clapton. About a week later, John Whelan
because we're taking the music someplace
where it hasn't been."
Because the group has charts, the symphony
concerts operate on a fairly smooth, compressed
routine. "You fly in, go straight to the hall, do a
sound check, and rehearse with the symphony
for two hours. Then you go back to the hotel
for maybe two hours, maybe get a 20-minute
power nap, and then get ready for the gig."
There are three tracks of orchestral
Che~h the Ladies on the Boston Pops'
Celtic Album, but Madden hopes to record
an entire orchestral CD with the group in
the future.
In the meantime, the group's newest.
CD, Womenof the House, is a celebration of
the group's rich history, as well as an opportunity to play with some old friends. "We've
been on the road since 1987, so we're
talking 18 years at this point. People have
moved on and moved in, and each time we
have a new sound. I hate to see anybody go
because we become so close
-
we're like
sisters in every sense of the word
-
these
are mybest friends,andalwayswillbe. I'm
still in constant touch with everybody who's
left. It's a tough life. Mary Rafferty,who
was our accordion player for eight years, got
called me up, and he had this perfect English
accent, and said that he was Eric Clapton and
that he had a gig for me. Of course I believed
him, but he was just goofing on me. I called
him' back about a month later, and told him I
was Joni Mitchell and I had a gig for him, and
he was all over me, saying how much he loved
all my albums.
"So the next thing, I got the call from the
Boston Pops. So I said, 'Yeah, sure!' and I
hung up on the guy, because I thought it was
John Whelan. Thank God he called back. I
told him the story, and he thought it was funny.
"The guy's name was Dennis Alves, and he
was the director of artistic programming for the
Boston Pops. Thank God he had a good sense
of humor! They had heard about us, and
wanted to give it a go. We only made a few
charts [written arrangements]
-
now we have
full charts for the Christmas show and for the
symphonies. We don't do the usual 'Tura Lura
Lura's'; we're doing jigs and reels, and we're
going for it - and they're there, and they're
loving it."
Madden indicated that the success of the
symphony concerts has been mostly word of
mouth. ~'What's happening with us is, we play
with the San Antonio Symphony and they call
their friend at the Memphis Symphony and
say, 'You guys have got to get these people,'
and the person at the Memphis Symphony is
calling the Boston and saying, 'These guys are
great.' So that's how it's happening, through
the symphonies them~elves. We really enjoy it
married and is going to have a baby.
Siobhan Egan, who had been our fiddle
player for 13 years, just left after having her
second baby. Some people wanted to go out and
do their own things, like Eileen Ivers, Cathie
Ryan, and Winnie Horan. They are great musicians, and it is great to see them doing so well.
"At this point, we have a new band. I
always think the band we have now is the best
band we've ever had, but I do think that with
this group. Our singer, Heidi Talbot, is first
class. We've got Mirella Murray on accordion,
just a monster player, and Roisin Dillon, a
great fiddle player, and Mary Coogan, who's
been with me all these years. She and I are the
last of the Mohicans!
"I hate change, but I've come to the realization that it's just the nature of the beast.
People move on, and I really can't blame them.
There have been opportunities that have come
down the road, and I wanted to move on
myself, but I committed myself to this band a
long time ago. I've had to turn down a lot of
great things that have come my way, but I think
at the end of the day, I'll be happier that I did
that. I think you have to have one constancy,
and I dedicated my career to this band, and I'm
sticking with it."
The idea for the new CD emerged during
a gig at the Glasgow Celtic Connections
Festival. "Every year we go to the Royal
Concert Hall in Glasgow, which is one of the
best times for music anywhere in the world.
They have, like, 200 concerts in two weeks
going on all over the town. Liz Kane is a fabulous fiddle player, and she grew up with
Mirella. We did a tour of England with her, and
Dirty Linen 37
The album proved to be another
home-grown affair. "At that point, we
had done three albums with RCA, and
they just didn't get us. It wound up that
I said, 'I'm going to make it in my
house.' My father hadput a big addition
onto my house - I have a 24-footwood
ceiling in my living room, and it's a
beautiful music room, wonderful for
playing. So I went down to the city and
rented a grand piano that landed in my
dining room, brought in some great
microphones, and just spread them all
around the house here. Wejust got the
album out in three days, in time for the
Christmas tour. We printed off 5,000
copies, thinking we'd never sell that
many - but they sold out in a week!"
The success of the Christmas"album
ledto the group'scurrentlabelaffiliation.
"Rounder had heard a couple of tunes
that they wanted to use on their Celtic
Sojourn album. They called me up and
said 'Who is Big Mammy Records?We
can't find them.' So I said, 'You're
talking to Big Mammy!' They said,
'You're kidding me.' They said, 'We'd
like to license the album trom you.'
"So they called me up and said, 'It's
an old record, you've already done two
Christmas tours with it - we're not
Cherish the changes. (above) Mid-80s lineup with
Liz Carroll and Eileen Ivers (front row fiddlers)
(above, right) Singer Aoife Clancy in 1997
(right) 1993 lineup with Winifred Horan and Cathie Ryan
now we
can't
get rid of her! Mirella has
another buddy, Lioshe Kelly, who is one of the
best harpists in the world. Once she heard that
Liz was getting in on the act, she wanted to
come over, too, so we did a couple of tunes
together in Glasgow, and I said, 'Listen, why
don't we book a studio?' So I did, and we
recorded a couple of tracks. Then Sharon
Shannon came over, and we were also joined
by Triona Ni Dhomlmhaill, who did our March
tour and our Christmas tour with us last year.
We also got Kate Rusby, who does a duet with
Heidi, and Karen Matheson from Capercaille,
and also Eddi Reader, who is one of the top
singers in the U.K. right now. She sang with
Annie Lennox for years. The three of them are
singing a trio version of 'Fair and Tender
Ladies,' which is just phenomenal. We had a
big, fun time."
The new CD also brought with it a new
producer. "We were on a cruise last year, and
Phil Cunningham was there, playing with Mary
Black. Phil's brother Johnny had produced two
of our albums. Working with him was fabulous,
and after Johnny's passing, fate just kind of
stepped in, so I asked Phil, "Why don't you
produce our next album?" So he agreed, and
he's producing it, trom one brother to the next."
Madden was effusive in her praise of
Cunningham as a producer. "He's just the best.
He knows how to get the best out of everybody.
He knows how to step back when he doesn't
need to say anything, and he can just lay a
quiet hand and say a few words when he needs
to, and it's just the right thing at the right time.
He has the knowledge of the tunes, because he
is such a great tune player, but also has a vast
knowledge of chords, because he plays piano.
A lot of times you might get a producer who
38 October/November '05 #120
knows the chords but can't play the tuneshe does it all, so it's been really wonderful.
He's a comedian as well, so he keeps it going."
Even though the new CD is a celebration
offemale musicians, a few token males snuck
in as well. "John Joe Kelly, the bodhran player
trom Flook, is on most of the tracks, as is Phil
Bowler, who's played bass on all of our
albums. Phil is also playing on it - we're
calling him Philomena now!"
One of Cherish the Ladies' busiest seasons
now are the holidays, when they tour with their
very popular Christmas shows. As Madden
explained, the Christmas shows also had
humble beginnings. "A couple of years ago, I
said to the guys, 'Let's get a Christmas show
together.' We just got together, intermingled
tunes with Christmas carols that we love, and
I got us six or"seven gigs. The next year it was
very successful again, I think there were like
12, and now it's just ridiculous."
The success of the Christmas shows led to
the inevitability of a holiday album. "At the
shows, people would come up and say,
'Where's your Christmas CD?' And we'd say,
'We don't have one!' In November of 2003, I
said 'Guys, if we're going to go on this stupid
tour'
-
I think we had about20 dates -
'We've got to make a record.' "
expecting much.' I said, 'Whatever, let's
just get it into stores.' I felt that we'd
done all we could, selling it off the back
of a bus kind of thing. Anyway, The New
York TImes came out and said it was one
of the best Christmas albums of the year, and
then The Boston Globe and The Washington
Post and The LA TImes and USA Today. The
Village Voice said it was the only Christmas
album worth mentioning. And we were
amazed, because it was just something we
made here in a couple of days, so there was
no pressure. It has done very, very well for us.
It's just unreal; we never expected that kind
of response."
Madden finds the holiday tours personally
gratifying. "It's a tour I really love doing,
because when you do the shows, it's like
'Here's my mom, here's my grandmother, and
here's our daughter - we have four generations out tonight.' As soon as the shows are
over, we go straight down into the lobby. I
love to meet everybody. You know, you've
driven five hours, soundchecked, you're
exhausted. You get through the show, and you
come down there, and all of the people are
coming up to you and they're smiling. That to
me is what the payback is. That's why I love
to see that people have had a great time. I really
take it seriously. You know, money is tight. It's
an expensive night for people - they get a
babysitter, they go out to dinner. If people are
going to spend their hard-earned money to
come out to see you, you want to make sure
s
'.
:l
that they get their money's
worth. I love to see them smile.
That means that you've done
your job."
What was certainly the
group's most high-profile gig
of 2005 took place on St.
Patrick's Day in Washington,
D.C., as the band found themselves playing for George W.
Bush and family at the White
House. Madden admitted to
some mixed feelings about the
gig. "Let's just say I would have
preferred it if Bill Clinton was
in office, and leave it at that.
The band is pretty much Democratic. We received a phone call
one day from the manager, and
they said, 'We've got a gig that
I know you won't want to do,
Cherish
but we're taking it.' So I went,
'Oh, what have they gotten us
into now?' And then I heard that the White
House had called, and was interested in having
some Irish music. It was nice, because, to be
honest, it was the first time in five years that
there was Irish music in the White House. Bill
Clinton brought an Irish band in every year. We
were always off someplace, and this was the
first time that W. was letting Irish music in. It
was a very exciting day. We got through all the
secUrity checks, running all our names and
passports and social security numbers. They
realized we weren't terrorists. We got in, and
it was very exciting. Sitting in front of me was
John McCain, a lot of the Republican party.
'Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the
United States and Cherish the Ladies. '
"So, as soon as he got in, we got up onstage
and started playing. I must admit, he was really
into it - his foot tapping all the time. I cracked
a few jokes, and he was laughing his head off
at us. Our dads - Mary Coogan's and minegot up and played 'Saint Patrick's Day' - the
tune. And when George got up to say, 'Myself
y
fun, so we want you to take us.'
So I said, 'Okay.' I put it up on the
website in April. I said myself
and Mary C')ogan would go; I'll
handle the nights and she can
handle the mornings.
"It wound up that the thing
sold out. So we're going to do it
again; we've already got 14 people
on a waiting list for next year. I'm
embarking on a new career. It's 46
people on a bus, heading off. It's a
lot of work. Anything that looks
easy is always hard."
However, the band's chief
focus remains a busy touring
schedule. The members have cut
back from the 200 dates a year they
did early in their career, but they
still earn a lot of frequent-flyer
miles. ''Next year we have a tour of
the Ladies, 2005 . (left to right) Mirella Murray, Mary Coogan,
the U.K., Glasgow, we're doing
Joanie Madden, Heidi Talbot, and Roisin Dillon
Spain next spring, and also Ireland.
and Laura are going to cherish this day, and We're still carrying our dancers, heading out
we're going to Cherish the Ladies, and thanks there and doing our thing. Wejust did Australia
a million for bringing your 4ads'; he was very and New Zealand - we were the first lrishnice. It was a nice experience. We had to do it. American band to go there. We were the first
"It was a great honor to play for the Pres- Irish-American band to do Sweden - spent a
ident of the United States. It was one of the month there."
things I said to Mary Coogan 14 years ago:
At the end of our conversation, Madden
'We're going to play with symphonies, we're
emphasized the value of following one's
going to play for the President of the United dreams. "When I decided to make music my
States, and we're going to travel the world.' So life, I never thought it would ever come this far.
that day, she said, 'I guess we can tick another I had big dreams. Itjust goes to show that if you
thing off.' And when the president said, 'Hey do believe in yourself, believe in what you do,
Joanie, let's get together for a picture,' she and just have the tenacity to make sure you
said, 'My God, the President of the United keep at it. It's very easy to get frustrated in this
States knows your name!' It was a nice day, it busine~s, very easy to give up. There were
really was."
times Ijust wanted to walk away, because it's
In addition to their roles as full-time
tough being in a big band, but we kept at it, and
musicians, Madden and Coogan have taken
I'm so thankful we have, because we have
on a side job as travel guides. "I got a call one done so many things. I'm so fortunate being
day from a man out in Denver. He said I have able to make a living at what I do; when you
18 people who want to go to Ireland, and do love what you do, I think you give
we've seen you at the Winfield Festival. You it your all, all of the time. I plan on fi:&r..
seem like a nice girl, you seem like a lot of doing it for a long, long time to come." ~
r
..
e
d
(e
I
e
e
u
'e
o
'e
y
's
a
'e
~Ji/PiiyiiJ~wdtn!i
'MARy'COOGAN'
'
GreenLinnet(1996!"
Out alid Abdul ~
Green.linnet(199~)
Mary and Jim 'C(iogan;Passl'lJg~iJir!~
Sea"aphobll
(20\12)
"
,
Cffrlslmas
Seanaphobil
CD(~1)
TheBack'Door
JpANIEMADDEN.
Green .linnet (1992)
CherishtheLadies
S~aJ1achle
LP(198!i), CD (1995)
'}
WITH TI1E
'BOSTONPOPS
TheCetticA/biJm
'RC~
(1~iI),
Songsof theli1sh ,Wh~stle'2
Hearts of Space (1999)
$O(l9S oUhe i;ls~WhJstlei
!iearts o{space(1~96);
"
WhistleIn.the WIT/d'
.. .,<.\.,.,
<,.
"..~.
,
Greer,.linnet (1994)
/,..,
.
,'k
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HeIDI TALBOT
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" .!,~~ml!i!s (~L
Dirty Linen
39
The Salt Lake Tribune
Saturday, April 19,2003
Cherish the Ladies Bring Celtic to SLC
ByCatherine Reese Newton
The Salt LakeTribune
"Take it easy - it wasn't that good!" Joanie Madden admonished the Abravanel Hall crowd after Cherish
the Ladies' first number with the Utah
Symphony.
It was the only time Friday evening that the audience disagreed with Madden, who was fretting over faulty
mikingof her group's guitarist, Mary Coogan. Otherwise, listeners were won over by the Ladies' musicianship and Madden's down-to-earth charm.
Cherish the Ladies,among the leadingperformers of traditional Celtic music, joined the orchestra in old
and new Irish tunes such as "Homesteaders" from the film"The Way West", "The Cat That Ramblesto
the Child's Saucepan" CNe don't name them, we just play them," Madden quipped), "Highwayto Kilkenny" and Madden's "The Cat's Meow." Vocalist Heidi Talbot shone on songs such as "Castle of Dromore" and "High Germany", and a quartet of step dancers delighted the crowd. Other members of Cherish the Ladiesare pianist-fiddler Donna Long,fiddler Marie Reillyand guest accordionist MirellaMurray.
Madden reflected on the group's long association with Utah Symphony music director Keith Lockhart,
which included work on the Boston Pops' Grammy-nominated "Celtic Album." (She lamented that they
lost out to "some Yo-Yo.") Lockhart led the orchestra in livelyaccompaniment, which at one point included knee-slapping percussion from the trombone section. The versatile conductor even showed off a
few dance steps at concert's end.
The concert's first halffeatured Celtic-themed symphonic fare includingMendelssohn's "Hebrides" Overture and selections from the show that sparked the most recent Celtic revival,"Riverdance".
~
THEGMND
MOND.\Y. MAY
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. -Qh the broom, the bonnie,
bonIiIe broom....
From the first words, I found
myself swept away to a rolling
hillside In the Irish North Country
waiting for my lad to come
skipping my way.
Saturday eveninI". concert
hosted by the Nortli American
ChoralCompanyandfea~
the acclaimed Irish band Cherish
the Ladies opened with this
Ugbthearted rendition of a 17th
century traditional love song
caUed "The Broom of the
·
CowdenImowes.
Lead vocalist Kylie Harris, a
native of New Zealand on only
her third gig with the band, I8DI
her hf:Jrtcmtand...Md..the
_ .__
5OC).plusaudience members in
First United Methodist Church
captivated. with toes tapping and
faces smiling.
Performing on such
instruments as the whistle, guitar,
violin, button accordion, bodhran,
piano, mandolin, concertina and
banjo, the six-woman band (on its
first visit to Grand Rapids)
celebrated its 15th anniversary
last week.
In addition, the band recently
won the award for best folk group
of the year by BBC 2 in London.
Their first time singiDg with a .
.
o/miousII10t tilt memIJers
choir could also be deemed a
success. Joined on the rant half of
the program by the 53-member
North American Choral Company
direded by Sean Ivory, the band
seemed to puB in its reins a little
but not much and the blend of
youthful enthusiasm with the
robust voices of the Ladies came
off beautifully after only one short
of CIterisJJllIe LoJies art
rehearsal earlier that day.
dancem from the Erin Quinn
Other songs in the first half
includeda warballadabout
NapoleonBonapartecaDell-nae
~~~~-~rr~
and"TheBalladofthe
dose-lnit ontI support
eoc/z ollter's intflfJidlJOl
kePt the
.
audience Iau8hIDgwith tittle
asides in between the ~
and
Joked that instead of Cherish the
Ladies they should be reuamed
Worship t&eWomen.
Having
tt-1.............
together,lj;'"~ tbat~
members 8ft close-knit and
support each other's Individual
endeavors.
Each member got her c:haDceto
shine.
mdeorJors.
Surprise guests were three Irish
School of Dance located in
MarBbaI1.
nativeandgroupleader
Midden
.
ErInQuinD... 23,dreaed In
12,dressedin0I'8Dpandteal,got
Especially memorable was
pIantIt Donna Long's composition
"'Luna8 inspired by the woman
who lived fa a redwood tree for
two years in an effort to save the
fon!8t from extinction.
.
Madden had everyone
mesmerized when she pedormed
'"'Ibe Girl with the Brown Hair'"
==.;~~
FoxhUDter" based on a W.D. Yeats
several cheers out of the audience
poem.
withtheircharmiDgf1eet-footed virtuosity during an accordion
.
.
The eveningtook a stigbdy
more serious tum with the sOng
-111Walk BesideYou,. whicb
began with the choir singing a
cappella and later joinecfby-the
three voca1istaof the bancl
The second.haIfof the CODCert
!!ePn with Madden'sfingers
flyingon the whistle and the
audience stomping their feet
along with her in ajig called
"CarsMeow..
.
~s
absolutely
dwm"C
_
;-
antics.
solo got everyone clapping along.
And although the steps were
1be audiencegot to
a little
not always in syncwith the music GIeUc in the choruses of tOe last
due to limitedrehearsal time. the
song. titled "Rambling Irishman, 8
and the dancers againjoined the
dancers' ener'IYand spirit won
band. with Madden and fiddle
over the c:rowdanyway.
AIvare2and ChIebanaalso
player Marie ReiDytaking a turD
at ajig. The standing ovation at
were featured in guitarist Mary
Coogan's gentle work titled -Road the end of the 75-minute concert
Dusf' whifeQuinn demonstrated
pr«ty much said it all. Hopefully,
Cherish the Ladies wiDramble
a set-dance,which is a cIaDce
composed
tofittbetuDe.
our way again soon.
The State Newspaper-
March19, 2001
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Our 129th liar
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'lb.e Charleston Gazette, Monday, March 19, 2001 ~
Celtic band the centerpiece
of symphony perfo~ance
By DavId WIllIams
For the Gazette
'.
Review
St. Patridt's Day ~
n
drew a near ~
aowd to
Butmostlythe bandc:bargect
~
~:;s~-:::
~
phony Pops.' The a-owd had it was
ea1 daDce medleys of
(
. ipes~sJides.A!Jof.
iDc:luding
some .
turned out to bear C1erish the . so1id orcbesb:alarrangemems.
. l&ties. the imJruvtt1ate1,y
playing,
bi2b-eDemY Celtic baud
It didn1f ctisappojnt. Led by
flutist Joanie M8dden. the band
opened wiIh a sIrong set of dan6e
tunes aided ~
.
The final medley even got gut-. .
tarist t.1ary Coogan riffing
through a fiddJe solo before the .
dancers tapped out rf\ythms \\'0[10
thy of a sOlo on a frame drum.
the ~1Iar
steps~
Mostly the band
}leatherDona- charged through great
van. .
dance medley. of
no~as 0:::: reels, hornpipes and
placed Aiofe
slides. All of it was
Jolin&IILW&a&a&
as the
~
biUid~ singer
thrDling, including
since.they ap. some solid orchestral
peared at the
\WSC Capitol
,
~rrangements.
Theater
last
year:CcxmoIJ,Ys
'VOice
icJnotas evocativeas aa:n-
Wonderful
music.
Unfortunate-
Jy,CIerim the:
r.;..dies didn't
get to.pIay~ ~
ti1 the second
half of the...
~ ~
show. The first. .
half consisted.~.
of a rehash of .
last year's St. . '.
=
Pars music.~.:
stuft
by con- .'
dud:or Thomas Conlin and ~ . ~
cy's,but she obviouslypossesses orchestra.
. :.
t6e tunesas if she wrotethem.
A spJy"GIrlI LeftBebJnd~ : :
""TheAmHunteI;-a ~.
opened.\\uiationson -DIe hisI\ . :
don of ~
poetIyof a dying ~
qn.uuoroust.y in- ..:
Wnt!mum widi hicJ-dogs arid a troduced by Conlin) that pmOdied : .
s1owed-downdance tune, was the march from 1tbaikovsk;y'II ~
the Ladies at their lyrk:al best. SixIbSympboDyfoBowed.It was ':'
The cm::hestrawove in fi1Aments freshly pJaved,but it was a fish .
of horn caDsto support C0nn01- )UI\'e _ned before.
.:
'
ly's 9,Wetwaywfththe heart.
ThnorBrianHunterso~
..
bn!akingtext.
so solid I wanted to bear him :
"'HJghGermany" near the end of
with undersIated SlVle.imesting
Connony sang a gorgeous
. the
set.
~ders'"
Brian Keane's"'The
started wiIh Don-
DBLong's mAl1ifb1C)US
piano betole wanderiDg through solos by
fiddler LIz K:naIMes.Madden and
accordionistMaIy ~
Without&"'P1flicAtio1\
He san;";
"1b.e Last Rose Ot$l1m~.
"Katbleen" and a be8utifu1 ~.
.
~
.
...
I\YBoy'"with genuine emotion : '-:
The Kanawha: CoumiY ~.:
and Drums closedout With ~, . ..
era!medleysset wellby ContiD. '.
The poignant whistle tune as well as the ineritabIeMAmaz.o
:. .
~
Level PIaiIf illustrated Maddelis
touch wfIh that an...:-. ~1
fh_
ing Grace.. A set of COIDJ)etitiOJi
.':
pieces
alone
had the' .
___"" by
cotthe tband,.;.a.
.1...1;.....
.....