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Daily Local News, Concert Preview >>
Dervish whirls into Drezel Hill for concert
by Denny Dyroff
Just as the swallows return on a certain day each year to the Mission San Juan Capistrano in California, the Irish band Dervish returns to America every March. Tonight, the foursome visits the area for a show at Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill.
From humble beginnings in a small Irish city called Sligo, Dervish has emerged as one of Ireland’s most internationally acclaimed traditional music bands. The band features Brian McDonagh (mandola), Liam Kelly (flutes, whistles), Tom Morrow (fiddle), Shane Mitchell (accordion), Cathy Jordan (vocals, bodhran, bones) and Michael Holmes.
Dervish has not released a new album since “Travelling Show”, which came out in 2007. However, on March 13, Blix Street Records will release Jordan’s debut solo album “All the Way Home.”
“This tour is just Dervish -- none of my solo material,” said Jordan, during a phone interview last week from her home in County Sligo. “This will mark Dervish’s 16th successive March in the United States. I’ll have my CDs for sale but that album was recorded with different musicians.”
Dervish was formed in the late 1980s by a group of five musicians who came together to record an album of local music. What started as an informal gathering/recording project soon evolved into a working band. The name Dervish was chosen because it related to any group of spiritual people who become enraptured by music.
“My family is from Roscommon,” said Jordan. “My sister went to college in Sligo. I’d visit her on weekends and we’d gravitate to where the live shows were. That’s where I first bumped into the boys. After a time, they needed a singer so they asked me to join. I didn’t hesitate. It grew and it grew. Eventually, we had to give up our day jobs.”
Fortunately for the ever-so-patient Dervish fans, a new album is looming on the horizon.
“Hopefully, we’ll be in the studio by the end of April,” said Jordan. “We’re on our own record label so we’re our own bosses. We have no record company restraints. We don’t have to release albums at any certain interval or need to have a recently-released album to tour.
“The rehearsal stage is the longest stage. I research the songs. I’m always looking to find old gems and then to take them strings -- and take it up to a new level. Then, we like to play songs live before we record them. It’s a good way to put the toe in the water to see what people will like.”
Sunday evening’s show is the Little Sisters of the Poor’s Spring Concert which is held as a benefit for the elderly residents of Holy Family Home. 03/04/12 >> go there
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