Kalamazoo Gazette, Interview >>
Violinist Eileen Ivers celebrates Celtic influence with music, dance, film and fiddle, of course
KALAMAZOO — Eileen Ivers has fronted award-winning bands, won fiddling awards and performed with legendary shows such as “Riverdance.” But she said nothing thrills her as much as her newest project, “Beyond the Bog Road,” a labor of love that celebrates her Irish heritage.
“This is the inspiration of a personal journey,” Ivers said in a phone call from her home about 40 minutes outside of New York. “Both of my parents came from Ireland, and when I was growing up, we went to Ireland two months each summer.
“Seven years ago, we built a house on my dad’s land in West County Mayo. It’s just part of me.”
“Beyond the Bog Road” comes to Western Michigan University’s Miller Auditorium on March 13. The multimedia show has video shot in Ireland, music and dancers, including local dancers from the Quinn School of Dance.
Show reviews have been glowing.
“Whichever fiddle Ivers was playing, she and her bandmates did irreparable damage to Sunday’s reputation as a day of rest,” reported The Other Paper in Columbus, Ohio, in 2009. “They put on a show and a half, packed with medleys that built to insanely paced reels and raucous clap-alongs. “
The show explores the Irish diaspora — the wave of Irish citizens who left their homeland to live elsewhere — and attempts to connect Celtic culture with other music traditions.
"‘Beyond the Bog’ is a succinct way of saying how immigrants impacted America and how the Americas impacted the Irish immigrant,” Ivers said. “One of the most obvious is the Appalachian music, of course; bluegrass coming out of that later. The Celtic melodies — and even lyrics — became a part of that music.
“We even talk about Cajun music and the musical roots of American music in French music, from Canada to Louisiana. My grandfather came through Canada, and the Quebecois were taking in the Irish in the late 1840s.”
The show manages to work in African music as well. Many African percussive elements are found in American folk music, and the tradition of American tap dance can be found in a blend of Irish step dance and African juba dancing, Ivers said.
Ivers’ main instrument is acoustic violin. For this show, however, she primarily plays an electric violin to be heard with the large band, which includes Tommy McDonnell on lead vocals, harmonica and percussion; Ireland accordion champion Buddy Connolly, who also plays whistles and keyboards; Greg Anderson on acoustic guitar, bouzouki and back-up vocals; and Leo Traversa on bass guitar.
The musicians and dancers pull in the audience with jamming improvisatory moments, Ivers said: “We love to engage the audience, get folks to sing and clap along with the tunes.”
That makes the program especially accessible to all, she said.
“Americans gravitate toward music,” she said. “These melodies and scales feel very familiar. Irish music is very catchy, very honest. There are cathartic, heart-breaking tunes intertwined with real emotions that we can all relate to.”
Contact Linda S. Mah at lmah@kalamazoogazette.com or 269-388-8546.
03/06/11 >> go there
