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Interview/Concert Preview
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NJ.com, Interview/Concert Preview >>
Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul to perform at Appel Farm in Upper Pittsgrove
Eileen Ivers thinks Appel Farm will be a great fit for her and her band Immigrant Soul.
“It sounds like it’s perfect for us,” Ivers said. “From festivals to big concert halls to Appel Farm. It suits us just fine.”
The timing will also suit Ivers just fine.
“We’re playing the night before St. Patrick’s Day,” she said.
The daughter of Irish immigrants, Ivers grew up in the Bronx surrounded by different cultures and different musical styles. Although she said her parents weren’t really musical, they did have a passion for it.
“They love music but they never played,” any instruments, she said. “I think it was just them talking about Ireland so much and playing a lot of recordings of music my dad likes — Irish, bluegrass and country, it got into my psyche.”
Her parents wanted her to play the piano and take dance lessons, but it was the fiddle that kept calling.
“The violin was something I just had on my mind. I was really intent on that instrument,” Ivers said.
Her uncle remembered his little niece running around her Bronx apartment as a toddler holding a pink, toy guitar with a wooden spoon in the other hand.
“It was meant to be,” she said.
A “nasty instrument to play” inside an apartment building “when you’re just learning,” Ivers got so good she entered competition after competition winning nine All-Ireland fiddle championships, with a 10th win on tenor banjo. Eventually she accumulated more than 30 championship medals, making her one of the most awarded fiddle players to compete in these prestigious contests in Ireland.
Ivers proved you didn’t have to be a native of Ireland to win.
“You can be from somewhere other than Ireland and still feel Irish music,” she said.
Today, Ivers visits Ireland a lot with her parents. About 10 years ago, she built a little house on her father’s land in County Mayo.
“It’s a nice vacation home, a piece of the whole puzzle,” she said.
For her concert at Appel Farm on Friday, March 16, audience members will be able to put some pieces of the puzzle together as well during a pre-show conversation with Ivers.
“I love to talk about the music. It’s so deep. And like any folk music, it’s so emotional,” Ivers said. “It’s great for audiences to understand the insight behind the tune.”
Recently, Ivers created “Beyond the Bog Road,” a multimedia concert of music, story, dance and film. The concert celebrates the journey of Irish immigrants and shows how Irish music has mixed with roots-type music in America.
“I’ve seen it firsthand with my parents. Music, it’s all intertwined. It’s the journey beyond the bog road,” she said.
The “Beyond the Bog Road” CD will be released soon, she said, and she plans on playing several songs from the album at Appel Farm.
“It’s a pretty cool record. We recorded tracks in Ireland and here, and we have a lot of guest artists on it. It’s been a lot of fun to work on,” she said.
Contact Kristie Rearick at 856-686-3638 or krearick@southjerseymedia.com
If you go: Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul will perform at Appel Farm Arts and Music Center, 457 Shirley Road, Upper Pittsgrove, at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 16. Concert tickets are $30, pre-show conversation tickets are $10. There will be a special Irish-themed buffet at The Creekside Inn in Woodstown from 4:45 to 7 p.m. prior to the Eileen Ivers’ concert. Tickets are available in advance for $22. Tickets can be purchased at www.appelfarm.org or by calling Appel Farm at 800-394-1211. 03/16/12 >> go there
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