Karan Casey has long been one of the most innovative, provocative and imitated voices in Irish traditional and folk music. Her career has spanned 25 years from the early days as a jazz performer in Dublin to her heady days in New York with the band Solas to her now established solo career and she has sold over half a million albums. Since Solas, Casey has carved out a unique place in contemporary Irish and folk music. She has recorded seven solo albums, has won Best Irish Female Vocalist twice, Best Irish Folk album and a Grammy for her collaboration with Paul Winter. Casey has also been nominated for the BBC Folk Awards and has performed with Peggy Seeger, Liam Clancy, James Taylor, and Tim O’Brien. The Boston Globe says, “Casey’s voice is among the loveliest in folk music and she’s a wonderful interpreter of both contemporary and traditional material.” “Hieroglyphs That Tell the Tale” is the evocative title of the new album from Karan Casey, which sees her return to a mix of traditional and folk song imbued with a modern twist, sitting alongside some new self-penned songs. Casey has also recently spearheaded a campaign – #FairPlé (“Fair Play”) – to promote gender balance in the production, performance, promotion, and development of Irish traditional and folk music. Many performers – male as well as female, in Ireland and elsewhere, have strongly voiced their support for her endeavor to bring this important issue to the forefront. As for performing, for Karan, the criteria has always been, “Is it a good song? I’m always looking for stories that are sung well and delivered with meaning, and that’s what’s most important.” Karan will be joined by Matt Heaton and Sheila Falls Keohane for tonight’s concert.
May 18, 2019
