With engaging stage presence and masterfully-crafted music, Boston-based Matt and Shannon Heaton offer well-travelled Irish music from the heart. Their new album “Whirring Wings” is a seamless blend of brand-new and centuries-old music. The title comes from Robert Burns’ line “the moorcock springs on whirring wings,” and the Heatons took it as stimulus to find lift and space with favorite tunes on flute, guitar, and bouzouki. The Heatons are an integral part of Boston’s vibrant trad music scene. Shannon cofounded Boston’s Celtic Music Fest and was named Mass. Traditional Artist Fellow in 2016. She also hosts the culture podcast “Irish Music Stories.” Matt has performed with the Karan Casey Band, Boys of the Lough, Robbie O’Connell and many others.
Becky Tracy and Keith Murphy are dynamic performers of traditional music from Newfoundland, Quebec, Ireland, France and beyond. Tracy’s fiddling pulses through tasteful arrangements of dance tunes and resonates with beauty on traditional slow airs. Keith’s gentle and expressive singing in English and French is balanced by the drive and power of his guitar playing and foot percussion. Combined, they produce a range and richness of sound that is striking for a duo. Their repertoire includes Keith’s original compositions. He is a prolific tunesmith with a writing style strongly based on traditional dance music. This music is elegantly represented in their duo recording, “Golden,” released in 2020. Keith and Becky were two thirds of the popular Vermont trio, Nightingale and are veterans of several other bands including Childsplay and Assembly (Keith) and Wild Asparagus (Becky).
