Irish Music Wednesdays in Long Island City

This photo was taken at 7 am on one of the last days of summer. My friend and colleague guitarist Pat Bianculli took it.  I've always loved the Brooklyn bridge and on days like this, the view is spectacular. If you haven't walked across that bridge, I highly recommend it.

Fall has officially begun in New York City. 
This month, Vita and I are doing Irish music Wednesdays at Two Shotz Bar, in Long Island City.
It's a cozy friendly bar, and right by the R/M train stop to Northern Boulevard.
Spirited Irish Music! Guinness specials $3! 9 pm to midnight.
Their facebook page is here....
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Two-Shotz-Bar-Lounge/439773686040644?fref=ts

Other news...Concerts in your home did an interview with me.  Not the standard questions, so it got me thinking about alot of topics, including Donald Trump and driving.
http://lrnblog.posterous.com/renewal-interview-cady-finlayson

Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County: 20th Anniversary Tattoo

It's the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County. I've been playing for them for ten years....
There's a big concert at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center NJPac.org
and lots of events....come celebrate with us!
bergen2012.com

Denver & Raleigh Shows!

September news.  GIG JUST BOOKED IN DENVER AT KATIE MULLENS IRISH RESTAURANT
We're on our way to Denver for an Arts presenters conference (Western Arts Alliance). We'll be doing a couple very short showcases so presenters can see what our show is, and decide if they'd like their audiences to experience Spirited Irish fiddle with a Global Twist.  Showcases are sort of like speed dating- you have only a moment to be your best self. The downside is they can feel artificial and against everything music is, but the upside is that it's a chance to be heard by new audiences (presenters).  There are also lots of other people selling whatever it is they do. It's interesting to me to see what is out there, even if it's not something I'd normally go hear.

The good news is, we also have a real gig. Thanks to Andy Hackbarth (great songwriter and guitarist - check him out www.andyhackbarth.com).
We'll be playing at Katie Mullens Irish Restaurant and Pub, which is in downtown Denver. www.katiemullens.com Fri September 7th 9 pm...
Tell all your friends, we're going to have a fun night!

Then the next week we're off to Raleigh NC for an afternoon show Sept. 16th gslchurchnew.org....and then it's back to NY as I'm playing for the Bergen County pipe band's 20th anniversary njpac.org
 That will be a whole blog in and of itself....

Interview by GoGirlsMusic

The interview is in! 

This one got me thinking about why I do what I do and how many people are a part of it.

and yes, even Dolly Parton is an influence. 

 http://www.madalynsklar.com/2012/08/04/gogirls-interview-with-cady-finlayson/

When it rains ...it pours!

The phrase, "when it rains, it pours..." seems to apply for September.

Upcoming Shows to know about....

Irish Music Show in Queens NY
August 9th Sergeant Collins Park 7 pm 58th st. and Broadway in Woodside Queens
Outdoor show so check website for show weather updates if it looks like rain...fiddleandguitar.com

September 5th  and 6th in Denver Colorado
Cady Finlayson & Vita Tanga Showcase at Western Arts Alliance Conference in Denver, CO.
Wed Sept 5th Hyatt Regency Hotel 11 pm, Granite Room, 3rd floor. (20 min. showcase)
Thurs Sept 6th Hyatt Regency Hotel, 11 pm, Granite Room, 3rd floor (20 min. showcase)

September 16th in Raleigh, North Carolina 3 pm
Cady Finlayson & Vita Tanga perform at the Music at Good Shepherd Series
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
7000 Creedmore Rd.
Raleigh, NC  27613
gslchurchnew.org
Admission free, all ages welcome. Spirited Irish fiddle show!

Saturday September 22nd 7 p.m. New Jersey
Cady Finlayson performs with the Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County for their 20th Anniversary Show. Tickets $50 and going fast....
Bergen Performing Arts Center bergenpac.org

Irish Arts week was spectacular! The best part had to to be the nightly concerts.  One night Gabriel McKeon played the uilleann pipes like I've never heard them played before, and the whole audience was still, listening. He played so many chords, it sounded like an organ and I almost felt like I was in church. 


There were sessions every night, and one that started late due to Skunks in the Pub!
Actually that was the difficult part of the Catskills, driving with so many deer and animals around.

The part I was worried about was staying in a camper by myself, but I did fine with that. I had a lot of help!





and now, getting psyched for our upcoming show in Raleigh, NC on September 16th.....3 pm
It's the  Music at Good Shepherd Concert Series  (Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, gslchurchnew.org
Vita and I loved North Carolina when we were there for the Almost Heaven Tour, and we never saw Raleigh, so this will be our chance.

Countdown to Irish Arts Week 2012

 12 days countdown until Irish Arts week in the Catskills (July 15th-21st).
This is what I"ll be doing!!

Summer plans and Irish Arts Week!

Just yesterday I was reading about how to get ready for swimsuit season, and realized, it already is swimsuit season! So I guess I'll just be swimming as is...

This summer has been mostly about catching up, and if all goes well, I should be caught up by next summer. We have a show June 30th in Staten Island that is the perfect opportunity to try some new material, so I've been going through new tunes and experimenting with different combinations. I even bought a book of Gypsy violin tunes - how about that in the middle of an Irish reel set?!

In July I'm heading up to East Durham for Irish Arts week. I'm taking a few classes including some Canadian fiddling and I'll be at the sessions.  I found a cool youtube site of the sessions last year, and if you're wondering what goes on there, here is an example.

Highlights from St. Patrick's Month NYC 2012

St. Patrick's Shows: Jameson pub crawl

It has been another year of March Madness, but we had some of the most fun gigs.

Vita and I did the Jameson pub crawl (bus photos below) several parades....and the usual assortment of shows.

Here are a few photos.

Irish fiddle shows: Cady Finlayson Band plays Bronx & Queens shows

Irish Music Concerts: Bronx, NY and Queens NY March 3rd & 4th!

Cady Finlayson Band in the Bronx
March 3rd 2 pm at Woodlawn Heights Library
4355 Katonah Avenue (at 239th St. )
Bronx, NY 10470
http://www.nypl.org/locations/woodlawn-heights

Spirited Irish music!
Sizzling fiddle and beautiful ballads for all ages. Admission free. Catch the Celtic Spirit!
http://www.nypl.org/locations/woodlawn-heights
Cady Finlayson, fiddle, Vita Tanga, guitar, Marina Meyler, vocals/banjo.

Cady Finlayson Band in Queens
Sunday March 4th 3 pm
Queens Central Library
89-11 Merrick Boulevard
Jamaica, NY 11432
http://www.queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_id=44&branch_id=CEL

Irish Music Sundays at Molly Spillane's: Cady Finlayson & Marina Meyler

I'll be back at  Molly Spillanes again this weekend, Sunday February 19th.
The place to be! 5-7 pm
Marina will be singing those Irish ballads and I'll be kicking it up with the fiddle tunes.
Stop by and say hi! No cover.
Molly Spillane's Irish Pub
211 Mamaroneck Avenue
Mamaraneck, NY 10543
http://www.mollyspillanespub.com

New York City at its best!

There are days when New York City is absolutely magnificent, and this video captures that for me.
The background music is our recording of "Foggy Dew" (Electric Green CD)

Cady Finlayson Band Showcase at Arts Presenters Conference

Here is the real live version of the showcase we did at theArts Presenters Conference in New York City. If you can get past looking at the very sexy "EXIT SIGN" in the background and imagine a real theater with lighting, you get the idea.  It was such fun to have Irish dancing as a part of it.

Pencil drawing of our APAP set 2012

Vita and I played the Arts Presenters Conference at the NYC Hilton.
In this pencil drawing video you'll Cady on fiddle, Vita on guitar, and Tim Alworth on the bodhran.

This is a photo I just came across of my band at the Blackstone Valley Celtic Festival.
Fast forward to 2012...
We're getting ready to do showcases at the Arts Presenters Conference in New York City, complete with Irish dancing!
Saturday January 7th 7:40 pm, 9:20 pm and 9:40 pm
Hilton Hotel, 1335 Sixth Avenue, New York City.
Morgan Suite, 2nd floor.
No tickets necessary.
Conference attendees can visit the Irish Coffee Entertainment Booth #131 for bookings, Irish coffee recipes and New York City coffee recommendations. 

December 2011

A lot of news for events coming in december, so stay tuned.

Coming soon...  a new Irish fiddle app for android where you can be up-to-the-minute with all Cady's news and shows.

Coming soon... a new company partnership helping to put on all kinds of Irish fiddle events...that will include one of my favorite beverages...

I'll be making the announcements at our next show, which is part of the Sixth Street Sundays Series
Sunday
Cady Finlayson & Vita Tanga - Spirited Irish music with a Global Twist
Dec 11th 3 pm in New York City.
and we'll have two workshops before the event (2 pm)
1.  Tips and tricks of Irish fiddle (how to give your tunes that Irish lilt)
2.  Spice up your guitar playing with Global Guitar styles.
So come on by, 325 E. 6th St. in Manhattan http://sixthstreetsynagogue.org/special-events/6thstreetsundays/

A photo album our travels and gigs: Cady Finlayson & Vita Tanga

Irish Night at Caramoor: Cady's favorite video clips

I had great fun watching the kids during the Caramoor show. ...dancing, coloring, trying the instruments...
Irish dancer Lauren McGarrity was there to get them started on the reel and the jig, and everyone seemed to get the "JUMP" part! Family Program Designer Katie Kresek made sure all the kids had something fun to do, and even led them in a spelling contest (Who can spell the name of the Irish drum? ...BODHRAN (the winner got a complimentary Harp and Shamrock cd).

See some of my favorite shots here....

 Dancing to "Pumpkin's Fancy"

 Vita and the Guitar girls

 Cady shows a page from the Celtic coloring table.

 "...and the Bog Down in the Valley-oh..."

 Celtic Coloring

 Tim gets going on the Bodhran!

 The beauty of Caramoor.

Visit Caramoor,org for their whole season.

Celtic fiddle at Caramoor

I went to Caramoor last weekend to check it out since we have a concert there June 29th. It's beautiful!

From the gardens to the architecture to the woods.Of course I had to pull my fiddle out and play a little.  Afterwards we checked out the town of Katonah, the part by the train station. It's very cute and even though it's only a few blocks there was a music store, so I thought that was  a good sign!

Check it out for yourself Caramoor.org 

They have concerts all summer long and there's a picnic area with lots of trees. Our show is part of the Dancing at Dusk series - a 5 pm show that includes activities for kids. We'll have an Irish dancer (Lauren McGarrity) too, so that will be fun. 

As someone who lives in a big city, it's really nice to have places to go and feel like you are in a completely different world. Caramoor is one of those places.