Spirited Irish Fiddle with a Global Twist - Cady Finlayson - News

Band clips from APAP

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Clips from our band showcase at the Arts Presenters Conference. There's Marina's beautiful voice, Lauren dancing those Irish reels, Cady moving like crazy as she's going for a beat on the stompbox, and Tim over there on the left with the bodhran. The one and only Vita...

Our new pencil drawing!

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

VIta and I are gearing up for PARADE SEASON. More on this, tba.
In the meantime, my favorite videographer (Brian Lynch) did a pencil drawing of one of the tunes we played for the Arts Presenters Conference (APAP), which was held at the HIlton Hotel. The piece we are playing is O'dowd's which is an Irish reel, but of course Vita adds his own take on it. Tim Alworth is playing the bodhran.

NYC shows and workshops

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

December 11th 2011 in New York City 6th Street Sundays Series
Audiences will have a chance to experience the "behind-the-scenes" part of the music - how we do what we do....
Vita and I will be doing workshops preceding the show.

WORKSHOPS 2 PM
1. Tips and Tricks of Irish fiddle (how to get that Irish lilt in your tunes) (all instruments welcome)
2. Spice up your guitar playing with Global Guitar styles (bring your guitars or listen)

SHOW 3 PM Cady Finlayson & Vita Tanga

325 E. 6th St. in New York CIty. http://sixthstreetsynagogue.org/special-events/6thstreetsundays/
$15 includes one drink, workshops and show.

STAY TUNED...
Cady will soon have an ANDROID APP for up-to-the-minute Irish fiddle news.
She will be partnering with a new company for some great events....
and Arts Presenter Conference shows in January....

Child of Giants Screening

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Today I went to see a screening of the film, Child of Giants, which is a documentary about growing up with two famous parents (Dorothea Lange and Maynard Dixon). One of the tracks from my Harp and Shamrock CD is used in the film, during the photos Dorothea took of Ireland, so that was fun to see. The film is going to be shown in Ireland, so look out for that....
Just seeing all those photos of the dustbowl and the depression - and then the ones in Ireland, was a good reminder of how fortunate we are, and all this right before Thanksgiving.

The other news is that we have a December show in New York City that includes two workshops.
Tips and Tricks of Irish fiddle (how to give your tunes that Irish lilt)
&
Global Guitar Styles: Spice up your guitar playing with Global Guitar Styles
It's December 11th as part of the 6th Street Sundays Series.
2 pm workshops, 3 pm show and $15 includes workshop, show and one drink. All ages welcome.

http://sixthstreetsynagogue.org/special-events/6thstreetsundays/

NYPD Memorial Concert

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

One of my favorite concerts that I do is the NYPD Memorial Concert. As many of you know I play with the Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County, and they often participate in the concert. It's hard to explain the incredible audiences and spirit that is in that concert, but this review tells the story well, with videos. My favorite part of the event is the mass bands marching up Times Square....

http://www.cliffviewpilot.com/good-life/55-in-tune/2780-911-memorial-concert-bergen-njsp-bands-rock-ronan-tynan-returns

Summer news 2011

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

July 2011
This summer has been going very quickly and I've enjoyed all the concerts , both the ones I was playing and the ones I've been going to. I checked out the last part of the Frankie Gavin/De Dannan concert in my neighborhood, and that was amazing.
I'm also heading out to Virginia the end of this month to hear Dolly Parton, live in concert at Wolftrap. I can't wait!

Our June show at Caramoor was a summer highlight (a family show, captured in the video!).

Next in the news category, we'll be heading to the West Coast for a booking conference (Western Arts Alliance) the end of August and hoping to come away with some West Coast shows (I do miss the West Coast).

In September, it's time for the Town Hall NYPD Memorial show, (I'm playing with the Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County). I love playing with the pipes and New York's Town Hall is a beautiful place to play. I hope the elevator is working this year. One year it wasn't and I was walking up 7 flights of stairs to our warm-up room wearing 3-inch heels. Yikes!

June news

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

If you missed this month's blog, we have a concert coming up at Caramoor (Caramoor.org) ,that is worth checking out. The place is gorgeous with all the gardens and what is especially fun about this show is that there are all sorts of activities for kids all having to do with the concert (art/trying instruments/looking at Irish dance dresses). The MC/organizer (Katie Kresek) will be introducing us and the instruments to the kids, and they will have a chance to ask questions.
This reminded me of when I went to play for a pre-school class around St. Patrick's Day. I brought some postcards of Ireland, that showed the green and one that had sheep in it. WHen it came to questions, one of the little ones raised her hand and asked. ..."How many sheep ARE there in Ireland?". They didn't cover that one in my media training!

We hope to have some major news for you soon. This is the calm before the storm!
-cady

Our first float appearance and the March Parades

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Highlights of 2010/Upcoming in 2011

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Highlights of 2010

1. We now have a video that captures what we do - from a series of different shows across the country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4C_TaiUbiw

2. The Electric Green CD came ou! and Marc Gunn of Celtic Mp3s listed it as one of the 14 favorites of 2010!
http://celticmp3s.com/2010/12/top-14-celtic-cds-of-2010/

3. Being interviewed on the "Backstage Gourmet with PJ Grimes"(Healthylife.net).

3. Getting my first tickets to hear the Chieftains live (the show's in 2011)

4. Going to Cleveland with the Pipe Band for the Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial and having coffee every morning with my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mug.

5. Vita building some foot pedals (the world of percussion is opening up all sorts of possibilities.

Looking forward to in 2011
1. Attending and showcasing at the Arts Presenters Conference in January (Hilton Hotel, NYC)

2. Developing our Christmas show with music from 7 Celtic Nations.

3. Coming out with a new video series (it's a surprise!)

4. Writing 50 new tunes and placing them in film. and seeing the film "Child of Giants" that has tune set from my Harp and Shamrock cd in it.

5. Another West Coast tour!

Going through video footage of shows, and in the midst of all, A TORNADO in Brooklyn

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Our first real tornado in Brooklyn - big trees down, a few streets like Vita's with roofs blown off the buildings....
I'm reminded of the power of nature and that life is precious and short, so a good time to live fully and experience it all.

Vita and I have been going through DVDs of live shows, putting something together for presenters that shows what we do. It was amazing to see the variety of where we've played - from beautiful venues, to outdoor festivals, to workshops, to moments in our travels where we just HAD to do a video (i.e. the Grand Canyon and The White House).
Tying it all together in a few minutes is another challenge, but it does make you think about what you'd like people to know about your music, your live show, and the audiences that are very much a part of all this.

We'll probably post it on my youtube channel when done (www.youtube.com/cadyfinlayson).

Cady