Cady Finlayson: News

You'll want to go to this! On Thursday April 9th, there is a spectacular Scottish show coming to New York City (Lincoln Center). It's called Scotland the Brave and will have the best of Scottish music with orchestra/choir/pipers/dancers/drummers, the whole experience all under one roof.
Visit www.scotlandthebravenyc.com for tickets or call Lincoln Center Box Office (212) 721-6500

ONE NIGHT ONLY!
Save $5 with code PLAY
Tickets to this one-of-a-kind musical experience range from $69 to $89

This spectacular production features a huge cast, including an orchestra, choir, pipe-band and drum corps, Highland dancers and Celtic fiddlers. The outstanding soloists include popular young tenor Greg Moore, who features on the best-selling SCOTLAND THE BRAVE DVD and CD, and Colleen Rintamaki, winner of the prestigious SOBHD Adult World Highland Dancing Championship at the Cowal Highland Gathering six times!

SCOTLAND THE BRAVE delights audiences of all ages with superb arrangements of traditional Scottish favorites by acclaimed conductor Sean O'Boyle.

ScotlandTheBraveNYC.com

Today in the NY Daily News there was an article about people that work during St. Patrick's Day (or month, as it seems to me!) and I was mentioned as a fiddler. You can check it out on page 21 of the arts section or online

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/03/15/2009-03-15_for_bartenders_irish_dancers_and_others_.html
So after buying the paper, I headed to the Brooklyn St. Patrick's Parade, which starts right where I live. Pipers, Irish dance schools and dogs wearing green hats. Even the horses had green tails. and of course I had a green bagel from Terrace bagels.

Tomorrow I have two shows (private) with Vita and then tuesday night we'll be in Lindenhurst Long Island at Fanelli's, 95 Hoffman Avenue.
Everyone says it's strange we're not playing at an Irish place that night, but believe me, it will be Irish by the time we're done.
fanellisli.com

Happy St. Patrick's!

Vita and I decided to go to Memphis for the annual Folk Alliance conference this year. It brings together a couple thousand people with an interest in folk music - from musicians to vendors to people that book concerts.
There is so much going on at this year's conference it may be hard to get away, but I'm hoping to visit Graceland while there.
Vita and I were close to Memphis on the Almost Heaven Tour and at one of the venues there was a really sweet older couple that did the catering. I asked them if they knew Elvis back then, and they said, "We know his parents. He was such a nice kid, he just got involved with the wrong crowd..."

It's already February and you are looking for something for your favorite person...
enough with the chocolate and flowers, you'd like something special ...
Well Vita and I decided we'd be part of the solution this year.
We are available in New York CIty and downtown Brooklyn to show up and play your favorite love song (instrumental version). We'll come to the venue of your choice - a restaurant, your home, your workplace, a retirement center, a hospital room. We'll brighten the day of anyone you choose (love interest, parent, friend...)
We're taking appointments all day long, so e-mail us if you'd like more information or to schedule a time.
e-mail: violincaddy@aol.com

I was in Seattle for New Year's Eve and we all made three lists.
1. Our regrets/disappointments of 2008
2.Our happy thoughts/successes of 2008
3. Hopes and wishes for 2009

Then we made a fire and burned the list of regrets.
It was a nice way to say... this is a new start and we are stepping forward.
Stepping forward with energy, optimism and hope...
Happy New Year!

In case you missed the whole play-by-play of the Texas trip on my myspace blog, here is the short version.
It was one of those trips where everything that could go wrong did (the festival was cancelled, my guitarist was stuck in Germany for our Sat night concert), but being a band that has a great time no matter what, we had a great time. We did a concert at St. Andrew's Church, a session at Fado's Irish pub, heard a great local band called Heybale, and bought buttons that said "Texas is bigger than France" (Vita, my guitarist is from France so we couldn't pass these up).
and I got to see my cousins that live in Austin....
so overall, not a bad trip.

Now that it's getting cold in NY, we have an outside gig in Downtown Brooklyn (wed dec. 10th at Court St. and State St).
They are having hot chocolate and a space heater so please come brave the weather with us.

and we'll be in Morristown, NJ Dec. 13th (at Sona 13) and back in Manhattan dec. 18th at a place with good strong coffee, called Think Coffee!

So those are the holiday shows...
I love the holidays and hope to play lots of holiday music in addition to the Irish stuff...

It's November already and my band is going to TX! We start out in Austin on Sat. November 15th playing a concert at St. Andrew's Church (check showdates page) and then we're off to the World United Music Festival which is in San Marcos on Sun. Nov. 16th to play the shortest set of our lives (30 minutes, it starts at 12:30 pm). There are all sorts of bands playing including Asleep at the Wheel which is a band I've wanted to hear live.
SO it should be an experience! We're hoping to hear some great music and taste some of that tex-mex food that I love also.

Then it's back to NY for a show at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe (tuesday Nov. 18th). Hope to see you there!-cady

My longtime colleague, guitarist and friend Elkin Brown passed away this week. You may know Elkin from his beautiful guitar playing on all three of my fiddle cds. What you might not know is that he was a huge encouragement to me -encouraging me to write music, follow my own musical voice and create beauty. Plus he had an incredible sense of humour and was kind and generous. Elkin named the first tune I wrote (Humours of Granny White) after the road we drove down in Nashville every day trying to think of a name for the tune.
Elkin came to the West Coast to do a little tour with me, and that was one of the highlights - playing music with him several times a day. He made a big impression on my family, and even wrote a tune for us that he put on his own cd (the tune is called Planxty Finlayson).
Elkin thought the world of his family and he was a great friend. I remember when we recorded this tune called Blind Mary, there was a little mouse in the studio. It was a country mouse-the studio being in the woods and all, but I was terrified (I have always been scared of mice). Elkin very gently collected the mouse in his hands and took it outside - several times that day if I recall.
That's how he was - a gentle, witty guy with an incredible gift for music and poetry. It is such a gift to be able to play with musicians that get what you do and make it even more beautiful. Elkin was like that, and I'm so sad to lose that but so grateful that I had the chance to play with him.

It's September and It's coming too soon. I had a very laidback summer this year, and was getting used to not setting my alarm clock!
In the typical tradition of everything happening at once, Sept kicks off with the Pipe Band show (Sept 13th at Town Hall), a PIerce Turner gig, the start of violin teaching (UNIS) and a nice laidback appearance with Vita at the Carroll Gardens Farmer's Market.

As far as other fall news,
I am bringing the band to Texas in November for the World United Music Festival (Nov 16th) and we will also be doing a show in Austin (Nov 15th) as part of the Open Ears Concerts. It's always tricky to arrange all the details, especially since my bandmembers are not all in the same place that week (Vita is flying back from Spain). But we will soldier on, and I'm looking forward to presenting what I'm really excited about- a top-notch band. We'll have Marina Meyler singing, Vita on guitar, me on fiddle and Shane O'Sullivan on percussion.

It's almost here, I will be going to Swangathering Celtic Week in North Carolina. The last time I was in NC was with the Almost Heaven show, so it will be nice to be back. I'm taking Irish fiddle from Martin Hayes and Scottish fiddle from Pete Clark.
This should be fun!
and back in NY in time for our stint at Think Coffee Thurs July 24th 8 p.m., 248 Mercer St. by 3rd St. in Manhattan.

This Saturday was Make Music NY Day which is based on the French holiday, "La Fete de la Musique". The idea is that there is free live music all over the city on that day, all outdoors.
According the Vita who is from Paris, the holiday has been going in France for 26 years and is much bigger there. (But do they have the Budweiser Clydesdale horses in Paris??).
We made the most of the day, playing at two Greenmarkets in Brooklyn and then outside Mr. Dennehy's Irish pub in Manhattan.
I decided they should have music at the GreenMarkets all the time, with chairs for people to sit and a little coffee vendor.
It's nice as a perfomer to see how music brings people together and adds to the quality of life. Totally unbiased opinion!!

So far the most exciting thing in my life this week is that the Budweiser Clydesdale horses came to my neighborhood for a visit. They are beautiful!
Next week, though, is Make Music NY Day (June 21st) and there will be free music ALL over New York City.
Vita and I are doing three fiddle/guitar sets (see showdates page).....

This week Vita and I played two electronic shows. He is the King of the Wah-wah pedal so we had to try it. Fun! We had a rehearsal before the show and most of it was spent playing with foot pedals. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

The first show was GoGirls Nite at Otto's Shrunken Head, which is a Tiki bar on 14th st. We had the pleasure of hearing all sorts of music, and you can see a nice photo collage of the show at www.myspace.com/gogirlsnyc
Then we did a demonstration at the United Nations School and had the kids improvising and trying out different sounds. I had written a a bass part out for everyone that was basically three notes and then I wrote an "advanced bass part" that had 4 or 5 notes. Of course everyone wanted to play the "advanced part".
So that's the latest news. We have a show coming up on Friday June 6th in Park Slope Brooklyn with the full band
(Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor 8 pm, 53 Prospect Park West bsec.org). This is a great place to really listen to music and it's in the neighborhood so please come!

I'm back from the "Almost Heaven: songs of John Denver tour" and will soon post photos of our travel adventures. We went a lot of places, in fact we flew to CA from the East Coast twice in one week. The biggest highlight for me was in Arizona where we went to the Grand Canyon. Vita and I took our instruments and made a little video (playing Dunmore Lassies) which he's putting on youtube.
The other highlight of the tour for me was going to Mike's guitar shop in Cincinnati, where I bought an octave pedal. This means I can sound like a bass player when I want to, and that's a lot of fun.

Now back in NY, there are a few NY shows coming up
(note: if you like Dive Bars, there's a GoGirls show we're doing at a cool Tiki Bar called Otto's Shrunken head - May 22nd), several in June in NY (see show dates page).
If you'd like to see our Grand Canyon video it's at

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tKRcBeSZgwc

Counting down two more days until we go on tour again. It always feels like an incredible rush to get everything done before I leave.

I am really excited about some of the places we're going, though. For one thing, one of my goals is to play in every state and we will be adding a few states I have never played in, like Kentucky and Missouri.
and we are going to sunny California....

Ever since I started playing Irish music, I have noticed that all of a sudden as March approaches, the phone starts ringing and everyone from the senior center to the catering halls is asking about Irish music. Last year I had 34 calls about St. Patrick's Day, and many of them were the DAY BEFORE.
Nothing like a little last-minute inspiration!
I don't know if this once-a-year idea happens with other kinds of music. I mean, I don't listen to only rock music in August, or only soul in October....maybe Christmas music in December, but that's an exception.
I'm glad that people do go for Irish music in March, just keep in mind, the music goes all year long!
If you do especially like to celebrate in March and you're looking to get in the mood for that infamous holiday, my band will be kicking if off on March 2nd with a free concert at the Queens Central Library.
3pm at 89-11 Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica Queens. I have a stellar international line-up with Dublin singer Marina Meyler, French guitaristi Vita Tanga, and my favorite bodhran player, Tim Alworth who I met in LImerick, Ireland, even though he is from New Jersey of all places.
We hope to see you there!

The holiday season starts for me when I have my first "holiday gig", To me this means playing Christmas music.
Sometimes it's a church concert with a choir which reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas (that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of mad shoppers).
Last year I did one at this beautiful Church in the village, and in the middle of the concert we heard loud sirens and music -it was the Chanukah Mobile passing by. Just a reminder of NY's many people and holidays.
Last night Vita and I played for a holiday party and we had a chance to get to most of my favorites, including a French one he taught me on the tour called Papa Noel....next to the muppet theme, it was our soundcheck song.
It looks as if I may be going on the road again soon, so in the meantime I am going to enjoy one of my favorite holidays, and I hope you do too!

Having just finished one month with the "Almost Heaven" show (about John Denver) , I'm already missing those tasty biscuits they have in the South....
There were a lot of highlights on the tour. Here are mine.
1. Watching some very talented actors create their magic night after night.
(if you missed the show, they are: Alex Hanna, Rosie Mattia, Benjamin Zep Misek, Ryan Nearhoff and Vernae Taylor)...

2. Playing with great musicians (Vita Tanga on guitar and Seth Weinstein on piano)

3. Seeing the chest of drawers in High Point, NC that is bigger than a house
(also John Coltrane's childhood home was here)

4. Being welcomed by one of the presenters in Albemarle NC who said, "Don't y'all have any grownups with you?"????

5. Checking out the Biltmore Estate!

6. Tasting the scones and breakfast casseroles at Mimi's Solutions (Albemarle, NC)

7. Being told at the hair salon in the Super Walmart , "You let a MAN do your hair!!"

8. Playing catch phrase with the cast.

9. Bojangles biscuits

10. Having the ladies in the hair salon at the Super Walmart tell me that when they had a bomb threat they took the money from the cash register and went straight to Bojangles.....


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We had a great time at the East Providence Heritage Festival - Rhode Island was beautiful!
I have 2 more September shows and then the big news is that I'll be going on the road in October with a theatre show. It's called "Almost Heaven: The songs of John Denver".
We are going to North Carolina.
I love NY, but more than that, I love getting out of NY! This is my chance!

We had a great time playing at the Jalopy and now we're onto the new Woodside Show (7/20 in Windmuller Park) and a visit to Rhode Island for the East Providence Heritage Festival (7/22). We are the only Irish band at this festival -the headliner for the night is Starship with MIckey Thomas, so it could be an interesting mix of music. We are in the "cultural tent" and I'm sure the rockers will be somewhere else.
I had a chance to be on a cable tv show called "ALive with Clive", which is Westchester Cable.Padraig Allen and I went on it and did a few songs/tunes and chatted with Clive about music and our dreams for the future.
The host has all sorts of guests on there, and while we were waiting we saw him interview an author about her new book which is called "Goaldigger". We''re not sure yet when the segments will air, but hopefully soon.

On Friday June 29th at 9 p.m., we are doing a very special concert at the Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook Brooklyn. It's a very cute place, they have great coffee, and most importantly it's a wonderful place to hear music because it's set up for that.
I have a great line-up for this gig-Mari Reisberg is singing, Padraig Allen is singing, Shane O'Sullivan is playing the Djembe! and I'm on the fiddle.
Then we have a band called Devilish Merry playing at 10:30 (folk fusion) and they have all sorts of instruments like whistle, bodhran, etc. (check them out at myspace.com/devilishmerry
It's $8 for this show and we'd love to see you there!

June News


There is a guy named Marc Gunn who runs an internet site all about Celtic Music. He makes a point to feature independent artists and has all sorts of info, cd reviews, podcasts, things to vote on, etc.
He had an idea to bring attention to independent celtic music and it follows the "top of the charts" idea....to bring a celtic tune to the top of charts on itunes...and the tune he chose for the first one is track one, Tuttle, from my Irish Coffee CD. It's such an honorto be chosen. Here's how it works.

The idea is that everyone goes to itunes on FRIDAY june 15th and buys the tune (Tuttle is the name of the tune). If you like it, write about it in your blog or review it....he explains it all at www.celticmusicpodcast.com/topthecharts/
We'll see if we can get the world to know about independent music!

Thank you for your support!
p.s. we have a Brooklyn show on June 29th at The Jalopy (see calendar dates)

I just got back from my trip playing for the Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County....they go every year to Cleveland to participate in a Police Memorial Weekend- remembering all the police officers killed in the line of duty.
There is a parade, memorial service and a concert (Pipe and Drum Tattoo). This year we did the Irish song, "Spancill Hill". It's always such a pleasure to play with the pipes and I have to say that the Theater in Cleveland is a really beautiful one.
I also went to the swap meet and added two little police cars to my collection...

My Irish Coffee CD is now available! Featuring "Spirited Irish fiddle with a global twist", this CD combines Irish fiddle tunes with American folk influences and world music percussson. I also wrote some original tunes inspired by my Brooklyn neighborhood, my stint at jury duty, and my brother's cooking.
I realized after listening to the final product that it has all my musical influences: Irish fiddling /African drumming to my years of playing harmonies in a string quartet. But somehow they all came together in a way that works -it's my "signature sound" and that alone is a reason to have an Irish Coffee.