It was ritual and music that led to their marriage. The ritual being the jam session, the music Celtic. Like its bluegrass mate, these open invitation jam sessions are a key part of the Celtic world, where music is played in the bar, pub, porch or kitchen by musicians well-versed in the genre’s lengthy catalog. These jams have led to friendships, musical partnerships, newly formed bands and, in the case of Caroline Keane and Tom Delany, marriage.
If you go
WHAT: The Durango Celtic Festival with RUNA, Cassie & Maggie, Caroline & Tom, Bowmaneers, Forest Thump, Be Frank Music Students, Kitchen Jam Band
WHEN: Friday and Saturday
WHERE: Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive
TICKETS: Prices range from individual shows to daily/weekend passes
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.durangocelticfestival.com
Dingle, Ireland’s Caroline and Tom are two of the performers on the bill for the Durango Celtic Festival, happening Friday and Saturday at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. Also performing are RUNA, Cassie & Maggie, The Bowmaneers, Kitchen Jam Band, Forest Thump and students from the Be Frank Foundation.
“We both studied traditional music at the University of Limerick. Like a lot of the music played in Ireland, we very often just go to the pub and play with people we know and people we don’t know, and that’s how we meet and share music,” said Delany. “I remember walking into this particular pub, and this girl was playing a concertina, and I went to talk to her. We became friends, then we became musical partners and eventually husband and wife.”
There’s a streak of rebellion in learning and playing traditional Celtic music. While many young musicians learn guitar along with a beginner catalog of tunes from hit radio, Keane and Delany were learning how to play instruments like a concertina or uillean pipes; that, along with studying music based on history, is a way to go against the everyday, pop-culture musical grain. Theirs is a mix of new and old tunes that nod to the Celtic tradition, heady ballads that are both drifting and dramatic, along with airy instrumentals that remain a score perfect to accompany the lush landscape of the Emerald Isle. While some of their songs may be as fresh as next week, others are part of a deep Celtic canon.
“We often explain to people that tradition is like a river where people keep adding to it, and the river keeps flowing. Then in 10 or 20 years’ time some parts of the river will have been forgotten, but other parts of the river will remain,” Delany said. “So we’re always adding more material and writing some of our own tunes, and we’re mixing them with some of our old favorites. And we’re just paddling along that beautiful river of music and trying to participate in it.”
Again, like bluegrass, Celtic music is a style beloved by a sturdy and dedicated group of players who are all about the tradition of the catalog, along with the need to add to that body of work. While many of these musicians may not see and play with each other on a regular basis, the performers on this year’s lineup remain more than colleagues; these festivals are a chance to play music but are also a way to connect with old friends while making new ones. It’s all part of the festival experience of association through music, applicable to everyone whether on stage or in the audience.
“It’ll be a great chance to catch up, share stories and share a few tunes as well. It’s exciting. And also getting to meet more people and new musicians and new music fans, enthusiasts, and connecting with an audience,” Delany said. “These festivals are opportunities for people to learn and practice. And we get a chance to meet new people and to see a part of the world we’ve never been to.”
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
