EILEEN IVERS. Critical acclaim for artist

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1 EILEEN IVERS Critical acclaim for artist She suggests the future of the Celtic fiddle. - Geoffrey Himes, The Washington Post Sizzling, Afro-Latin-Irish fusion music If New York is a melting pot, this band is turning up the heat. - Tom Nelligan, DirtyLinen Magazine Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul rocked the house everywhere it played. A beautifully inventive fiddler Her playing a tradition-rich yet adventurous, spiced with world, jazz and pop. - Scott Alarik, The Boston Globe She electrifies the crowd with a dazzling show of virtuoso playing then she focuses her attention outwards to the audience, who shout and cheer and answer her calls in a deafening chorus. - Mary O Malley, The Irish Times Nobody does it better than Eileen Ivers. Not only does the orchestra savor her musicianship and professionalism, but, she never misses to bring a pops audience to its feet with thunderous ovations. - Marvin Hamlisch, National Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Conductor Ivers bridges the gap between her celtic roots and styles ranging from jazz, salsa and flamenco to rock funk and even electronica a sensation. - Billboard Magazine At the center of everything, providing both musical energy and a style that constantly pressed against the limits of traditionalism, was the brilliant fiddler, Eileen Ivers. Her Originality and rhythmic swing well provide the bridge Irish music needs to break through to a mainstream audience. No wonder the audience loved every minute. - Don Heckman, The Los Angeles Times "Eileen Ivers band electrified a familiar repertory, merging the Celtic and African diasporas...she made her instrument sound like Jimi Hendrix's guitar." -Neil Strauss, The New York Times Do not miss them people will be talking about this band for years to come. A six piece unit that marinades traditional Irish music and African, Caribbean and other deeply rhythmic beats. - David Perry, Lowell, MA - The Sun Ivers plays with such genius that she surpasses genre. It was an invigorating, highly energetic evening. - Nancy Stetson, Naples Daily News Throughout the evening the audience joined in clapping and singing. Ivers and her band received three standing ovations. - J. M. Lacey, Piscataquis Observer

2 EILEEN IVERS Symphony Quotes Critical acclaim for artist Nobody does it better than Eileen Ivers. Not only does the orchestra savor her musicianship and professionalism, but, shenever misses to bring a pops audience to its feet with thunderous ovations. - Marvin Hamlisch, National Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Conductor Eileen Ivers is a consummate artist, and one of the most innovative of today s Celtic musicians. Her obvious joy and sincerity in performing make her an audience favorite, and her skill and collegiality should make her a favorite with anyorchestra fortunate enough to engage her. - Keith Lockhart, Conductor, The Boston Pops Orchestra "Eileen Ivers gave one of the most exciting Pops concerts for the Portland Symphony Orchestra. The audience, the orchestra players and I were glued to her breathless virtuoso fiddle performance. Eileen s ensemble, Immigrant Soul, gave equally high caliber playing. There were long and loud standing ovations throughout the concert. At the end, the audience refused to let the musicians go off the stage. We will definitely bring her back. The message to other symphony orchestras: You must bring Eileen Ivers to your community!" - Toshiyuki Shimada, Music Director and Conductor, Portland Symphony Eileen Ivers is one of the most exciting performers on the World Music scene today. She has performed with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall, at Tanglewood, on our RCA Victor CD THE CELTIC ALBUM and on our EVENING AT POPS TV series. Audiences and orchestras alike love her. Having her on your Pops series is a guaranteed grand slam! Don't miss out! - Dennis Alves, Director of Artistic Programming, Boston Pops This letter is in praise of the performance and program presented by fiddler Eileen Ivers and her ensemble with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. She is an immensely talented artist, a great performer and engaging entertainer. The musicians in her ensemble were terrific. The orchestral arrangements were musically interesting and well-crafted. Both concerts here earned and were given standing ovations by the capacity audiences. Her orchestral program debut with us was a great success. I highly recommend Eileen Ivers for symphony orchestra concerts. - Rudi Schlegel, Director, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra...the music that had the capacity audience leaping to its feet and clapping in unison was Ivers's incredible fiddling....ivers plays two violins, a standard acoustic one and another that is electrified. She may be the world's fastest fiddler, and she used this skill effectively, but she also is a versatile musician, at home in a variety of idioms and alert to the links between the popular music of Ireland and America....Still, Irish music is Ivers's specialty and she performs it with panache, solo or in ensemble, in the spotlight or in accompaniment." - Joseph McLellan, The Washington Post "Ivers took it over and played in another rooted style, before launching into one of her amazing accelerando takeoffs that leaves the earth behind. She has charisma and technique to burn, but she isn't playing into a mirror - it is all about

3 Eileen Ivers Page 2 tradition and renewal. She followed up with a bluegrass number by her friend, Ralph Blizzard, and her instrument streaked faster than a speeding train." - Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe "Last night at Heinz Hall, Irish Fiddler Eileen Ivers bedazzled the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops audience at the opening concert of the season, one that put the spotlight front and center on the versatility of the violin. To cap it all, the relentless excitement of the "Blizzard Train" finale added four dancers and left Hamlisch literally reeling with delight." - Jane Vranish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

4 P.O. Box 157 West Nyack, NY Phone: Fax: EILEEN IVERS Quotes From Festival Directors The Eileen Ivers brought in the biggest audience we ve had in 15 years and proceeded to knock the crowds out with the most electrifying performance we ve ever seen! - Peter Aucella, Director, Lowell Festival A superb, fast-paced, high energy performance. Fred Kaiser, Program Chairman, Philadelphia Folk Festival "Eileen and her band delivered a powerful performance. Our festival goers said it was awesome and one of the most entertaining shows they have seen. A great band, great music and dancing and nice people to work with what more could you ask for. We hope to see you again." - Ed Ward, Founder, Milwaukee Irish Fest I am still in the clouds from that outstanding performance Eileen and the band gave on Saturday night. I am sure the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival has never seen that level of energy, excitement and enthusiasm in its 40-year history. Eileen s musicianship is outstanding, her composition fresh and unique and her manner gracious and generous. - Dennis Lynch, Director, Shenendoah Valley Music Festival Fantastic, the Eileen Ivers band was one of the highlights of the entire festival Barry Stapleton, Chairman, Milwaukee Irish Festival

5 The Fiery Fiddle of Eileen Ivers: Bringing Immigrant Soul to North American Stages Groundbreaking Irish-American fiddler Eileen Ivers can keep up with classical virtuosi while keeping up the warmth of a kitchen party with her group, Immigrant Soul. She can shred, play reels through a cry-baby pedal, inspire with a bittersweet air and with her signature intensity, all while transmitting her deep love for tradition. The audience and stage become one through the interactiveness of the music, the joy of the musicians and the passion with which Ivers shares the stories of these traditions. Looking back on repertoire that has connected the Celtic dots from Galicia to the Canadian Maritimes, from 17 th -century songs to high-energy originals, Ivers and Immigrant Soul bring their unflagging energy and potent performance to stages across the U.S. this spring, from Kentucky to Kalamazoo. The young Ivers never expected to become a professional musician with numerous All-Ireland Fiddle Championships and Grammy -awarded projects under her belt she s a mathematician by education. Yet her unintentional career has taken her from co-founding Cherish the Ladies and touring with The Chieftains, to guest starring with acclaimed symphonies, collaborating with celebrated jazz and pop artists and her most recent televised performances with Sting. Ivers expertise and artistic diversity led her to forge a new, front-and-center role for the fiddle in Celtic performance, in particular, in creating the musical star role of Riverdance. Her own work has led her to dig deep into Irish and Celtic sounds, tracing connections between continents and scattered Celtic communities, sharing how these connections reverberate in American roots music, delving into jazz sensibilities and Grappelli-esque improvisations, and incorporating her trademark effects with her eye-catching (and ear-catching) electric violin. Her fellow members of Immigrant Soul enrich Ivers open-minded, open-bordered innovation and share her passion for performance. Lead singer, percussionist, and former Blues Brother Tommy McDonnell is equally at home with the congas and the bodhrán (Irish frame drum), while bassist Leo Traversa, when not teaching at NY s Columbia University, can be found backing Afro-Cuban and Brazilian masters. Acoustic guitarist Greg Anderson has worked with folk legend Pete Seeger, as well as classical icon Itzhak Perlman. All-Ireland accordion champ Buddy Connolly has worked with American roots music greats Tim O Brien and Kathy Mattea. By diving into diverse projects with multifaceted musicians, Ivers continues to blend Celtic soulfulness with a well-honed sense of showmanship. The show can bring even the most staid audience to its feet. Ivers frequently gets listeners dancing in the aisles and often leaps into the audience to join them. She has gotten symphony patrons dressed in furs and jewels singing a hearty round of May the Circle Be Unbroken, part of a program she has performed with over forty major orchestras. She gets hugs from fans of all ages as she and the band chat in the lobby after shows a favorite way for Ivers to end an evening and promises from kids to finally start practicing their violins. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2011 spring tour: 02/13: Orangeburg, NY 02/19: Winston-Salem, NC 02/26: Hyannis, MA 03/05: St. Joseph, MN 03/10: Louisville, KY 03/13: Kalamazoo, MI 03/17: Omaha, NE 03/20: Decatur, IL 04/16: Tacoma, WA 04/17: Missoula, MT 04/29: Pawling, NY 05/14: Bethel, NY media contact: Brittany Lambertus brittany@rockpaperscissors.biz online press kit: (audio samples, hi-res JPGs, articles, and more) Regardless of the group s embrace of the audience and their sparkle on stage, Ivers explains, The music is always the star, but we re performing artists. It s a balance we ve learned to strike. It s a privilege to be up there on stage, and we love it. continued

6 Press Quotes A sensation Billboard Magazine The Jimi Hendrix of the violin The New York Times At the center was the brilliant fiddler, Eileen Ivers no wonder the audience loved every minute The Los Angeles Times She electrifies the crowd The Irish Times She suggests the future of the Celtic Fiddle The Washington Post Tour Details 02/13/2011, Sun, Orangeburg, NY Dominican College - Hennessy Center, 470 Western Highway Tix: $25-35, Show: 5:00 pm. Ph: /19/2011, Sat, Winston-Salem, NC Reynolds Auditorium, 301 N. Hawthorne Road Tix: $15-55, Show: 7:30 pm. Ph: * With the Winston-Salem Symphony 02/26/2011, Sat, Hyannis, MA Barnstable Performing Arts Center, 744 West Main Street Tix: $28-63, Show: 8:00 pm. Ph: /05/2011, Sat, St. Joesph, MN College of St. Benedict-Escher Auditorium, 37 South College Avenue Tix: $10-$28, Show: 7:30 pm. Ph: * Beyond the Bog Road 03/10/2011, Thu, Louisville, KY Kentucky Center-Bomhard Theater, 501 W Main St Tix: $25-$30, Show: 8:00 pm, Ph: /13/2011, Sun, Kalamazoo, MI Western Michigan University-Miller Auditorium, 1903 W Michigan Ave Tix: $15-$40, Show: 3:00 pm. Ph: * Beyond the Bog Road 03/17/2011, Thu, Omaha, NE Holland Performing Arts Center, 1605 Howard St Tix: $20-$65, Show: 8:00 pm. Ph: * With the Omaha Symphony 03/20/2011, Sun, Decatur, IL Millikin University-Kirkland Fine Arts Center, 1184 West Main Street Tix: $6-$24, Show: 4:00 pm. Ph: /16/2011, Sat, Tacoma, WA Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, 901 Broadway Tix: $26-$49, Show: 7:30 pm. Ph: /17/2011, Sun, Missoula, MT University of Montana-University Theatre, 32 Campus Drive Ph: /19/2011, Tue, Billings, MT Albera Bair Theater, rd Avenue North Tix: $30/$16, Show: 7:30 pm. Ph: /29/2011, Fri, Pawling, NY Trinity Pawling School-McGraw Pavilion, 700 New York 22 Tix: $35, Show: 8:00 pm. Ph: /14/2011, Sat, Bethel, NY The Bethel Performing Arts Center, 200 Hurd Rd. Tix: $52 adv/$57 door, Doors Open: 7:00 pm, Show: 8:00 pm. Ph:

7 Fiddler Ivers is a 'go see' BY DAVID WILLIAMS Eileen Ivers The Charleston Gazette May 1, 2010 The Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers had her audience dancing in the aisles during her concert with her band Immigrant Soul and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Friday night at the Clay Center. It didn't stop there. I followed a couple dancing as they moved down the sidewalk after the concert. My daughter suggested I keep the review to two words, "Go see." I agree with her on the quality, but will add the details. Ivers opened with "Plaxty Loftus Jones," a lively tune that let her and the band lock in their tight crackling rhythms. "Bygone Days," a slow waltz, followed with Ivers winding the tune in a smooth warm sound. A raft of dance tunes led by the "Rights of Man" brought exchanges among Ivers and her bandmates. Buddy Connolly, a button accordionist, may be the nimblest player of that instrument I have ever heard. Who would think that drums could sound like a fiddle? Ivers had a joyous dialogue in tones with Tommy McDonnell, her drummer. McDonnell, taught the audience the chorus of Ron Kavana's "Reconciliation," then took the vocal lead as Ivers and the orchestra wove a gorgeous background. The blues tune, "Road is Rocky," was the lynchpin of "Immigrant Suite" with McDonnell in robust voice and adding some harmonica. Ivers played a solo fiddle tune then guitarist Greg Anderson and bassist Leo Traversa drove the band through a fantastic set of dances aided by the step dancers Kathryn Baker and Marilyn Humphrey. Amelia Chan, the orchestra's concertmaster, joined Ivers for "Pachelbel's Frolics," sweet duets that turned combustible as a lively dance. "Riverdance" has lost little of its luster, aided by its blend of soaring tunes and asymmetrical beats. Ivers and the band played this with muscular panache. The concert closed with "Blizzard Train," a bluegrass tune to start but followed with reels and dances that let the band pour on the pyrotechnical razzle-dazzle. The conductor Grant Cooper had the orchestra in top form. "Riverdance" was particularly dashing and "Bygone Days" and "Reconciliation" were dappled in rich colors and warmth.

8 Eileen Ivers The Charleston Gazette May 1, 2010 page 2 of 2 Cooper opened the concert with John Williams' "Far and Away." The principal flutist, Lyndsey Goodman, played beautifully on the slow tune with colorful shifting harmonies at the center. Williams' ability to craft a rollicking tune for the low instruments got enthusiastic support from the cellos, basses and contrabassoon. Ivers and company ended the program with "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," which morphed into a famous song. The concert repeats tonight at the Clay Center at 8 p.m. Go see.

9 Eileen Ivers The Albany Herald March 21, 2010 Ivers 'Bog Road was a stupendous journey BY JAMES MARQUIS On March 11 the Albany Symphony Orchestra rested to make way for a gaggle of Irish musicians, singers and dancers who, lead by the irrepressible Eileen Ivers, thrilled a packed house with every kind of artistic expression for which the Irish are especially famous. This was pure joy and entertainment. One would hardly realize that it was all born of and developed by centuries of hardship and privation brought by crop failures in the eastern bogs, the primary food source; the worst occurring in the 1840s causing widespread hunger and starvation. To many, the only escape was to leave their beloved land for distant shores. The stage was backlit by an ever changing screen showing scenes that vividly described almost every aspect of life and influence encountered by this people. In their journeys to find relief and new life in a new world, they did not perforce turn loose their indigenous culture, but kept it and imbibed others cultures with which they came in contact. Back home, Irish culture continued apace with ever strengthening power despite the loss of so many thousands to other lands, especially to Canada and the United States where freedom and prosperity held such great hopes. Traditional credit lies in the intrepid personality and genius of a single personality: Saint Patrick who Christianized this small island lying, forlornly, to the west of the British United Kingdom and made it Catholic. His feast day on the Church s liturgical calendar has just been celebrated this past Wednesday. To say that St. Patrick is merely the patron Saint of Ireland is an understatement. His luminosity over the whole panoply of Irish culture is, quite possibly, indescribable. Young men and women reeling under his influence during and since his time have been filling the nation s seminaries, convents and monasteries, then pouring out again in dedicated service to Catholicism in their homeland and throughout the world. Following the dreadful pogroms of continental Europe beginning with Luther s protest in the 15th century, the subsequent revolts of Henry VIII, Cromwell, et. al., the rise of Calvinism, the competing papacies at Avignon, and Rome, the Inquisition, papal assassinations, and plagues, Continental Catholicism seemed to be dying. The Church finally appealed to Ireland, where isolation from all this had produced a vibrant Church. Ireland answered the call. Its missionary experience in this historic instance developed into the wider world one which we enjoy today. The Georgia Diocese of Savannah and Albany s St. Teresa s Church (under the present pastorate of the Rev. Finbarr P. Stanton) continue to enjoy the Spiritual largesse of the Ireland Church s effort. The dynamic microcosm of Irish culture was on full display as we traveled with it down The Bog Road and beyond. Clog dancing and the jig by variously costumed dancers competed with singers, with instrumentalists playing a tantalizing variety of idiophones (drums, guitars, acoustic and electric violins, electric banjos; all of them virtuosos, playing and singing a broad variety of songs expressing many experiences and affective contacts as they traveled the highways and byways by ship, wagon train, railroad, etc., on their heartbreaking journeys into exile. Acute sensitivity to unfamiliar people and adaptation are trenchantly expressed in songs like Irish Black Bottom, Irish in the City,

10 Eileen Ivers The Albany Herald March 21, 2010 page 2 of 2 Appalachian Set, French Canadian Set. Heart-rending departures from loved ones by Emigration, Farewell My Love. The passion, bewilderment and joy in this music seemed to meld into one giant outpouring of expression that satiated the senses. If that was the intention, aided by background visual effect, there is left but one word to describe it stupendous! James Marquis is a composer and emeritus professor of music at Albany State University, retired.

11 Eileen Ivers The Other Paper March 12, 2009 Like St. Paddy s Day on amphetamine Eileen Ivers has enough chops to play most Irish fiddlers under the table. And in the rare moments when she sticks her blue fiddle under her chin, she does the same to most Jimi Hendrix wannabes. At Sunday's concert at the Southern, she got sounds out of that electrified beast that Paganini wouldn't have recognized, much less have been able to reproduce. Whichever fiddle Ivers was playing, she and her band mates did irreparable damage to Sunday's reputation as a day of rest. They put on a show and a half, packed with medleys that built to insanely paced reels and raucous clapalongs. There wasn't a loser to be found-unless you count the horses that will have to give up their tails to re-hair Ivers's overworked bows. The rest of her band, Immigrant Soul, proved up to the task of accompanying the fiddling virtuoso. Accordionist Buddy Connolly was her chief collaborator, his fingers flying over the keys as the two shared duets at tempos approaching the speed of sound. For his part, Greg Anderson plucked eloquently on the guitar and bouzouki, while Leo Traversa kept the bottom line intact on the bass guitar. The final band member, percussionist Tommy McDonnell, was introduced by Ivers as the "blueeyed soul of Irish music," and his efforts justified the title. A member of the original Blues Brothers, McDonnell knew exactly when to stand on his skins and when to lay off. But it was as a vocalist that McDonnell left the most indelible impression. His rich baritone voice was featured in one of the evening's few ventures into the mournful side of Irish music, a medley that began with a poem about a lad leaving Ireland for America. A bit later, McDonnell sang (and led the audience in the chorus of) a tune about a far rarer topic: an Irish émigré who returned to his homeland. Ivers first bowed her way into the world's consciousness as the official fiddler for Riverdance, so it wasn't surprising that Sunday's concert included a few of Bill Whelan's tunes from the show. You wouldn't think they'd be as fun without step dancers tapping and skipping to the intricate rhythms, but they were. To be sure, the evening also had its share of step dancing. A quartet of girls from Granville's Ni Chiara School of Irish Dance sometimes graced the stage with their bouncing curls and precision choreography. But the real excitement came from watching Ivers and her band have their way with a plethora of Irish and Irish-like tunes. If St. Patrick's Day were celebrated in coffeehouses rather than pubs, this is what it would sound like.

12 The E-Sheet(R) is provided as conclusive evidence that the ad appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the date and page indicated.you may not create derivative works, or in any way exploit or repurpose any content. Description: Color Type: Publication Date: 01/23/2009 Section/Page/Zone: E/E001/All Size: Advertiser: Insertion Number: Client Name: Ad Number: W Milwaukee Journal Sentinel JSOnline.com/cue Friday January 23, 2009 E WEEKEND CUE FRIDAY Movies: Indie films make triumphant return to UWM Union Theatre. 3E Dining: Carol Deptolla reviews Harley s Motor. 10E On Stage: Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood bring comedy to the Pabst Theater. 12E Good Morning: Comics, columnists and more E HOURS 10 this morning The roots of Irish soul INSIDE Fiddler Eileen Ivers gives multimedia Bog Road a world premiere tonight at the Wilson Center. 9E The Florentine Opera will perform Pinocchio in the Betty Brinn Children s Room at the central branch of the Milwaukee Public Library. The 45-minute presentation is the classic Italian fairy tale set to music by Mozart, Donizetti, Offenbach, Pergolesi, Sullivan and Verdi and is sung in English. It is aimed at children ages 4 through W. Wisconsin Ave. Information: (414) a.m. Saturday The Mitchell Park Domes has its second annual Chinese New Year celebrations running through 7 p.m. Events include a dragon parade, music and crafts, Chinese calligraphy, a lantern show, presentations on holistic and alternative medicines, Chinese language lessons and dumpling-making for kids. The event ends with a light show. 524 S. Layton Blvd. Domes admission: $5.50 general, $4 kids. Information: (414) or see chinese.org. 8 p.m. Saturday Alliance Francaise and the Coffee House have a joint benefit concert with Les Freres Soucie (the Soucie Brothers), singing traditional songs of France and Quebec. 631 N. 19th St. $10 donation requested. Information: (414) (Coffee House) or (414) (Alliance Francaise). Freebie The Suckow Family Art Gallery at the Schauer Arts and Activities Center has a reception for the Wisconsin Regional Art Program, with work by 25 regional artists on display, from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday. 147 N. Rural St., Hartford. Mary-Liz Shaw

13 COVER STORY The E-Sheet(R) is provided as conclusive evidence that the ad appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the date and page indicated.you may not create derivative works, or in any way exploit or repurpose any content. Description: Color Type: Publication Date: 01/23/2009 Section/Page/Zone: E/E009/All Size: Advertiser: Insertion Number: Ad Number: Client Name: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Friday, January 23, 2009 Fiddle with the past Irish show traces joyful jigs, laments of loss across seas By ELAINE SCHMIDT Special to the Journal Sentinel E veryone s Irish on St. Patrick s Day. Possibly. But bringing an international group of performers to Milwaukee on a January weekend to give the world premiere of a show about the way Irish music, dance and culture have thrived despite an often-heartbreaking diaspora well, that takes a truly Irish soul. Internationally renowned Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers is the Irish soul who will present the premiere of her new multimedia piece, Beyond the Bog Road, tonight and Saturday night at Brookfield s Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. Ivers has been collecting, researching and writing music to trace the journey made by Irish music, dance and storytelling from its homeland to sometimes surprising destinations. Ivers is familiar to Milwaukee audiences from Irish Fest performances, as well as a Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra appearance, where she performed Chris Brubeck s Interplay for Three Violins and Orchestra. The piece, written for Ivers, jazz violinist Regina Carter and classical violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, was broadcast by Milwaukee Public Television. Ivers, who was born in the Bronx to Irish immigrants, spoke about the new piece by phone from her New York home. This is really a wonderful coming together of those musicians and dancers that have gone before us with those in our generation playing this music and doing these dances; and those who will be playing music and dancing in the coming generations, she said. Her father s work in the airline industry gave Ivers the luxury of flying to Ireland to spend summers with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, soaking up the IF YOU GO What: Beyond the Bog Road When: 8 tonight and Saturday Where: Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield Tickets: $25-$48; call (262) To get information and directions or to hear some of Ivers music, go to wilson-center.com. IVERS CELTIC DEMO Eileen Ivers and members of Immigrant Soul will give a pre-performance discussion and demonstration on the Irish instruments and stories that make up Beyond the Bog Road from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield. The event is free and open to the public. country s long history and rich culture. I was lucky to have this wonderful balance of growing up in an urban setting in New York and then running around the fields and bogs of Ireland in the summers, she said. Seeing those bog roads, you realize they truly lead into the past of Ireland. The bogs grow about an inch every 25 years, and they re a wonderful preservative, she explained, adding that archaeologists have discovered remnants of a 5,000-year-old civilization in the bog near her mother s birthplace. My parents, like a lot of immigrants of their generation, instilled the love and respect for Irish heritage in their kids and gently encouraged us to take up the Irish traditions, Ivers said. Making connections Ivers cross-cultural upbringing made her acutely aware of the influences of Irish culture on the North American folk music and dance she would see and hear as she played festivals around the country. She explained, with obvious excitement, that she has traced a Cajun tune from Louisiana back to the Acadians of French Canada, where Irish immigrants come into the equation, and from there back to Ireland. She draws similar lines between Appalachian clogging and Irish hard-shoe dancing, and between Appalachian bluegrass tunes and Irish folk melodies. Woven into the joyful, infectious jigs and reels and heartbreaking laments of loss and leaving is video by filmmaker DJ Mendel that includes footage of Ivers grandparents and other family members working in the peat bogs in 1960s and 70s. It s really haunting to see these people working hard making hay or digging the bog by day and then playing music in the evening, Ivers said. Some of the people in the images have since died. Sometimes I can t even look at the screen I just can t go there, Ivers said. Finding the Irish within Ivers will be joined at the Wilson Center by a heady roster of performers, including her own band, Immigrant Soul; Dublin-born Irish dancing champion Padraic Moyles, who s taking a week off from Riverdance for this weekend s performances; Dublin-born vocalist Niamh Parsons; young dancers from the Cashell Dennehy School of Irish Dance; and Bronxborn vocalist Tommy McDonnell. McDonnell, who was brought by Ivers from a career in soul to a career in Irish music, has found the project incredibly illuminating. I never knew that all these American songs I loved and gravitated to were influenced by Irish music, McDonnell said recently, speaking with the unmistakable accent of his native Bronx. Deep down in my soul, I was gravitating to an Irish thing. Working on the Bog Road project has made McDonnell realize something more personal as well. I have cousins and aunts and uncles in Ireland who are slowly passing away I ve got to sit down and get the inside stories and get them on video, he said. Ivers and McDonnell pointed out that, while the show traces the journey of Irish music, it also looks at how Irish music and folk music of other cultures are interrelated and complementary. Sections late in the Bog Road piece weave African rhythms and dance with Irish music, painting a picture of our modern-day, American cultural mélange. Back to her own roots At the heart of the piece, of course, will be Ivers herself. An exuberant, passionate player, known for her fiery improvisations and completely engrossing performances, she is the musical equivalent of a spinning mirror ball. Ivers continues her pilgrimages to Ireland today, returning to the home she and her husband have built on family land. In this crazy world of playing music all over the place and the joy of performing onstage and really living in the moment, it s really helpful to go back there to roots of this music, she said. She also enjoys the chance to get back to people playing in the local pubs. It makes you remember why you love it all in the first place, she said. DESIGN BY THERESA SCHIFFER / TSCHIFFER@JOURNALSENTINEL.COM 9E

14 Eileen Ivers Milwaukee Journal Sentinel January 22, 2009 Fiddle with the past Irish show traces joyful jigs, laments of loss across seas BY ELAINE SCHMIDT Everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Possibly. But bringing an international group of performers to Milwaukee on a January weekend to give the world premiere of a show about the way Irish music, dance and culture have thrived despite an often-heartbreaking diaspora - well, that takes a truly Irish soul. Internationally renowned Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers is the Irish soul who will present the premiere of her new multimedia piece, "Beyond the Bog Road," Friday and Saturday night at Brookfield's Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. Ivers has been collecting, researching and writing music to trace the journey made by Irish music, dance and storytelling from its homeland to sometimes surprising destinations. Ivers is familiar to Milwaukee audiences from Irish Fest performances, as well as a Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra appearance, where she performed Chris Brubeck's "Interplay for Three Violins and Orchestra." The piece, written for Ivers, jazz violinist Regina Carter and classical violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, was broadcast by Milwaukee Public Television. Ivers, who was born in the Bronx to Irish immigrants, spoke about the new piece by phone from her New York home. "This is really a wonderful coming together of those musicians and dancers that have gone before us - with those in our generation playing this music and doing these dances; and those who will be playing music and dancing in the coming generations," she said. Her father's work in the airline industry gave Ivers the luxury of flying to Ireland to spend summers with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, soaking up the country's long history and rich culture.

15 Eileen Ivers Milwaukee Journal Sentinel January 22, 2009 page 2 of 3 "I was lucky to have this wonderful balance of growing up in an urban setting in New York and then running around the fields and bogs of Ireland in the summers," she said. "Seeing those bog roads, you realize they truly lead into the past of Ireland." "The bogs grow about an inch every 25 years, and they're a wonderful preservative," she explained, adding that archaeologists have discovered remnants of a 5,000-year-old civilization in the bog near her mother's birthplace. "My parents, like a lot of immigrants of their generation, instilled the love and respect for Irish heritage in their kids and gently encouraged us to take up the Irish traditions," Ivers said. Making connections Ivers' cross-cultural upbringing made her acutely aware of the influences of Irish culture on the North American folk music and dance she would see and hear as she played festivals around the country. She explained, with obvious excitement, that she has traced a Cajun tune from Louisiana back to the Acadians of French Canada, where Irish immigrants come into the equation, and from there back to Ireland. She draws similar lines between Appalachian clogging and Irish hard-shoe dancing, and between Appalachian bluegrass tunes and Irish folk melodies. Woven into the joyful, infectious jigs and reels and heartbreaking laments of loss and leaving is video by filmmaker DJ Mendel that includes footage of Ivers' grandparents and other family members working in the peat bogs in 1960s and '70s. "It's really haunting to see these people working hard making hay or digging the bog by day and then playing music in the evening," Ivers said. Some of the people in the images have since died. "Sometimes I can't even look at the screen - I just can't go there," Ivers said. Finding the Irish within Ivers will be joined at the Wilson Center by a heady roster of performers, including her own band, Immigrant Soul; Dublin-born Irish dancing champion Padraic Moyles, who's taking a week off from "Riverdance" for this weekend's performances; Dublin-born vocalist Niamh Parsons; young dancers from the Cashell Dennehy School of Irish Dance; and Bronx-born vocalist Tommy McDonnell. McDonnell, who was brought by Ivers from a career in soul to a career in Irish music, has found the project incredibly illuminating.

16 Eileen Ivers Milwaukee Journal Sentinel January 22, 2009 page 3 of 3 "I never knew that all these American songs I loved and gravitated to were influenced by Irish music," McDonnell said recently, speaking with the unmistakable accent of his native Bronx. "Deep down in my soul, I was gravitating to an Irish thing." Working on the "Bog Road" project has made McDonnell realize something more personal as well. "I have cousins and aunts and uncles in Ireland who are slowly passing away - I've got to sit down and get the inside stories and get them on video," he said. Ivers and McDonnell pointed out that, while the show traces the journey of Irish music, it also looks at how Irish music and folk music of other cultures are interrelated and complementary. Sections late in the "Bog Road" piece weave African rhythms and dance with Irish music, painting a picture of our modern-day, American cultural mélange. Back to her own roots At the heart of the piece, of course, will be Ivers herself. An exuberant, passionate player, known for her fiery improvisations and completely engrossing performances, she is the musical equivalent of a spinning mirror ball. Ivers continues her pilgrimages to Ireland today, returning to the home she and her husband have built on family land. "In this crazy world of playing music all over the place and the joy of performing onstage and really living in the moment, it's really helpful to go back there to roots of this music," she said. She also enjoys the chance to get back to people playing in the local pubs. "It makes you remember why you love it all in the first place," she said.

17 Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul The Los Angeles Times Violinist Puts a Colorful Spin on Her Irish Roots By DON HECKMAN, Special to The Times FOLK LOOKS FORWARD AT LOWELL FESTIVAL Eileen Ivers is best known as the fiery violinist with the show Riverdance. Her most impressive accomplishment, however, is the manner in which she has begun to transform Irish music, adding elements that have brought it well beyond its traditional roots. On Saturday at UCLA s Ostin Hall, she offered a stunning program of music, maintaining the flow, the spirit and the essence of her Irish roots, while allowing the sounds to blossom in a colorful array of settings ranging from Ireland to the Caribbean, Spain, Cuba and into the blues. Leading a six-piece ensemble, with the added presence of dancer Tarik Winston and a group of colorfully garbed young step dancers, Ivers ripped through her program with a drive that triggered almost constant audience handclapping and cheers. Irish jigs started with a bright traditional buoyancy only to suddenly erupt with rhythm as drummer Emedin Rivera added an undercurrent of conga drums, bassist Leo Traversa snapped out crisp accents and guitarist John Doyle delivered high-voltage strumming. On other numbers, Ivers violin and the pipes of Jerry O Sullivan combined to produce passionate keening melodies, occasionally framed with bird-like whistles and percussion from Rivera. Singer Tommy McDonnell, from the Blues Brothers Band, added big toned vocals, passionately so in Black Is the Color, pulling the audience into a shared sing-along with Will the Circle Be Unbroken. No wonder the audience loved every minute. More than a survey of Irish tradition, Ivers presentation was music with the kind of life and spirit that can come when talented artists from different backgrounds find the linkages that connect all forms of music. Musical Bridge, Inc. Phone: P.O. Box 157 Fax: West Nyack, NY info@eileenivers.com

18 Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul The Boston Globe FOLK LOOKS FORWARD AT LOWELL FESTIVAL By Scott Alarik, Globe Correspondent Page: C6 Section: Arts MUSIC REVIEW LOWELL FOLK FESTIVAL Look in any corner of the Lowell Folk Festival over the weekend, and the sounds of new music being born could be heard. That may seen odd, since this is the most traditional of all New England folk fetes, but most of the highlights this year came from a new generation of folk artists, deeply banked in the traditions they represent, yet determined to take the old music into the 21 st century and to have some modern fun doing it. The Eileen Ivers Band rocked the house everywhere it played, Ivers electric fiddle pumping out Irish Jigs and reels to the hypnotically slippery groove of Puerto Rican percussionist Emedin Rivera and Nigerian bassist Bakithi Kumalo. A broken string Friday took Ivers to the wings, enciting a delightful jam among Kumalo, superb guitarist Donal Clancy - son of Clancy Brother Liam and guest flutist Joanie Madden, of Cherish the Ladies fame. Soon Ivers was back, exchanging sassy rock and jazz riffs with Rivera before tearing into a furious set of reels. She pranced off the stage, fiddling her way through the cheering crowd, pausing to hop along with a couple of step-dancing children. Ivers is under some fire from Irish purists these days for her exotic fusions of jazz and world beat. She has a grand instinct for the theater of her music, her playing brimming with bright surprises, blues slides to announce reel changes, wah-wah pedal whines to screech out rock riffs. But these are just side trips; the heart of everything she does is pure Irish music, which she plays as well as anyone in Celtic music today. Musical Bridge, Inc. Phone: P.O. Box 157 Fax: West Nyack, NY info@eileenivers.com

19 Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul By Mary O'Malley The Irish Fest in Milwaukee, one of the largest in the United States, is a cross between a Ballinasloe horse fair and a Slane concert. But there's more to it than that, writes Mary O'Malley. The heart of the festival is the music, and a huge crowd gathers for the Eileen Ivers concert on Saturday night. This brilliant fiddle player is appearing in two concerts, fronting her band. They come onto the stage to loud applause and launch into a high-voltage set, Ivers dancing and weaving like a demented imp. She electrifies the crowd with a dazzling show of virtuoso playing, turning first to one, then another member of her band in a high-speed musical conversation. Then she focuses her attention outwards to the audience, who shout and cheer and answer her calls in a deafening chorus. Her famous blue fiddle seems an extension of a vibrant personality, a player so sure of herself and her instrument that she can cut fast and loose with the tradition she was raised in. She is curious and open to new influences in a way that is musically exciting, taking her fiddle to a heady edge. If occasionally she goes too far and slips over the edge, what of it? She speaks of playing on the Caribbean island of Montserrat to an audience of black Irish, and introduces Tarik, an African-American dancer whose style is reminiscent of that of Galway's Ray McBride. When he later joins the line of young girls in a Riverdance-style performance, there is humour as well as delight in this dance with a difference. At the final event of the weekend, the musicians and dancers fill the stage. They let rip with jigs and reels. The audience goes wild. This is no time for finesse. The dancers come on and there is a moment when the playing shifts, the music opens and loosens into a sound of pure joy, as if a tradition has briefly overcome its inherent constraints. Mary O'Malley is a poet; she is working on a memoir Musical Bridge, Inc. Phone: P.O. Box 157 Fax: West Nyack, NY info@eileenivers.com

20 Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul State Journal-Register Celtic Fiddler Eileen Ivers Molds Many Musical Styles Into Her Own By DAVID J. LEONATTI, Correspondent Just your run-of-the-mill Celtic-fusion/worldbeat big top revival and travelogue. That is all you got at Saturday night's musical minihurricane at the Sangamon Auditorium at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers and her band, a multimedia, multicultural circus, played to an appreciative and boisterous crowd on Saturday evening. The boundlessly energetic Ivers has been playing music since winning an all-ireland contest on the banjo at 8 years of age. She is best known as the featured soloist for the smash new-age step-dancing extravaganza "Riverdance." Aside from being all- Ireland fiddle champion eight times running, Ivers has recorded and appeared on more than 75 recordings and is one of the most in-demand Celtic instrumentalists in the U.S. and Ireland. Her ability to absorb countless music styles and uniquely re-invent them effortlessly was on display Saturday night. The violin master played everything from Irish standards to original compositions from her latest release, "Crossing the Bridge." Ivers is an exuberant ambassador of all musical styles, threading together everything from flamenco, reggae and blues, to traditional Celtic to Hendrixian psychedelia. But it is not simply her and the band's encyclopedic knowledge of styles or technical superiority; not just her liquid, quicksilver fingering, but also the merging of mirthful spirit, pop sensibility and extraordinary individual talents in absolute service of each song or style that elevates each performance. What the Eileen Ivers Band appears to have conceived is a sonic architecture, which converges and honors key elements of a particular style (Irish jigs or reels, calypso), then inserts replacement sound elements or effects (fuzz-wah-wah screaming fiddle; Afro-Cuban percussion) in place of traditional instrumentation. Ivers has a tuneful, open mind and historic reverence whether gently dissecting or exploding, then reorganizing individual chords or progressions in a single song. There was the discreet, romantic intoxication of love songs ("Black is the Color") to blues-inflected excursions. The highlights were too numerous to count, each song spellbinding and detonating in its own little universe of melody and percussive execution. The ache of her keening melody in the reminiscing ballad "Bygone Days" was sublime. Try the faux-scratching and boom-box infections of the hip-hoppy closing reels; thunderous bottomend, skittling hand percussion as substitute 'scratching'and Ivers'scalar melody lines. A great showcase of hybridization was "Gravelwalk", an integration of key structural elements of the Irish reel with electric jazz, yielding a Chieftains-meets-Weather Report hopscotching fantasia, including a scalding, screeching fuzz fiddle solo. Then hear the elegantly honored embroidery of Pachelbel - the straightforward arrangement with lithe nuance, like rickrack highlighting the pattern of a simple garment - then tearing the garment to shreds as the opening cadenza crashes into a trademark electric reel workout. Musical Bridge, Inc. Phone: P.O. Box 157 Fax: West Nyack, NY info@eileenivers.com

21 Let's see: Sophisticated jazz-folk with the blues. Yes, that too. Bluegrass legend Ralph Blizzard's "Lost Train Blues" kick-started with the propulsion of a locomotive. Then we hear simple hand-percussion and jungle soundscapes transform into calypso polyrythms; wondrous Celtic melodies merge with traditional steel band formulations on the Montserrat-inspired "Islanders." Did I mention there was tap dancing? Bronx bomber and Broadway veteran Tarik Winston in his black Yankees jersey percussively merged with the band on countless occasions becoming yet another form of Afro-Cuban or West African drumming lock-tight, in step with the beat. And for the first time in my life, I saw a lead soloist (fiddler Ivers) trades fours with a tap dancer! Stars turns of the evening included every band member. Jerry Sullivan, a recording veteran with a diverse pedigree including works with Sinead O'Connor, James Galway and Dolly Parton, chicken-wings those ungainly Uilleann pipes, pumping note-fornote solo runs parallel with the fiddle master with his feathery fingers. He also aided the creation of haunting melancholy with his breathy low whistle and flute. New Yorker Leo Traversa executes a flawless, pan- African jazz fusion bass with muted percolation, and ceaseless puffy percussive drive. His solos, curt but brimming with melodic invention, were continually inspired. The youthful guitarist James Reilly, chopping and chugging chords without ceasing, surely needed a note from his mother to come out and play this evening (how old is that kid?). His role in the band is clearly defined and his strumming, cut-chords or high register harp-tone fingerpicking played perfect foil to Ivers incessant sawing. But the master gear of these magnificent clockworks has to be percussionist Emedin Rivera (whom Ivers claimed was from the "Irish county of Puerto Rico"). Every possible struck or sticked device is in his arsenal of drums, conga, shakers and bird calls. Yes, bird calls, as he uncannily created a lush junglescape with an interlude flush with fluttering wings, screeches and echoing chirps. Rivera's inventive and crisp drumming adds that international pulse and hard roiling or drylybubbling backbeat unique to these pan-cultural compositions. And the crowd's devotion was cemented when Ivers jogged down into the orchestra pit to dance with bounding, sweaty children prancing about in their best "Riverdance" impressions. Add yet the Ogilvy Dance Studios young (some very young) dancers step-dancing and showing their Scots-Gaels best backed by this romping band. Ivers' is a craft of rare proficiency and refraction, taming a polyglot musical palette and rendering it unique through sound and spirit. She pledges fidelity to the original and manages to coalesce the multiple instrumental elements to the best effect. Each and every time. Singer Tom McDonnell is a veteran of the Blues Brothers, and though his Memphis soul blues belt was a tad out of character now and then, his crying wail on the closer "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" was howling-mad perfect for this global revival. His squalling harmonica and deft hand percussion filled out each song's landscape as needed. Musical Bridge, Inc. Phone: P.O. Box 157 Fax: West Nyack, NY info@eileenivers.com