Internationally Renowned - Irish Celtic Harp and Guitar Duo
6:00 pm doors
6:15-7:00 pm first set
7:00-7:15 pm intermission
7:15-8:00 pm second set
8:30-10:00 pm reception at the Gateway Hotel
Chris Newman is one of the world's finest flat-picking guitarists and a gifted improviser who has toured and recorded with many luminaries of the folk and jazz worlds, among them Aly Bain, Boys of the Lough, Kathryn Tickell, Diz Disley and Stéphane Grappelli. He is an award-winning composer and record producer, receiving a silver disc for producing "The Oldest Swinger in Town", a Top 10 hit for comedian Fred Wedlock. He was principal guitar and mandolin tutor for Newcastle University’s Folk B.Mus degree course for twenty-one years, since its inception, and many of his alumni form the new wave of British acoustic guitarists and mandolinists currently to be seen gracing festivals around the world, among them members of Talisk, the Elephant Sessions, the Tea Pad Orchestra, Kate Rusby Band etc. “Dazzling” ACOUSTIC GUITAR (USA) “His playing boggles my mind” FLATPICKING GUITAR MAGAZINE (USA)
Máire Ní Chathasaigh (pronounced Moira Nee Ha-ha-sig), steeped in the traditions of her native Co. Cork, is a recipient of Irish music’s most prestigious award, Traditional Musician of the Year (Gradam Cheoil TG4 - Ceoltóir na Bliana) and a multiple All-Ireland winner; she developed profoundly influential techniques for harp performance of traditional Irish music, heard on her iconic 1985 solo album, 'The New Strung Harp' - "a milestone in Irish harp music” - which was re-mastered and reissued in 2023. “She is the great innovator of modern Irish harping, a player of outstanding technique and imagination” THE ROUGH GUIDE TO IRISH MUSIC “Máire is an absolute legend.” THE IRISH ECHO (USA)
Their performances are a breathtaking blend of traditional Irish music, hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, spiced with striking new compositions, dazzling pieces from Chris’ groundbreaking solo album Breaking Bach - and what THE WEST AUSTRALIAN calls his "delightfully subversive wit”!
