Big Plain House Concerts

A concert with Paddy O’Brien is a trip in a time machine, a journey through the personalities and tunes of Irish music in the 20th century. On this tour he’s partnered with his Chulrua bandmate, the superb guitarist and singe Pat Egan from County Tipperary.

Date: Saturday July 24th 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Suggested Donation: $15.00
Reservations: 913-904-1285 or email concerts_AT_bigplain_DOT_com

Paddy O’Brien

Paddy O’Brien from Co. Offaly is not just one of the most famous Irish accordionists in the world but also a man who had developed so many abilities that one can hardly put into practice in a lifetime. He is also a recognized musician, collector, composer and even a poet.

Above all, Paddy is a little bit of a philosopher and a very outstanding figure. – Yuri Andreychuk

Pat Egan

Originally from County Tipperary, Pat now resides in Baltimore, Maryland. While growing up in his native County Tipperary, Patrick loved the music so much that he used to take his guitar on the back of a horse and cart to school every week to get lessons from his school teacher, Phil Kelly.

He would also trudge across fields and farmland with his guitar just to get a song from local singer John Norton. Luckily, there were lots of singers and guitarists in his home parish and one of the first musicians he ever heard playing traditional Irish music was his neighbor – uilleann piper Michael Cooney with whom, along with Paddy O’Brien, he would later go on to form the band Chulrua.

Photos to come.

Thanks to Michael Allen for recording and to Mason for letting us post the concert. If you’d like to download, the audio is hosted at archive.org.

Our friend Mason has played at several of our house concerts, but this is his first time solo. He ran off to college in Boulder last year but managed to get a few Spring Break days in Kansas City to play for us.

Mason Brown’s voice, guitar, banjo, and viola da gamba can be heard in the Kansas City area and elsewhere. His forthcoming solo album will be titled When Humans Walked the Earth. His previous album, Am I Born to Die, was a collaboration with Chipper Thompson. He has also worked with Mike Dugger, Turlach Boylan, Kelly Dougherty, Roger Landes, Connie Dover, Nathan Pellerin, Michael Fraser, Mark Dudrow, Ed Caner, Ben Wright, Charlene Adzima, and Jed Marum, and has instructed guitar and banjo at ZoukFest.

He recently (April 2007) performed with Glen Road in Dollywood. Pictures here. When not on the road, Mason performs (almost) every Saturday from 3 to 6 in the afternoon at O’Malley’s Pub (540 Welt St, Weston Missouri).

Date: Sunday Mar 7th 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Suggested Donation: $15.00
Reservations: 913-904-1285 or email concerts_AT_bigplain_DOT_com

Madrid-born Sarah McQuaid was raised in Chicago, studied philosophy in Strasbourg and spent many years in Ireland before pitching up in Penzance, Cornwall, in 2007. Drawing on the traditions of Ireland, America and the UK, her music is sublime and compelling, characterised by warm, velvety vocals and a distinctive acoustic guitar style.

Sarah McQuaid – In The Pines – Brussels, Feb 2008 from Sarah McQuaid on Vimeo.

Whereas her acclaimed debut album album When Two Lovers Meet was a feast of Irish music, 2008’s I Won’t Go Home ‘Til Morning is an enchanting celebration of old-time Appalachian folk, with Sarah’s arrangements punctuated by her own fine compositions and a cover of Bobbie Gentry’s classic Ode to Billie Joe. Sarah is also the author of a highly-regarded guitar tutor, The Irish DADGAD Guitar Book.

Crow Coyote Buffalo, an album of songs co-written by Sarah with fellow Penzance resident Zoe (author and performer of 1991 hit single Sunshine On A Rainy Day) under the band name Mama, has also been garnering rave reviews since its January 2009 release; one critic described the pair as “Two pagan goddesses channelling the ghost of Jim Morrison”.

Sarah’s third solo album, provisionally titled The Plum Tree And The Rose, focuses both on early music (including Elizabethan material as well as songs in Old French, Old Occitan, Italian, Middle High German and Latin) and on originals inspired by such topics as Bess of Hardwick and the garden created at Kenilworth by Robert Dudley for Elizabeth I. Its release is expected in late 2010 or early 2011.

Sparkling guitar and compelling alto voice … reminiscent of Pentangle’s best efforts … a gentle and magical recording that I will return to time and again. – Tom Druckenmiller, Sing Out!

Likely to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. – Aled Jones, BBC Radio 2

Her singing has shades of Baez minus the operatic warble and Gillian Welch without so much Nashville twang. – Spiral Earth

Beautifully spare … a melancholy but somehow celebratory collection. – The Irish Times

One of those rare things, a very lovely personal album but also an incredibly good introduction to Appalachian folk music. Highly recommended. – Americana UK

Quietly expressive and supremely affecting performances … Not a weak link anywhere in earshot … This is a truly lovely record. – NetRhythms

Truly spine-tingling … A touching album from a genuine artist. – Hot Press

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Steve has been here before, spilling out of a pickup truck with a pack of dogs, a guitar and a hat. We’ve had him scheduled and rescheduled several times but something has always forced us to postpone. Finally we’re pretty sure he is coming back. He played the only outdoor show we’ve had, gently and efficiently drawing everyone into his wry affectionate songs, holding us spellbound as the night fell. We’ll describe his brand of music as country blues, but, if you ask him yourself, he might use a different set of words. Come listen.

Singer/songwriter and canvas artist Steve Howard has been performing his original music in bands, trios, duos in New Mexico, Colorado and Texas for some thirty odd years, and, for past three years, as a solo act in and around Taos, New Mexico. Steve’s unique acoustic sound evolved from many musical influences and might best be described as a popular rock influenced Americana with
a backdrop of C&W.

“I’m traveling Kansas now singing and performing my new CD ‘Last Call at Lascaux’……for any Kansans willing to take a chance on a singer they have surely never heard of, they should come on out and give it a listen….life and live music is a gamble!!”

John Steven Howard

“If you have ever wanted to hear a performer whose songs and lyrics come straight from the heart…listen to John Steven Howard”.
Stewart Herd – Taos New Mexico

“Howard’s haunting melodies, along with his soft touch acoustic guitar style, reveal the temperament of a poet. He also throws in some edgier tunes surrounding his wry social commentary”
Stan Herd – Lawrence Kansas

There’s something about Texas that builds a unique brand of performer. It might be the weather, the frontier spirit, the huge melting pot spread over vast distance. Whatever the reason, there’s a wellspring of passionate, iconic songwriters. That’s Susan Gibson.

Susan Gibson is a troubadour in every regard. From being the CMA award winning writer of “Wide Open Spaces” that the Dixie Chicks launched to multi-platinum success to releasing her latest album “New Dog, Old Tricks” this past year, Gibson’s contribution to the songwriting world is a deep and important one. Gibson is the whole package, and her performances are empowering. She shows us the real dichotomy of a songwriter: what it means to get some pieces of our self back while still willing to keep giving other pieces away.

Date: Sunday Mar 22nd 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Suggested Donation: $15.00
Reservations: 913-904-1285 or email concerts_AT_bigplain_DOT_com

Here’s some pictures from last Sunday’s concert by Norah and Brian, with another guest appearance by our shameless extrovert cockatiel Moe.

Coming in October 2008…
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA — In the Fall of 2005, Vancouver singer and flute player Norah Rendell and Twin Cities guitarist Brian Miller found themselves both living in Ireland in search of a deeper understanding of the traditional Irish music they had fallen in love with back home. Their first concerts as a duo were a hit with the Irish. The Munster Express said they “bring sunlight into your heart and set your feet a dancing.” Now based in the Twin Cities, Norah and Brian have launched a debut album of gorgeous traditional and contemporary folk songs and driving Irish dance tunes, Wait There Pretty One.

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Here’s some photos from last Sunday, Jed and Mason, a rapt audience and the session afterward. See you at the next show.

We originally scheduled this show on May 25th, but had to compete with the excitement of Memorial day and so we’re trying again in the summer heat.

Date: Sunday Aug 24th 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Suggested Donation: $15.00
Reservations: 913-904-1285 or email concerts_AT_bigplain_DOT_com

Mason Brown you know already from our house concerts, with his disgracefully excellent guitar playing, funky banjo chops, warm voiced songs and gentle wit. Jed Marum is known as a gifted singer, a unique and talented player and an accomplished songwriter. He is a warm and comfortable performer with a story to tell and gift for the telling.

Jed Marum albums play regularly on Folk/Bluegrass and Celtic radio programs around the world. His music is also distributed widely on all the major MP3 services. Throughout the US each year Jed plays over 150 shows at festival, club and concert venues and his 2007 touring plans include performance dates in Canada and Mexico as well.

Reflected in his song writing and song selection is a keen interest in history and the passing of culture from generation to generation. Jed performs traditional songs and contemporary songs in musical style that is both Celtic and American, with strong Bluegrass roots.

Nicky Rossiter is host of STORIES on Irelands South East Radio says,

“Jed Marum has his genetic roots in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Those genes must come from a long line of bards and storytellers to judge from his recorded output. I have collected a number of albums from this troubadour and he never fails to deliver.”

James P. Gannon former Wall Street Journal editor and author of “Irish Rebels, Confederate Tigers” writing about one of Jed songs said,

“Prayer from Little Round Top is the song one of the great Irish poets might have written had he marched to Gettysburg with Jed’s Irish immigrant from Alabama. The melody seems to well up from some misty glen in Connemara, wrapping the soldiers sad story in a teardrop. It may mark me as a sentimental Irish man to say this, but if you can listen to this haunting song without finding your eyes moistening, then somewhere along life’s way, you’ve lost your soul.”