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The Blue Mosquitoes
The Blue Mosquitoes play original contemporary folk music with a strong Celtic influence. This hot young Tasmanian band are making waves in the UK folk scene. The band enjoyed a highly successful 24 gig UK/Ireland tour in 2011 where their music was variously described as being “startling good musicianship”, “implausibly fast”, “truly professional beyond their years”, “None better in 30 years running this folk club”, and “the highlight of the Edinburgh Fringe festival so far”. The band is looking forward to playing to Tasmanian audiences and writing new material before heading back overseas for a 2013 tour.
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Launceston RSL Band
This organization commenced in 1940 as the Invermay School Band and developed through the years as the Invermay Silver Band, then in the early 1970’s the Northern Suburbs Silver Band, in the late 1980’s to the City of Launceston Brass, and then to the Launceston RSL Brass.
Finally in July 1st 2005 this championship winning band officially became the City of Launceston RSL Band. For more information visit http://www.launcestonrslband.com
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The Old Lyric Theatre
The Old Lyric Theatre is filled with stacks of stories and foot-stompin' singalong melodies courtesy of Daniel Townsend, and Dan Callahan. Daniel Townsend is a portraitist and poet with a guitar and a harmonica. Dan Callahan is a musical all-rounder and aspiring librarian, armed with a banjo, ukelele, stomp box and cajon. For this year's Festival, Townsend has composed and reinterpreted songs around the theme of The Spiritual Journey. For this Festival only. Not to be missed!
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Seagrass
Seagrass is an all original Tasmanian acoustic band that combines blues with bluegrass. The music style ranges from southern Mississippi swamp music with bottleneck guitar through to hard driving Scrugg's style 5 string banjo bluegrass. Along the way there are soulful blues melodies that engage three part harmonies. Their goal is to develop a sound that is uniquely Seagrass.
The bottleneck slide guitar, flat-picking guitar and hard driving 5 string banjo are all interwoven with fiddle to create sounds that are very unique. The arrangements are original with each of the three members contributing to the tapestry of sound that is Seagrass.
Seagrass have been doing the Tasmanian circuit for the past few years. The band has played at the Cygnet Folk Festival, Forest Folk Festival, Tamar Valley Folk Festival and are regulars at venues around the Tamar Valley
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St Andrews Caledonian Pipe Band
St Andrews Caledonian Pipe Band was formed in 1933 from the Caledonian Society and the St Andrews Pipers. Located in Launceston, in the island state of Tasmania, Australia, the band is Tasmania's oldest and longest continuing band.
Performing at annual community events, the band enjoys a strong community following in Northern Tasmania and their 75th Anniversary in 2008 was acknowledged by the Launceston City Council with a Civic Reception.
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The Longford Morris Dancers
Now based in Launceston, the Longford Morris Dancers grew out of a workshop at the Longford Folk Festival in 1979 and have been entertaining the public at fairs and festivals ever since.
Morris dancing is a traditional form of English Folk Dancing. It is a colourful, lively, energetic and fun form of dance done in sets of four to six people to live music with the ringing of bells around the legs, waving of hankies and clashing of sticks.
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Eddie Tuleja
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Aileen Pontyer Irish Dancers
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Liffey Folk Group
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Southwind
Southwind is a newly formed band composed of four friends who share a love of celtic and folk music. Each of the four come from quite different musical backgrounds but the marriage of seasoned and burgeoning musicians is the beginnings of a local outfit keen to play. ( L to R in photo)
Barry Higgins, irish flute, tin whistle ,uillean pipes, guitar and vocals;
Michael Horton, vocals and electric fiddle;
Kerry Cantlay, guitar, bodhran and vocals;
Louisa Cantlay, fiddle
THE PROGRAM for St. Patrick's Day (not in order of performance)
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Southwind - Traditional Celtic Air in music and song
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Waltzing Matilda - Queensland tune and lyrics
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Brian Baru's March - One of Ireland's oldest traditional tunes remembering this High King of Ireland circa1000AD
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The March of the King of Laois - Commemorates nobleman Rory O'More'sexploits in the 1641 rebellion.
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The Old Grey Goose/Blarney Pilgrim jig set
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Fermoy Lasses/Lads of Laois/Morning Dew reel set
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Copperplate/GatehouseMaid/Down the Broom reel set
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Dragons Realm
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Heath Richardson (to be confirmed)
Heath Richardson is an unusual bagpiper who puts a new, upbeat spin on the instrument. His music catches your ear instantly. Heath explains:
"I don't play sort of traditional pipe band kind of stuff. It's more up-tempo, folky stuff that you can jig up and down to, and I think I sort of shock a lot of people - it doesn't sound like they expect bagpipes to sound! A lot of people ask me "What sort of bagpipes are they? They're obviously not Scottish." They are .. it's just the tunes I play."
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