Brendan Taaffe: Bands




Bands

Playing and singing with great folks is the best part about this whole music deal. Below are the bands I appear with most frequently, but I'm also lucky to work with a whole slew of great musicians in different configurations.

Magic Foot

Colin Lindsay (fiddle, concertina), Chris Stevens (button accordion), Brendan (guitar, feet, vocals), Stefan Amidon (percussion)

Magic Foot brings together the talents of four inventive players—Colin Lindsay, Chris Stevens, Brendan Taaffe, and Stefan Amidon—who are charming audiences from South to North with their driving, high energy music. Rooted deeply in the Irish tradition, the lads pull inspiration from a wide array of sources—French accordion players to James Brown—to create their own sound, and are equally adept at lifting dancer's feet off the floor and warming the soul in concert.

"While dancing, I was swept away in dance bliss while still appreciating how awesome and tight the music was."

"The hot boy band of contra dancing. . . "

"Dancing to you guys is a spiritual experience."

"You guys are hot! And I love your music, too."

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Colman's Well

Nils Fredland (bass, trombone, feet), Rachel Gordon (alto, feet), Brendan (tenor, guitar, feet, mbira)

Nils, Rachel and I love to sing together, and that's what we do in Colman's Well. We first sang together in Ireland in the summer of 2007, performing for a sold-out crowd in Westport, Co. Mayo. We draw from American, Irish and English traditions, arranging most of our own material and looking for that place where the chords sparkle.

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Mad Gad

Colin Lindsay (fiddle, concertina), David Cantieni (flute, sax, bombarde), Brendan (guitar, feet, vocals)

David Cantieni is the excitement in Wild Asparagus's trademark sound, making dancers all over the country whoop in excitement when he pulls out the bombarde or saxophone and sigh in bliss when he plays a jig on the whistle. With Colin and I, Mad Gad makes for fun, driving dance music.

Bibelot

Richard Forest (fiddle, feet), Brendan (fiddle, feet, guitar, box), Roger Kahle (guitar, mandolin)

Richard's driving fiddle has been lifting dancers and gracing the Quebecois scene for over thirty years, and in that time Richard has taught at Pinewoods, Ashokan, Augusta, American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend and has played for innumerable dance weekends. Roger has been playing his own brand of intricate and lush guitar for decades, appearing at NEFFA and the Downeast Country Dance Festival, among others. With two fiddles, a flurry of feet and Roger's flash guitar playing, Bibelot heats up the hall.

George Wilson and Brendan Taaffe

George (fiddle, feet), Brendan (guitar, feet, fiddle)

George's music is irrepressible and dynamic, strongly influenced by the traditions of Cape Breton and Quebec, and has been popular with dancers and listeners since the late 70s. As a duo, we fill up the hall—mostly on fiddle and guitar, but sometimes (for a special treat) with two fiddles and four feet.

turtle dove harmony week