Joe Burke 

Joe Burke, for those new to Irish traditional music, is one of the living legends of the music. He is also a living link to many older Irish musicians that have already left this world. Born in 1939, he grew up learning from people like the great accordion masters, Joe Cooley and Pady O'Brien, nach maireann.
Joe Burke grew up in a time when the music was probably at its weakest in the last century, when many pubs prohibited the playing of what they called "diddley-dee" music. When Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann was founded in 1951, and the folk music revival started in earnest in the 1960s in Ireland, Joe Burke was there to play a pivotal part in the resurrection.
Over the years, he has released a number of brilliant recordings, playing the accordion, flute, uilleann pipes, or fiddle. On this new CD, he sticks with the instrument of which he is an undisputed master: the accordion.   Paul Carr - The Irish Herald
www.joeburkemusic.com

Patrick Street

Patrick Street is not a man. Nor is Patrick Street an address. Patrick Street, an exciting quartet of Irish music virtuosos, is the reigning "supergroup" in traditional Irish music. The all-star band has enchanted fans and critics around the world for the past seventeen years with what the Boston Globe once called its "rare combination of breathtaking virtuosity and the relaxed grace of masters, playing this ancient music at its wild and humble best." The members of Patrick Street--Kevin Burke (fiddle), Andy Irvine (bouzouki, mandolin and lead vocals), John Carty (fiddle, banjo) and Ged Foley (guitar and vocals)--helped create the sound of modern Celtic music in the 1970s, playing in such seminal groups as the Bothy Band, Planxty, DeDannan and the Battlefield Band. Since joining forces in the 1980s as Patrick Street, the four men have only gotten better with age--according to the Washington Post, "There's no better Celtic music group in the world right now than Patrick Street."

Seven Nations 

"Explosive Seven Nations blows Palace into orbit ... you'd be hard pressed to find a more original, unique but accessible group ... powerful self-penned tunes and transcendent live shows. A musical force to be reckoned with, Seven Nations' day has come." - Albany Times-Union
"Seven Nations is blazing a new path in the "indie" music world for others to follow. Rarely has there been a CD with such variety so skillfully played, a testament to the multi-talented Seven Nations." - Brigid's Feast
"Full of hooks, addictive melodies, and precise musicianship, Seven Nations may be the next frontrunners for the summer tour feel-good band of the new millennium." - MusicBlitz
"Seven Nations, which melds bagpipes and fiddles with blazing electric guitars and drums ... exited their tour bus and walked in to a standing ovation." - San Francisco Chronicle
www.sevennations.com

Jim Malcom

*Appearing Sunday only with Ed Miller*

Former lead singer of the Old Blind Dogs, Jim Malcolm was brought up in Perthshire and Angus and was steeped in the traditional music of Scotland from an early age. He learned to play guitar while at school and by his early twenties was winning songwriting competitions and playing in folk clubs all over Scotland.
His career began to take off when he hosted the open stage at Edinburgh Folk Festival, and through his own playing there secured a contract with Greentrax for his first solo album, Sconeward. Acclaimed by critics and chosen as one of the year's best by Radio Scotland's folk programmes Travelling Folk and Celtic Connections, the album brought in bookings at folk clubs and festivals in Britain and abroad, and established Jim as one of the leading songwriters in the traditional idiom in Scotland. He was dubbed: "The new male voice of Scotland."