Roy Johnstone, PEI FiddlerNews
Celtfest Cuba concert in Plaza Veija
I'm making plans to attend celtfest cuba 2012. Here's a little sample from last year's festival.Roy performs with Cuban musicians: cahone player Javier, cellist Arianna, guitarist Damian and whistle player Yoe. They are joined by Cuban dancer Rose .
Celtfestcuba Festival A Success
The 2011 celtferstcuba festival has just ended and for me it was a fantastic experience. This is the second year for the festival and there were a few logistical and publicity challenges , especially organizing a festival with this many participants and venues around old havana but for me it was a great experience. Please put this festival on your calendar for April 2012.
New CD "live at Loon " is now available
"Mesmerizing", "Unbelievable", "Friendly", "Awesome" and so on. The Blues and Gypsy pieces went down particularly well...... I haven't had so much fun since I was a fly on the wall at a Johnny Cunningham gig."
Tunes for Fiddlers
..from a fiddler about Roy's new "Tunes for fiddlers"
I really enjoy Roy’s rendition of Dogheda Lasses and Ballintore Fancy. The recording is perfect for learning. ...we have had some fun playing those tunes at local sessions..... So Roy, I hope that you can make more of your recordings available for us to learn.
tune sample http://www.royjohnstone.com/samplemusic
New Feature: Music tracks for Download
For less than the price of a cup of coffee ( $.99) you can download one of my tunes . CD downloads are half the price ( $9.99) of a hard copy CD. All you need is a credit card or pay pal account. Check out the recording section for a listing of all the tunes. I will be posting many more tunes as soon as they are recorded. You can be the first to hear them.
Johnstone to perform at celtfestcuba
Fiddler Roy Johnstone invited to perform at celtfestcuba
Artistic director Kilian Kennedy says he is pleased to have PEI fiddler, Roy Johnstone performing at the celtfestcuba. "Roy's style of playing will be a great addition to the festival and will be very well received by audiences."
Neuroscience and What it is to Be Human or "The Brain and the Fiddle"
The field of neuroscience had been making many amazing discoveries about how our brain functions and these new insights have important ramifications for our understanding of what it is to be human.
Small Halls Festival Video
Here's a sampling of video footage from the small halls festival held at small halls all over PEI .
A short excerpt of Roy playing with Duane Cote and Duane Andrews is included .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxV-mY7Ej7I
Tour Starts With A Bang
Derry Opera House was nearly full to the rafters for the opening night concert of Johnstone and Sharratt's fifth New England Tour. The event was sponsored by the East Derry Village Committee.
Special guests included dancers Lauren and Hilary , Madeline and piper Kirk as well as Catherine Dion , the oldest living person in New Hampshire who was born on PEI 109 years ago.
Thanks to Brenda Caldwell and all her helpers for all their organizing efforts.
What is Island Culture ?
Opinion letter in the Guardian from Edwin Jamieson about Frank Ledwell's view of PEI culture.
Johnstone Sharratt tour in Boston Globe
Our tireless promoter Katie O'Neill has been helping us get the word out for our New England tour.
Here's a few of the links.
http://calendar.boston.com/worcester-ma/events/show/147647105-roy-johnstone-steve-sharratt-in-concert
http://www.visitnewengland.com/events.html#21015
http://www.wgbh.org/events/
Rolling Waves Recording Now available
This recording featuring favourite Irish, Scottish and Cape Breton tunes is now available for purchase. The recording was nominated for an East Coast Music Award and features Roy on fiddle with Grady Poe on guitar and Lennie Gallant on bodhran.
There are two bonus tracks included in the complete CD download. MacPherson's Lament from the unreleased recording "David's Gift" in which Roy is joined by the Bonshaw Boys and O'Carolan's Farwell to Music which is part of a solo fiddle recording that Roy is presently working on.
Fiddle Lessons
This is part of a continuing series of articles I write for the PEI fiddlers newsletter. It covers a wide variety of topics related to playing the fiddle.
copyright@royjohnstone 2008, 09, 10
Back to the landers (1970's "Hippies" move to the Island)
PhD Candidate Ryan O'Connor has created an informative and entertaining web site with interviews about "back to the landers" who moved to Prince Edward Island in the 1970's. I was one of them! Engaging interviews and a overview narrative. The site uses George Zimble's fine photographs to highlight and complement the stories. Check it out.
The url is http://niche.uwo.ca/backtotheisland.
