Old-time news from FOAOTMAD

Thanks to the FOAOTMAD news blog, which this week gives dates and venues for the prospective tour in Britain in May by the splendid old-time duo Elizabeth LaPrelle and Anna Roberts-Gevalt. They are booked solid from 7 May to 20 May at successive venues in England and Scotland.

FOAOTMAD, however, gives no info on their dates in Ireland, and their online tour schedule shows only what it has for a long time: Baltimore, Co. Cork, on 22 May (a fortnight after the Fiddle Fair), and then other shows TBA from 23 to 26 May. To quote again from the original FOAOTMAD press release of months ago, 'If anyone can offer a gig please contact Peta Webb [e-mail].'

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The BIB mentioned six weeks ago the publication of the masterly Couldn't have a wedding without the fiddler: the story of traditional fiddling on Prince Edward Island by musicologist and 'melodic clawhammer' banjo maestro Ken Perlman (USA), which has been called 'the most thorough and comprehensive exploration of any fiddling tradition anywhere'.

FOAOTMAD now announces, for fiddlers who may be interested in exploring this further, a new website, 'Bowing down home: Prince Edward Island fiddling traditions', with sections on people, tunes, styles, traditions, and events.