Baltimore Fiddle Fair

Various venues, Baltimore, Co Cork Fri-Sun fiddlefair.com

Various venues, Baltimore, Co Cork Fri-Sun fiddlefair.com

West Cork’s finest summer gathering is this weekend at the boutique Baltimore Fiddle Fair. The intimate and convivial settings of Glebe Gardens and Dún na Séad Castle will host a cacophony of sounds that stretch from Cape Breton siblings Dan Paul MacDonald with their father Lloyd, to Norway via the sparkling five-piece fiddle band Majorstuen.

American Old Timey duo Stephanie Coleman Cleek Shrey (above) share an afternoon bill with fiddler Dezi Donnelly. In between, expect to encounter avant-garde offerings from Shetland duo Chris Stout and Catríona McKay.

But when all the hullabaloo subsides, what are the chances that one of the standout performances of the weekend will be Sliabh Luachra fiddle maestro Paddy Cronin? If it’s music from the source you’re after, you need look no further than Cronin’s lunchtime recital tomorrow, alongside guitarist and singer Gearóid Ó Duinnín.

Siobhán Long

Siobhán Long

Siobhán Long, a contributor to The Irish Times, writes about traditional music and the wider arts