mostly from
www.tunejunkie.org, but with my minor insertions for clarification or tense changes to reflect that this year's event had occurred.
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This year’s Tune Junkie Weekend was held February 17th, 18th & 19th 2012. The Friday night & Sunday Farewell sessions were held at Boyd’s Jig and Reel Pub in Knoxville, TN and Saturday’s events (workshops and evening concert followed by session) were held at the High Places Community Church (formerly Grove movie theater) in Oak Ridge TN.
The Tune Junkie weekend is an annual event sponsored by local organizations & businesses in Knoxville and Oak Ridge TN to promote Traditional Irish Music.
More specifically it is an excuse for traditional musicians [and enthusiasts] to get together and see our friends and play loads of tunes, imbibe on a responsible amount of adult beverages [or not] and have some killer craic!!
In a way it is a spinoff of the Swannannoa Gathering’s Celtic Week in Black Mountain NC. Every year in July traditional musicians gather to play loads of tunes, imbibe on responsible amounts of adult beverages and have some killer craic. During one summer’s events two musicians Chad Beauchaine [of Knoxville band "Four Leaf Peat" ] & Keith Carr realized “we don’t want to have to wait a WHOLE YEAR to to THIS again” So, in short…….They didn’t
Jason Herrera [of Knoxville band "Four Leaf Peat" ] immediately saw the potential (by potential I mean the copious amounts of fun that would be had) of this event. With his efforts and the generous support of the High Places Community Church we had a venue! Thus the Tune Junkie Weekend was born and this year’s event will be the 4th Annual TJW!!
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I was only able to attend the Saturday evening concert (this year).
Joseph Sobol (a Professor of Storytelling at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City TN) played and sang and
then was joined by other band members of
"Sigean" for a set.
http://sigeanband.com/Two members of a normally 3-man group from Chattanooga called "Pay the Reckoning" were up next, with Mark Pittner on guitar and Ken Doyle on lead vocals, flute and tin whistle.
http://www.paythereckoning.net/Bios.htmlNext up was "Corner House" out of Columbia South Carolina, consistin of Andi Hearn & Davey Mathias, who together also run the Redbird School of Irish Music. They have a new album coming out called "Deadly Buzz."
http://www.cornerhousemusic.com/The Red Wellies from Asheville, NC followed, on this occasion with twin fiddlers Claudine "Beanie" Odell and Randal Bays, and Vincent Fogarty on bouzouki.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Red-Wellies/134385379913717Wendy Smith (singer formerly with now-disbanded Knoxville group Finnegan's aWake) did a lovely rendition of "Erin's Lovely Shore" and was then joined by Gil Draper and Chad Beauchaine of "Four Leaf Peat" band for "Do You Love an Apple, Do You Love a Pear" (or whatever the proper song title is). Wendy has a wonderfully clear voice and she may occasionally sing at concerts of "Four Leaf Peat" band, but I would definitely appreciate if she had a more consistent singing presence on the local/regional music scene.
The full regular version of "Four Leaf Peat"
[Chad Beauchaine - fiddle
Gil Draper - guitar, vocal, mandolin, and bouzouki
Jason Herrera - bodhran, vocals, flute & whistle
Rick Hall - hammer dulcimer, bodhran, vocals, whistle & bones]
finished the concert (7-10 PM)
and all present were invited to stay for the "session" afterwards - for as long as it ran. Unfortunately, I had to leave...
They were scheduled to hold a Sunday session back at Boyd's Jug and Reel pub in Knoxville 11 AM - 4 PM.
If you are a traditional Irish music fan, try to get to the Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina in July or come over to Tennessee for next year's "Tune Junkie Weekend" !
