Barrowburn has a smooth speed in their music that beacons to listen to more of their style. And with their style you also get great a cappellas that are compelling to any soul. You’ll find hearty, traditional Celtic songs played with an American twist that only Barrowburn can bring.
The flute and fiddle have a special place in my heart (just below the pipes), and Barrowburn displays some of the best that I’ve heard in a while. Virgil Sealy and Jeff Cates whine out their fiddles, both mournfully and cheerfully. Nathan Deese belts out the flute. With Richard Nardin on the guitar, but we can’t forget their talents on the bodhran, the mandolin and the whistle and their harmonizing vocals to accompany with a great sound.
They have a slow lament in “Piper’s Refrain”, a quick jig in “Cocked Hat”, but it is my belief that you’ll find every song on the album good, and some of them great.
You’ll find the guys hanging in and out at the Tir na nÓg pub in Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s one of the places I’ll visit when I go on vacation. The hometown crowd has me jealous.
Artist: Barrowburn
Buy Album: Mist Covered Mountains
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Similar Artists: Makem & Spain Bros, Rambling Sailors, the Corries
Written by Don Dyer for the Celtic Music Magazine. Don Dyer is a professional watercolor artist, author, and book cover designer who lives and works in New Mexico. See some of his work at www.dyerinks.com.