The Chieftains unite with other music traditions in two upcoming concerts.
By:Hilary Parker
When The Chieftains first achieved success playing the traditional folk music of Ireland, it might’ve appeared to be a case of the luck of the Irish. Theirs was the music of Uilleann pipes and fiddles rather than electric guitars, played to the beat of bodhrans, not snare drum sets. They offered the traditional in a musical world that wasn’t always kind to the tried and true.
Now, 44 years and six Grammy wins after front man Paddy Moloney first formed the group, it’s safe to say that The Chieftains’ success had nothing to do with luck, and everything to do with good, old-fashioned talent.
Times and band members have changed in the four decades they’ve been together, but The Chieftains have never strayed from their traditional Irish roots. Still, with each passing year they bring new additions to their shows, and their performances on March 9 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, March 10 at McCarter Theatre in Princeton and March 18 at New Jersey Performing Arts Center promise new dimensions and new performers.
"We’ll never be anything else than traditional Irish musicians," says Mr. Moloney, who emphasizes the importance of friendship and collaboration, relishing old friends and new friends alike. To honor an old friend, the band’s current album, Live From Dublin: A Tribute to Derek Bell, pays homage to the harpist who was an integral part of the band from 1974 until his sudden death in 2002.
In honoring Mr. Bell, The Chieftains are currently touring with talented musicians and dancers from the whole world over, and their current show is "not just a Chieftains performance," according to Mr. Moloney.
If The Chieftains are longtime veterans of the traditional folk music scene, then their special guests, The Cottars, are relative newcomers, even though they have spent most of their lives performing. The two teenage brother-sister pairs hail from Cape Breton, and offer the traditional music of Nova Scotia with their vocals and instrumentation and they dance, too.
"All this weaved into two and a quarter hours can be quite an exciting time," exclaims Mr. Moloney, and The Cottars aren’t the only ones light of foot on the stage. The Chieftains also bring with them Irish step-dancers Cara Butler dubbed "the princess of dance" by Mr. Moloney and Donnie Golden. Then there are Jon and Nathan Pilatzke from the Ottawa Valley of Canada, whose style of dancing is closely related to Irish with elements of tap.
"They are fliers and show-stoppers," says Mr. Moloney of the duo, and he’s equally as complimentary of Triona Marshall, a guest harpist. "She’s way up there on cloud seven to me. It’s incredible."
Along with The Cottars and Ms. Marshall, The Chieftains will also share the stage with Jeff White, a bluegrass musician who has played with the likes of Vince Gill and Lyle Lovett. It might seem a bit out of place to have American country, the Scottish-influenced music of Cape Breton and the dancing of Canada’s Ottawa Valley featured at a concert focused on traditional Irish music, but Mr. Moloney doesn’t see it that way.
"That was one of my little plans," he says of uniting traditional folk music and dance from the world over. "It all relates, it all comes back. (The Irish) did sort of spread the gospel about religion as well as arts," he laughs, noting that he’s even found Celtic influences in Cuba, and their Grammy-award winning album, Santiago, celebrates that connection.
"It’s a big circle of friends," he says. "Nashville? It’s like going to another town in the south of Ireland."
Having collaborated with the likes of Sting and Mick Jagger, and celebrating traditional music the world over, The Chieftains have friends wherever they go, and they’ve discovered recently that their reputation precedes them and they find friends in their audiences the minute they walk out on stage.
"Maybe because we’re getting old," Mr. Moloney says, laughing at his suggestion, "we’ve been getting standing ovations when we walk out." Whatever the reason, he’s thrilled at the reception, especially because The Chieftains have never opted for smokescreens or flashing lights, never tried to be anything other than truly talented Irish folk musicians.
"It’s back down to roots, it’s back down to what it’s all about," he says. "That is what The Chieftains have to offer."
The Chieftains will perform at the State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick,
March 9, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25-$55. For information, call (732) 246-7469. Other
performances: McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place, Princeton, March 10, 8 p.m.,
sold out, (609) 258-2787, www.mccarter.org
New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark, March 18, 8 p.m., $22-$66,
(888) 466-5277, www.njpac.org.
The Chieftains on the Web: www.thechieftains.com