MORRISBURG – On Thursday evening, August 8, at Stone Crop Acres, everyone in the audience was Irish. It didn’t matter what your actual family roots were. For singer/songwriter Karan Casey’s Harmony Concert in Morrisburg, everyone was ‘Irish,’ and very soon swept up in the music and stories of the Old Country.
Karan Casey, all the way from Cork, is on a musical tour in Canada, joined by fellow musicians Niall Vallely and Niamh Dunne. A renowned Celtic singer, praised for her ballads and her song stories, whose pieces delightfully cross traditional musical boundaries, Karan shared her music and her heritage with the crowd gathered at the Winery for her Harmony show. She also shared her stories. In an earlier Leader interview, Karan described how much she loves connecting with people in her shows. “There is really nothing like a live performance…They are really what keep me going…Love and trust are built into the room through song.”
Along with her beautiful voice, Karan has a great sense of humour. As she prepared to sing a piece dedicated to her mother, Anne Casey, she introduced it by saying “My mom loved life. And she was also a bit of a saint due to being married to my dad – who was a colourful character to say the least.” She often shared anecdotes and funny tales as part of her introduction to her songs, and the audience very much enjoyed hearing them.
A talented pianist, Karan accompanied herself on many pieces. Her voice has a wide, distinctive range, especially on the high notes. She sometimes sings in Gaelic: the audience may not understand the words in those pieces, but they cannot miss the emotions that fill her music. She holds nothing back when she performs. On some songs, Niamh harmonized with her, and the crowd was enchanted.
What would an Irish musical concert be without some jigs? Karan stood back and turned the stage over to Niamh and her magic fiddle and Niall and his concertina. Toes were tapping and hands were clapping during a series of “Slip jigs – three beats to a bar.” And where would an Irish concert be if the audience did not sing along on some of the pieces like the ‘King’s Shilling’ and the hilarious ‘Dandlin’ Song’?
Karan Casey’s music covers a wide range. She sang the title piece from her album ‘Nine Apples of Gold’ which mixes Irish mythology with modern themes. Then she switched to ‘Roger the Miller’ the tale of a man who loved wealth more than a young woman, and lived to regret his choices. An artist who has long made a point of emphasizing the true power and contributions of women in the history of Ireland, she sang songs like ‘We Will Rise – The Women They Will Rise.’
This was a concert full of stories, of laughter, of joy and also of pieces that were thoughtful and sometimes pensive. Led by singer Karan Casey, these three artists made the music of old Ireland, and of new Ireland, come to life for the audience. It was a memorable performance.
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