News & Reviews
New Video - 'The Jolly Beggar' featuring dancers Dawn Daniels and Niall O'Leary!!
New Video - 'South Australia' Featuring cáit O'Riordan!!
IRISH EXAMINER REVIEW:
AVON FAIRE - Group releases 'Tales of Love and Adventure' with new recordings of centuries-old songs
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What do you get when you mix the styles of Steeleye Span, The Clancy Brothers, Fairport Convention, The Dubliners and Planxty in a blender, then pour that mixture into one fresh, new recording? You get Avon Faire and their unique sound with very traditional roots!
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Avon Faire's new release, 'Tales of Love and Adventure', offers 11 brand new recordings of centuries-old songs. Andriette Redmann, Kath Green and Anna Marie Spallina combine their 3-part harmony vocals with a rich blend of acoustic guitars, lively drums and percussion, recorders, Irish pipes, fiddle and cello to create a record that is poetic, provocative and joyously fun!
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'Tales of Love and. Adventure' continues Avon Faire's mission to bring their versions of traditional Celtic folk songs of old to the audiences of today, and features some very special guests including Cáit O'Riordan of The Pogues, who sings on three tracks - 'South Australia', 'Skye Boat Song' and 'Leave Her Johnny' - and Cillian Vallely of Lúnasa, who plays whistles and pipes on 'The Jolly Beggar', 'Lark In The Morning', 'Skye Boat Song' and 'Flowres of the Forrest'.
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Take a trip across the seas of the past and dream of faraway lands with 'Tales of Love and Adventure' and Avon Faire - you might not want to come back!'
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Reviewed by Paddy McCarthy
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WORLD MUSIC CENTRAL REVIEW:
Delightful Celtic and Medieval Songs from Avon Faire
Avon Faire – Tales of Love and Adventure (Avon Faire, 2022)
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“Tales of Love and Adventure” is the second album from Avon Faire, a folk band based in New York City. The group performs charming recreations of medieval ballads, sea shanties, love songs, and traditional folk pieces from Ireland, Scotland, and England.
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The group’s signature sound consists of masterfully crafted, beautiful vocal work by Andriette Redmann, Kath Green, and Anna Marie Spallina. In terms of music and arrangements, Avon Faire draws primarily from Celtic music and American folk traditions. Additionally, “Tales of Love and Adventure” features various guest musicians who add a greater Irish flavor to the music.
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Avon Faire includes Andriette Redmann on vocals, guitar, percussion; Kath Green on vocals, guitar, percussion; Anna Marie Spallina on vocals, guitar, percussion, mandolin, ukulele, recorders; and John Rokosny on percussion.
Special guests: Cáit O’Riordan on vocals, percussion; Cillian Vallely on Uilleann pipes; Jane Scarpantoni on cello; and Matthew Christian on violin.
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Reviewed by Angelo Romero
FOLKWORDS REVIEW:
‘Riddles and Love Songs’ - Avon Faire - balanced voices with an entrancing level of attraction
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Take three voices that together make a beautiful sound, focus that sound on three-part harmony arrangements of traditional British and Irish songs, add a taste of originality, and you have Avon Faire. That’s precisely what you get with their debut album, ‘Riddles and Love Songs’. The songs are familiar, their narratives well-known, their place in the tradition established ... however, listening to these perfectly balanced voices adds an entrancing level of attraction. If hitting ‘replay’ is any judge, then ‘Riddles and Love Songs’ certainly makes its mark!
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Opening with ‘All Around My Hat’, which has become something of a folk pop staple, they give it a wholly different take, then they give a similar edge to ‘Cold Blow And The Rainy Night’, a re-titled ‘He Moved Through The Fair’, ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’, a lovingly executed rendition of ‘London’ and ‘Riddles Wisely Expounded’.
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Avon Faire is - Kath Green (vocals, guitar, percussion), Andriette Redmann (vocals, guitar, percussion), and Betsy Long (vocals, bodhran, percussion).
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Reviewed by Tim Carroll
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