This
past weekend I had the opportunity to listen to the Ladies of Longford who is
an Irish group that performs through-out Ohio. It was this time one year ago at
the 2011 Dublin Irish Festival when I heard them for the first time. I was
amazed with their powerful voices and their skills with various instruments.
Let
me give you a very short summary of who they are. The Ladies of Longford
consists of five women who play traditional Irish music in addition to a bit of
everything else. But they always put their own little twist into their songs
for their fans. Their grandfather is originally from Co. Longford in Ireland,
hence the name Ladies of Longford. The group consists of:
Hilda
Doyle (vocals, acoustic guitar)
Stephanie Doyle (vocals, bass guitar)
Heather Doyle Fraser ( vocals, percussion-including djembe, shaker, tambourine)
Elizabeth Blickenstaff (fiddle)
Molly Pauken (drums, bass guitar)
Stephanie Doyle (vocals, bass guitar)
Heather Doyle Fraser ( vocals, percussion-including djembe, shaker, tambourine)
Elizabeth Blickenstaff (fiddle)
Molly Pauken (drums, bass guitar)
They
started the weekend with an hour show on the lawn of the statehouse. Their music always seems to pull in the young
dancers whether they are doing traditional Irish dance or just dancing in
general. After the show I chatted with Heather for a while but I did not want
to hold her up too long because they had another show later that day at the
Dublin Irish Festival. I need to say that each of these ladies also performs
with various other Irish groups. This weekend will be my first time to hear
these other groups so I made a point to attend all their shows for a few
reasons. First, I wanted to hear the other groups as I enjoy Irish music.
Second, I want to support the other groups these ladies are part of and last I
wanted to get pictures for their fans.
Friday
Friday
Lone
Raven with Elizabeth
Elizabeth
also plays the fiddle with Lone Raven so later that day I arrived at the
festival and hurried to the stage where Lone Raven would be performing. I have
heard Lone Raven before and I like their music. Downside was that they only had
one show this weekend. When I got to the stage they were already into their
first song or two. I must say that Kara and Elizabeth perform the best version
of “Black is the Colour” that I have ever heard. Kara sings the main vocals and
Elizabeth plays the fiddle and also sings. The rest of the group also performs
and they create this sound that I cannot describe. After their show I made sure
to buy the CD that had that song on it. I also recorded it with my camera. Lone
Raven is a great group and I love their music, but that song will always stand
out for me.
Ladies of Longford
Later
that night I made sure to get a front row seat for the Ladies of Longford.
Molly is not with them on every show through-out the year and she was with them
on this night (and earlier at the statehouse) I think Molly is talented and
wanted to make sure to catch a few shows since I have not seen her for several
months. I want to say this in a positive way but Molly reminds me of some of
the great musicians of the 60’s. But whether it is all five or just four of
them, they put their heart into it and give us the best show ever. I love how
they interact with each other and the fans.
Saturday
Vinegar
Hill with Elizabeth.
I
did not care for the schedule on some shows because of the times. Vinegar Hill
was my first show today but Stephanie also had a show with Clear Blue Sunday
and these two overlapped about 30 minutes. When Vinegar Hill ended, I was gone and heading to
the stage with Clear Blue Sunday. I really enjoyed Vinegar Hill. I am not the
best when it comes to describing music but I know what I like and what I do not
like. I think Elizabeth is highly skilled on the fiddle but I wanted to make
sure I listened to Vinegar Hill as a group. This would be my first time hearing
Vinegar Hill so I was looking forward to hear them. I do not know their names
but they have a great sound. I would listen to them again.
Clear Blue Sunday with Stephanie
I
made it to the stage just as I heard one of the guys commenting about how much
better they sound because of Stephanie’s voice. Not taking anything away from
them, I will agree that Stephanie does have a great voice. Each of them had
certain songs where they sing lead vocals and they have good voices. They
played some traditional Irish songs and even a bit of rock. This was also my
first time hearing Clear Blue Sunday. The DIF always offers a variety of music
and I can usually tell within a few songs whether I like a group or not. This
is another group who I would hear again.
Craig and Kara
Craig
and Kara are from Lone Raven but this was not a Lone Raven performance. Hilda
and Elizabeth also sat in with Craig and Kara. Since it was not the complete
Lone Raven group, I still had a question. So I went up to Kara and asked her if
they will be performing Black is the Colour. Hey, what can I say. I love that
song by them. I believe it was the closing song. Craig and Kara possess the
same quality as with Lone Raven. It is still them but at a smaller scale. Kara
has a beautiful voice regardless whether it is all of them or just a few. After
the show I talked with Elizabeth for a few minutes and had to comment on the
song and we talked about their busy schedule.
Ladies of Longford
These
poor women finally had a few hours to rest before their next show. I really
felt bad for them. All we do is move from stage to stage, clap, dance or
whatever. But they are up on stage in the lights moving about for over an hour
in this heat. Through all this they still kept a positive attitude and gave us
a perfect show. Lots of smiles, jokes and just having fun. I was talking to
Hilda and I love how she put it, “we love making music and love entertaining
the people.” With a passion like that, it is no wonder why fans love
them! After the show I chatted with Heather and Stephanie some more and I
headed off so they could get packed up and get home.
Sunday
A
little cooler today and they had a less strenuous schedule. They did a song
with Dublin Silver Band and a closing number with Vinegar Hill. While listening
to Vinegar Hill, Elizabeth is doing one of her solos and the cord to her fiddle
comes unplugged. She just keeps playing along while they get her plugged back
in. Very professional!
After
the show I get some pictures of them and also a few with them. I thank them for
a great weekend as you can see was very busy. Whether performing as a group or with others, this was a wonderful weekend for
Ladies of Longford fans.
Videos
Ladies
of Longford
Lone
Raven with Elizabeth (Ladies of Longford)
Vinegar
Hill with Elizabeth (Ladies of Longford)
Statehouse
Lawn
