Sean Smith
Photo* by Shalyn Smith
*Also known as "What happens when you take a folk-singer to a park and let him run free."
Sean Smith
Music from Ireland, England, Scotland and sometimes elsewhere
Some of us are born to greatness, some of us have greatness thrust upon them...and me, well, I just play music. I do this on guitar, bouzouki, bodhran, mandolin and Anglo concertina (the latter mainly for morris dancing), and I've been known to sing as well. Most of my repertoire comes from the folk traditions of Ireland, England and Scotland -- stuff I've heard from other musicians and singers or found in books or other publications, and occasionally tinkered with to suit my particular needs, abilities and whims.Nowadays, I frequent sessions here and
there in the Boston area and am working with Janine Sirignano (fiddle) and Peter Buchak (concertina and accordion) as Third Reel, and am in another trio with fiddlers Doug Lamey and Katie McNally; I also have been part of a few occasional groups these past few years, notably Nora's Holiday, Triple Play, Random Clan and
Tooremoor. Among the venues and events where I've appeared, solo or in collaboration of some fashion, at one time or another are: Club Passim, Boston Celtic Music Fest, The Press Room, Oasis Coffeehouse, The Mill, New England Folk Festival Association (NEFFA), Olive Branch Coffeehouse, Blackstone Valley Celtic Festival, Nameless Coffeehouse, Boston College Arts Festival and J.P. O'Hanlon's Pub. I've been fortunate enough to play with such folks as Seamus Connolly, Laurel Martin, Heather Cole-Mullen, Robin Kynoch, Oisin McAuley, Dan Houghton, Emerald Rae & Eden Forman, Doug Lamey, Flynn Cohen, Jimmy Noonan, Amelia Mason, Emily Troll, Kristin Sherwood, Eugene Rothman, Katie McNally, Abbie MacQuarrie and -- well, the list goes on.
The social amenities are a big part of
what draws me to the music, whatever its point of origin. Playing a
toe-tromping reel at a packed-to-the-rafters Irish ceilidh, backing a
brisk 6/8 march at a convivial Scottish fiddle session, belting out a
chorus at an English-style pub-sing -- put me in any of those settings
and I'll be happy beyond description. But I also enjoy the performance
aspect, and so I try to arrange songs or tunes creatively and
imaginatively, so they will (hopefully) be pleasant for the listener to
experience.
To make matters worse, I also indulge in the ancient English tradition of morris
dancing, and have performed with several teams, the current one being Commonwealth Morris Men.
In addition, I'm involved in the organizational, behind-the-scenes end of folk music and dance, including events such as the Boston Celtic Music Fest and the ICONS Festival. I also sometimes write about these activities: Here's an article I did about The Ginger Ale, a children's morris dance event held in Boston; and some of the work I did for ICONS.
Fortified by frequent, regular doses of Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, the Clancy Brothers, Theodore Bikel et al during childhood, and then inspired by annual visits to the Fox Hollow Festival in Petersburg, NY, I began playing traditional music in my teens. During college, I spent a year in Ireland and the UK doing an independent study of the folk music revival, which gave me the opportunity to go to numerous folk clubs, festivals and sessions. In 1980, I joined a short-lived band called Invermark, and was a back-up musician on a recording of bagpipe music by two of the group's members ["Land of My Youth," Front Hall Records, released 1981].
Moving to Boston in 1981, I co-founded a trio, Dark Eyed Sheep, which for several years performed at coffeehouses, festivals and other venues in New England, such as Club Passim, NEFFA, Transfigured Night Coffeehouse, The Press Room, The Village Coach House and the Acadian Folk Festival in Maine. We also appeared live on WERS-FM and recorded a cassette album.
After a lengthy period of musical inactivity, a few years back I started inflicting myself once again on local musicians, sessions, pubs and dances. I can only speak for myself, but have to say I've enjoyed the reimmersion.
Questions? Comments? Reasonable offers? Drop me a line.
Triple Play at BCMFest 2006 (Click on photo for larger version)
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Where Have I Been All the Day?
Upcoming and Past Performances and Other Events
*November 2, 2009--Playing with Tom Pixton and Katie McNally for the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society class and social dance, Springstep, Medford, Mass.
*January 9, 2010--"Singalong: All Chorus Songs," with Michael O'Leary, Kate Chadbourne and Nancy Mulrey, noon, Club Passim, Boston Celtic Music Fest.
*January 13, 2010--Performing with Commonwealth Morris Men as part of Commonwealth's annual Mid-Winter Celebration, First Unitarian Society of Newton, West Newton, Mass.
*March 13, 2010--With Third Reel, Boston Gender-Free Contra Dance, Jamaica Plain, Mass.
*October 16, 2010--With Doug Lamey and (hopefully) Katie McNally, "Concerts at the Captain's House" series, Agawam, Mass.
*Oct. 16, 2009--With Third Reel, "Urban Barn Dance" benefit dinner and contra dance for Mass. Farmers Market, Dante Alighieri Center, Kendall Square, Cambridge, Mass. Here's more information.
*Oct. 10, 2009--With Janine Sirignano, Fall Festival, Russell Garden Center, Wayland, Mass.
Sept. 5, 2009--Campfire Festival, Club Passim, with Matt & Shannon Heaton, Mayfly and Eric McDonald & Rebecca Wudarski.
August 7, 2009--With Doug Lamey and Katie McNally, Oasis Coffeehouse, Waltham, Mass.
July 13, 2009--Boston Celtic Music Fest "Celtic Music Monday," Club Passim. "All Chorus Songs, All the Time," with Lynn Noel, Michael O'Leary and Jerry Bell.
June 23, 2009--MIT Contra Dance with Third Reel.
May 30, 2009--Third Reel played a split bill with Emerald Rae at the Elysium Arts Folk Club, Rollinsford, NH, 8 p.m.
May 22, 2009--Cafe Luna, 8:30 p.m., 403 Mass. Ave, Central Square, Cambridge, Mass. Half solo, half with Third Reel
May 16, 2009--With Katie McNally and Doug Lamey, 7:30 p.m., Notlob "Kitchen Concerts," Jackson Homestead, Newton, Mass.
May 10, 2009--Performed with Commonwealth Morris Men, Lilac Sunday Celebration, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass. Photos.
*April 23, 2009--With Boston College Irish Studies Program faculty and students at the BC Arts Festival, noon-1 p.m. Open to the public.
*March 17, 2009--With Armand Aromin, at the Irish Cultural Centre of New England, Canton, Mass.
*March 15, 2009--With Frank Gibbons, at JP O'Hanlon's, Ayer, Mass.
*January 17, 2009--With Janine Sirignano, "Concerts at the Captain's House" series, Agawam, Mass.
*January 9-10, 2009--With Janine Sirignano, Sixth Annual Boston Celtic Music Fest, Cambridge, Mass. Details TBA.
*December 8, 2008--Boston Celtic Music Fest "Celtic Music Monday," Club Passim. With Robbie O'Connell, Michael O'Leary and Kate Chadbourne.
*October 24, 2008--Urban Barn Dance and Harvest Supper to benefit The Federation of Mass. Farmers Markets, George Dilboy VFW Hall, Davis Square, Somerville, Mass. With caller David Titus and musicians Cammy Kaynor, Pan Chan, Peter Buchak, Eric Eid-Reiner and Dan Salomon..
*October 17, 2008--"Fall Free-for-All," shared the stage with a distinguished group of performers, Oasis Coffeehouse, Waltham, Mass.
*September 12-14, 2008--ICONS Festival, Irish Cultural Centre of New England, Canton, Mass. Appeared as part of the BCMFest Bard Squad.
*Sept. 8, 2008--With the Boston Celtic Music Fest Bard Squad, Boston Celtic Music Fest "Celtic Music Monday," Club Passim.
*August 30, 2008--Cutting Edge of the Campfire Festival, with Flynn Cohen and Matt & Shannon Heaton, Club Passim
*August 3, 2008--"Sunday Session" with Abbie MacQuarrie at JP O'Hanlon's, Ayer, Mass.
*July 27, 2008--"Sunday Session" with Dan Houghton at JP O'Hanlon's, Ayer, Mass.
*June 14, 2008--With Janine Sirignano, Emerald Rae, Eden Forman and others, BCMFest Cruise, Gloucester Harbor.
*June 7, 2008--With Kristin Sherwood, Newton Community Farm spring festival.
*May 26, 2008--With Janine Sirignano , Cutting Edge of the Campfire Festival, Club Passim
*May 17, 2008--With Dan Houghton, Echo Lake Coffeehouse, Leverett, Mass.,
*May 11, 2008--With Commonwealth Morris Men, Lilac Sunday Celebration, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass.
*April 24, 2008--Boston College Arts Festival, with Boston College Irish Studies Program music faculty and students.
*April 14, 2008--With Janine Sirignano, Boston Celtic Music Fest "Celtic Music Monday," Club Passim. Appeared with Aoife Clancy, Mairin Ui Chiede, and Susie Petrov & Dan Houghton.
*March 22, 2008--With Janine Sirignano, and Avi & Celia, SoniYoga, Cambridge, Mass.
*March 17, 2008--with Oisin McAuley and Meredith West, private function.
*March 11, 2008--Opening reception for "Reflections of Ireland: Music and Landscapes by Richard Toomey" exhibition at Burns Library, Boston College.
*March 2, 2008--"Sunday Session" with Emerald Rae at JP O'Hanlon's, Ayer, Mass.
*Jan. 12, 2008--With Janine Sirignano, Boston Celtic Music Fest
*Dec. 30, 2007--With Emerald Rae and Brendan Carey Block, 4:30 p.m., JP O'Hanlon's, Ayer, Mass.
*Dec. 15, 2007--With Prairie Wolfe and Colleen Hanlon as Nora's Holiday, 3-6 p.m., Mr. Dooley's Boston Tavern, Boston, Mass.
*Dec. 8, 2007--PWith Prairie Wolfe and Colleen Hanlon as Nora's Holiday, Newburyport Maritime Museum, Newburyport, Mass.
*Sept. 21, 2007--With Janine Sirignano, "The Last Breath of Summer" Celtic Festival, Oasis Coffeehouse, Waltham, Mass.
*Sept 11, 2007--With Doug Lamey, Barbara and Robert McOwen, Barbara Magone, Ellery Klein and Abbie MacQuarrie, Boston Celtic Music Fest "Celtic Music Monday," Club Passim.
*Sept 1, 2007--With Doug Lamey and Abbie MacQuarrie, The Mill, Bristol, NH.
*Aug. 13, 2007--Host for Boston Celtic Music Fest "Celtic Music Monday," Club Passim.
*July 14, 2007--Olive Branch Coffeehouse, Mansfield, Mass.
*June 30, 2007--Guest performance with The Rambling Boys as part of presentation by author Eric Roth of his book, A Toast to the Traditional Pubs of Ireland, at The Bull Run Restaurant, Shirley, Mass.
*May 13, 2007--Performance with Commonwealth Morris Men at annual Lilac Sunday event, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass. Photos
*May 10, 2007--With Amelia Mason, 7 p.m., The Devens Grill, Devens, Mass.
*April 28. 2007--Performance with Commonwealth Morris at annual Gore Place Sheepshearing Festival. Photos
*April 26, 2007--Performance with Boston College Irish Studies Program faculty and students, Boston College Arts Festival.
*April 22, 2007--Performance with Commonwealth Morris Men, NEFFA, Mansfield, Mass. Photos
*Jan. 13, 2007--Boston Celtic Music Fest: with Katie McNally, 11:45 a.m. at First Church Cambridge; with Tooremoor, 2:30 p.m. at Club Passim.
*Dec. 13, 2006--Mid-Winter Celebration with Commonwealth Morris Men, 7:30 p.m., First Unitarian Society of Newton, West Newton, Mass. Photos
*Sept. 30, 2006--Ha'Penny Morris Harvest Tour, with Commonwealth Morris Men, Concord, Mass. and vicinity. Photos
*Sept. 2-5, 2006--On staff at Pinewoods Labor Day Weekend Camp, Plymouth, Mass.
*March 17, 2006--St. Patrick's Day celebration, with Laurel Martin, Boston College Club, Boston (private function)
More features
"And even I am forced to raise my croaking voice and sing" --A glance at some, but by no means all, of the songs in my repertoire.
"...You may ask yourself, 'Well, how did I get here?'"--Like many a red-blooded American boy, I set out to be a dynamic, iconoclastic rock'n roller. So what happened? (Note: Guaranteed time-waster)
"...Like many links of gold"--Friends, acquaintances, occasional accomplices, venues, resources. If I've neglected anyone, for Heaven's sake, let me know.
