Over a year ago I wrote about the marvelous musical couple of Michael Rooney and June McCormack whose life-long journey has been about learning, teaching and playing traditional Irish music. They entered the University of Limerick's Irish World Music Center program for Masters Degrees in Irish Traditional Music Performance. Having seen them perform a number of times in recent years, I wondered what more they needed to learn since they were already bedazzling audiences around the world with their pure ethereal music. But the reality was they were too busy performing to allow the rest of their gifts to flourish and they needed the focus of a university setting to channel their efforts in publishing material that was close to them.
For Flute Player June McCormack from the fertile Ballintogher region of Sligo, a teacher by profession and training as well as a performer it allowed her to develop a handsomely packaged 56 page guidebook for learning the flute complete with two accompanying CDs to help give aural illustration. It is entitled "Fliuit: Irish Flute Tutorial" exploring 64 Irish tunes and in the very detailed fashion that many of her flute students enjoy when taking workshops with her either in Ireland, the U.S. or down under in Australia or New Zealand where they are frequent visitors. With the use of crans, rolls, cuts and bounces, she brings the music vividly to life for her audiences and this tutor attempts to encourage others to do the same when they spend quality time on their own time. June's sourcing of the tunes is valuable as well because that is an important criterion to how the tune should be played.
Husband Michael Rooney from Gortnamona (The Field of the Bog) in Scotstown, County Monaghan focused on his own impressive compositions which have brought him to the fore as one of Ireland's most promising composing musicians in any genre. While he also plays the concertina, it is his exquisite harp playing that led to this publication of "Harp Tunes: 23 Compositions and Arrangements" in Volume 1. There are no CDs included in here but Rooney has added scores for accompaniment alongside those of the main melodies to aide those harpists who play alongside other musicians. There are recent compositions like Land's End and Mairéad Gheal which were composed in honor of and on site of the Montauk retreat they escaped to in recent years as well as tunes from his Famine Suite (1996) and Millenium Suite (2000).
Both of these books along with their excellent duet recordings, Land's End (2006) and Draíocht (2004) can be ordered from their website at www.draiochtmusic.com. As impressive as their contributions have been thus far, their future work can only be imagined but rest assured it will play a sizeable role in keeping traditional Irish music alive and relevant to any era.
Review in Irish Times - 12th May 2006
Oceans converge and a relentless energy fires the most resistant spirit. So too it is with harpist Michael Rooney and flute player June Mc Cormack's music. A melding fo genteel formality (in Michael's original planxty, Boithrín Doire, and in his title tune, a masterclass in restrained excellence) and raw-nerved virtuosity. Land's End glories in each ingredient, lending its essence in tiny tinctures, all the better to savour it in its entirety. Mc Cormack lures a gorgeous woody flute tone, an earthy counter to Rooney's fine-fingered harp. Land's End is a thing of rare beauty where less is questionably more. Rating: ****
Review in Hotpress Magazine - 19th April 2006
Having first met up in 1990, when they were asked to perform a duet at a Foróige concert, Monaghan-born harpist Michael Rooney and Sligo flute player June McCormack made their first album as a duo in 2004, got married that same year and have been touring as Draíocht ever since. Like its predecessor, Land's End emphasises the quieter side of traditional music, which isn't to say it lacks life - both musicians are well able to kick up their heels on faster tunes like the sprightly 'Colonel McBain / The Master's Return'. But it's the slower numbers that stand out, notably Rooney's originals: the title track, which refers not to the Cornish coast but to a house on Long Island; 'Planxty Fitzgerald', composed as part of a Millennium Suite for the Fleadh Cheoil; the heartbreakingly lovely 'Boithrín Doire'; and 'Glór na nAingeal', which sees Rooney joined on harp by his sister Fionnuala and brother Aonghus.
"'Land's End' Is Sheer Enchantment" (Review in The Irish Echo) - 19th April 2006
[Copyright © Earle Hitchner. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of author.]
Two years ago, the first full collaborative album by Monaghan-born harper Michael Rooney and Sligo-born flutist June McCormack was entitled "Draíocht," a fitting name now adopted by the duo and a fitting description of both that CD and its successor, "Land's End." "Draíocht" is Irish for enchantment or magic, and the spell this husband-and-wife team weaves shows no sign of being broken. "Land's End" is even better than "Draíocht," which finished in the Irish Echo's top 20 trad albums for 2004. The new release will climb much higher in this year's list.
Everything about "Land's End" radiates exquisite taste, exemplary tempo, sensitivity within sinew, and soulful originality, including five keeper melodies written by Rooney. His compositional skill was previously apparent in eight of the 11 tracks on "Ocras" in 1997, three tunes on "Oisín Mac Diarmada / Brian Fitzgerald / Micheál Ó Ruanaigh" in 2000, and four tunes on "Draíocht." A Rooney slip jig common to those last two albums, "Tír Rafartaigh," is already a session and recording staple, and Cavan button accordionist Martin Donohue recognized the appeal of Rooney's slow air "Aghaidh Jhanuis" on his new solo CD "Tasty Touches."
Without intending to dispel conventions and stereotypes associated with a harp-flute combination, Rooney and McCormack do precisely that. He displays a lot of drive in the delicacy normally expected of a harp, while she exhibits plenty of delicacy in the drive she imparts to dance tunes on flute. This isn't just a literal marriage. It's an ideal musical marriage, two distinct instruments and two instrumentalists of distinct styles locked in the common cause of producing sounds rigorous in tradition yet imaginative in scope and effect.
Lively, fluid, accurate, expressively ornamented flute and harp playing propels the "The Old Maids of Galway / The Rookery" reels. McCormack's breathy Sligo style on flute is, well, breathtaking. Her trifecta year of 1998--winning the All-Ireland senior flute title, receiving TG4's Young Traditional Musician of the Year award, and recording "Launching the Boat" with Sligo-Leitrim band Siona--clearly foreshadowed the accomplishment heard here. Rooney's harp matches her note for note in that medley, and he also provides supple accompaniment for his wife's equally dazzling tour de force in "Colonel McBain / The Master's Return" reels.
Graceful playing on harp shifts into gutsy playing on harp and flute in "Jack Coughlan's / The Mystery Reel" and in "Paddy Fahy's Jig / Paidín Ó Raifeartaigh." From the outset, the jigs "The Battering Ram / The Legacy" feature animated, melodic twinning on flute and harp that float as if they were on air cushions.
Very few contemporary Irish traditional music composers come as close to the symmetry and comeliness of Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) as Michael Rooney. His two planxties, "Boithrin Doire" and "Planxty Fitzgerald," are models of elegance laced with vibrancy and joy. Rooney's tune for his July 2004 wedding to McCormack, "Glór na nAingeal," conveys the serenity and blissfulness expected at such an occasion, and the harps of his siblings Fionnuala and Aonghus expand the impact. Just as buoyantly lovely are Rooney's "Land's End / Mairead Gheal," two tunes he composed for a couple who housed June and him for a time in Montauk, Long Island, N.Y., while they were on tour.
Soloing is well placed on the album. In the reels "Colonel McBain/The Master's Return," McCormack shoulders the melody while her husband largely provides rhythm and accents. Rooney solos on harp at an appealing canter in the hornpipes "The Galway Bay / The Bee's Wing," with ever-so-light accompaniment by Scahill on guitar and bodhran, and his harp soloing also glistens in the song melody "An Buachaill Caol Dubh" followed by "The Deer's March," the latter expertly underpinned by Laura Maher on cello.
Pictured on the actual CD is a photo of a schoolboy Rooney on harp and a schoolgirl McCormack on flute performing together at a Foróige event in University College Dublin in July 1990. Kismet has smiled on the duo ever since, and CD listeners and concertgoers have been the beneficiaries of this marital and musical alliance. "Land's End," for which I wrote gratis an essay, represents an irresistible calling card for Michael Rooney and June McCormack as the best traditional harp-flute duo in Ireland today.
The Irish Gazette, California - December 2005
Lively, nimble, bright; these words may begin to describe 'Draíocht'. Draíocht (dree-ucht) in Irish means magic and druidry, and this CD does capture the rapture that can be got from truly soulful, unpretentious traditional Irish music.
And while Michael Rooney and June McCormack might seem like magicians of the music, their own hard-earned skills are certainly at the root of their powers. Both are veterans of the Irish traditional music scene. Michael is senior All-Ireland Champion on the harp, has recorded on several other trad CDs, and has composed 'Ocras', a CD marking the utterly devastating famines stemming from the potato blight in Ireland just over 150 years ago. He is also a talented concertina player.
June McCormack herself won the senior flute competition at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in 1998, and that year was also voted the Young Traditional Musician of the Year. As part of the group Síona, she recorded 'Launching the Boat', which had great success in Ireland. She has also recorded on several other trad CDs.
Together, the harp and the flute form a fine, and rare, union. The only other harp/flute CD of like quality that comes to mind is 'The Tailor's Choice', recorded over 20 years ago. Here, the same harmony of spirit is produced, with the flute and harp each lightly weaving the melody together.
Among the great pleasures of this utterly charming CD are tunes composed by Michael Rooney himself. A magnificent minuet called 'Na Maithe Móra' ('The Great Nobles'), was written to capture the feel of the dancing in the houses of the Irish and English landed aristocracy during the famines. The bright beauty of this perfectly ordered minuet makes a dark shadow when one becomes aware of the chaos and suffering outside the gates of the aristocracy's lands, where the Irish tenant farmers and their families were starving. It's a stark social contrast that famine historians have struggled to describe; here Michael Rooney captures it in the terrible beauty of this tune.
Alongside the dark, of course, the CD has the bright, light sound of jigs, reels, and hornpipes. These quick dancing tunes are complemented by slower tunes like the lovely 'An Bhuatais', which is almost transcendental in its feel. One of the best Irish trad CDs to come out this year, 'Draíocht' charms by its measured, graceful pace and melodic simplicity, and by not overwhelming one with excessive 'accompaniment'. When you have such a perfect gem, you don't need a fancy 'setting'.
ANOTHER MUSICAL MARRIAGE - Review of concert on Sep 25 '04 in CT
The NY Irish Echo
Draíocht, the Irish word for 'magic', is an ideal name for Scotstown, Co. Monaghan, harper and concertinist Michael Rooney and Ballintogher, Co. Sligo, flutist June McCormack. On an extended honeymoon and a two-year leave from their schoolteacher jobs, this husband-and-wife tandem have been touring America for the past three months and making many converts to their music, a rare, beautiful balance of delicacy and punch.
The Sept. 25 setting for the duo's distinctive brand of music could not have been better. Inside Newtown Meeting House in Newtown, Conn., they sat in front of a large, green-and-white wreath on a stage lit by spotlights from both sides of the balcony. The acoustics matched the accouterments, and the performance surpassed both.
Gort na Móra/Tír Rafartaigh, two slip jigs composed by Rooney as part of a millennium suite, had a satiny flow that never slipped into facile prettiness. Just as lovely was Rooney and McCormack's performance of Na Maithe Móra, a minuet he composed to suggest some of the drawing-room elegance found among Irish gentry in a bygone era.
Aghaidh Jhanuis, another Rooney tune from his millennium suite, opened with a harp solo that expertly straddled Irish traditional, European art, and 17th-century Gaelic society music, and McCormack's wooden flute brought a sinewy strength to this slow air.
Two classic harp tunes, March of the King of Laois / Carolan's Concerto, displayed Rooney's ability to create a droning quality for the march and to apply subtly varying dynamics to Carolan's baroque-like melody. Rooney also showed his own skill at composing a tune apropos of Carolan's time (1670-1738) in Planxty Fitzgerald, where, in a fresh, counterintuitive move, McCormack's flute leads off and then is joined by her husband's harp.
The duo dispelled any notion that they could only follow a refined line of playing by swinging out with brisk energy on several traditional dance tunes. There was a snap and sparkle in the way they performed Joe Derrane's / Port na Cordaile jigs as well as The Graf Spey and Sonny's Return / Father Grady's Visit to Bocca reels. In addition, their coupling of Cape Breton fiddler-composer Jerry Holland's Brenda Stubbert's reel with Sligo flutist-composer Josie McDermott's Trip to Birmingham reel was adventurous in both conception and execution.
Flow and feeling also blended impressively in the Harp and Shamrock / Good-Natured Man hornpipes, the pairing of Thomas Walsh's exquisite air Inisheer (played as a harp solo) with Junior Crehan's jig Mist-Covered Mountain (played by both musicians), and some Sliabh Luachra polkas played by McCormack on flute and her husband on concertina.
Other concert highlights included June McCormack's singing of The Parting Glass and Mo Ghile Mear, an encore featuring the duo's rendition of Mike Rafferty's reel Feeding the Birds, and some humorous asides. "A harper spends half his life tuning and the other half playing out of tune," Rooney drolly remarked at one point.
From first to last note, Michael Rooney and June McCormack held the audience spellbound in a luminous, soul-stirring performance. Visit www.draiochtmusic.com to check out their upcoming itinerary.
The Irish Examiner - May 2004
Pure magic from Draíocht
Some duets have that elusive characteristic that allows the whole to become greater than the sum of its parts. Others-no matter how proficient the players involved simply don't. Michael Rooney and June McCormack have it in lorry loads.
Two fine jigs; Joe Derrane's and The Cordal, get the Draíocht show on the road. This is quality playing - delicate, technically expert, yet full of character. in Michael Rooney's hands, the harp is a complete instrument, combining the three basic functions of melody, harmony and rhythm in near perfect balance. June McCormack, a former recipient of the TG4 Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award, is a first-rate flute player with an inate sense of tradition.
Together, Rooney and McCormack create a satisfying comprehensive sound.. The playing is exquisite.
Enchanting Blend of Harp and Flute - 7th July 2004
CEOL
[Published on July 7, 2004, in the IRISH ECHO newspaper, New York City. Copyright Earle Hitchner. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of author.]
Jazz saxophone luminary Sonny Rollins once said, "Music is an open sky." The possibilities are surely endless, but too many Irish traditional players have gazed up at that open sky and mistaken velocity for virtuosity. The now stale question-and-answer quip--"Why do you play so fast?" "Because I can"--has almost become a musical mantra, especially among the young. If fast and fiery still dominates Irish traditional music, then Draíocht (www.draiochtmusic.com) represents a delightful exception.
The tandem playing of Scotstown, Co. Monaghan, harper Michael Rooney and Ballintogher, Co. Sligo, flutist June McCormack generates a gentler heat, the kind that radiates out from an unhurried tempo, tasteful arrangements, instinctive communication, and ample ability. Also a fine concertina and flute player, Rooney previously proved his mettle on Ocras (Errigal, 1997), a solo album featuring mostly his own compositions on the theme of the Great Famine, and Oisín Mac Diarmada / Brian Fitzgerald / Micheál Ó Ruanaigh (Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 2000), an impressive collaboration of fiddle, banjo, and harp.
The breakout year for June McCormack was 1998. She won the All-Ireland senior flute championship, earned Young Traditional Musician of the Year honours from TG4, and performed as a member of the Sligo-Leitrim band Síona on their album Launching the Boat. These are impressive credentials from the husband-and-wife duo, who are clearly capable of playing at warp speed but choose not to. Detail, subtlety, and a natural fluidity matter more to them than cheaply achieved effects. By the same token, any notion that Draíocht must therefore be an exercise in tinkly self-absorption or over-refined restraint is dispelled in the reels Sonny Return's / Fr. Grady's Visit to Bocca, where flute and harp complement each other with seemingly effortless energy and tightness at a buoyant tempo.
Rooney follows in the path trailblazed by Cork harper Máire Ní Chathasaigh, who demonstrated two decades ago how versatile the Irish harp is by playing dance tunes on it with the panache of a fiddler. In The Graf Spey reel and in The Fly by Night / Cornphiopa Corafinne / Cape Breton Fiddlers Welcome to Shetland, a medley of two hornpipes and a reel, Rooney's harp playing nimbly negotiates the melody lines while maintaining a lively tempo and fresh sense of discovery. McCormack displays a taut muscularity, undampened drive, yet playful nuance in her flute work throughout The Concert Reel / Salute to Baltimore and The Killavil Jig / Tommy Mulhaire's Jig / Willie Coleman's Jig, two tracks that essentially highlight her soloing skill.
Some of the material played by the pair on Draíocht appeared previously on Ocras and Oisín Mac Diarmada / Brian Fitzgerald / Micheál Ó Ruanaigh. Rooney's slow air Aghaidh Jhanuis and slip jigs Gort na Móna and Tír Rafartaigh were on that latter album, while the minuet Na Maithe Móra is on Ocras. Though the approaches are somewhat comparable, the playing is still enjoyable here, especially on the minuet, a charming chamber-folk arrangement for Rooney's harp, McCormack's flute, Aoife O'Brien's violin, and Laura Maher's cello. Charm, in fact, abounds here, befitting the album's title, an Irish word meaning magic, enchantment, or spell.
The playing by Michael Rooney and June McCormack on Draíocht indeed casts a spell--not the kind that puts you in a coma, but the kind that provides sustained, seamless pleasure. It is a recording that rewards repeated listening, and will undoubtedly show up in my top 20 list at the end of the year. Michael Rooney and June McCormack will be at the Catskills Irish Arts Week in East Durham, N.Y., from July 11-16, and the Somerset Folk Harp Festival in the Doubletree Hotel, 200 Atrium Drive, Somerset, N.J., from July 17-18. Other Somerset Folk Harp Festival performers include Ossian founding member William Jackson, Ferintosh member Kim Robertson, Ann Heymann, and Sylvia Woods. Call 800-434-3378 for CIAW and 717-243-4641 for the harp festival.
Review in The Living Tradition - June 2004
This young couple have already achieved great things individually, including major awards and acclaimed recordings. This is their first duo album, but with any luck it won't be their last. Michael is a harpist from Monaghan, God's own county, and June is a fluter from Sligo. They're joined on some tracks by Fergal Scahill on guitar. The material on Draícht is mostly off the beaten track, with many little-known tunes unearthed over several years, as well as four Rooney compositions.
Starting with a delightful jig which was previously recorded by the McKenna's but isn't widely played, then a pair of jaunty hornpipes from Michael, the first real surprise is the graceful minuet Na Maithe Móra which is a masterpiece of composition and arrangement. Then it's June's turn to take the lead on two neglected reels, The Concert Reel and Salute to Baltimore. Three more of Michael's tunes follow, all from his Millenium Suite: a slightly bland slow air, and two very fine slip jigs. Michael and June ring the changes with solos and duets throughout the album, and the harp provides highly versatile accompaniment in these hands.
The second half of this recording is almost all straight trad. There are a few old favourites like The Killavil Jig, The Graf Spey and The Shores of Lough Gowna. There are also some more surprises, all pleasant ones: Planxty Aisling O'Neill by Vincent Broderick, the reel Homage to Rooney written by Johnny Og Connolly for Brian Rooney, and the air An Bhuatais which sits beautifully on the harp. By the time you reach the end of Draícht, you'll be captivated by the charming music of this young couple. Michael and June are spending a year on a world tour and honeymoon, due back summer 2005, so don't expect a speedy reply from michaelandjune@hotmail.com but do check out www.draiochtmusic.com in the meantime.
Review in Irish Times - 13th May 2004
Gender stereotyping languishes idly on this debut CD from harp and flute duo Michael Rooney and June McCormack. Marrying a slew of traditional tunes (many foraged from the unlikeliest of places hiding places, including priestly tune collections), with a healthy gathering of Rooney's own compostions, they manage to merge past and present with genteel diffidence. Mc Cormack, a former TG4 Young Traditional Musician of the Year, parries her flute with the precision of a champion fencer. Rooney's harp naivigates intricate pathways inside the air pockets created by McCormack; their fluency and ease reveal a duo that have no trouble with ego. Exceedingly well-mannered music that curtsies where others would more usually high step, this is most definitely music for the drawing room rather than the dance hall.
Celtic Grooves Imports (website) - May 2004
There's been quite a buzz going around about this upcoming album by harp player Michael Rooney, who made an impressive recording with fiddle player Oisín Mac Diarmada a few years ago, and Sligo flute player June McCormack, formerly heard on a lovely CD by the band Siona. Indeed, both players are formidable technicians as well as masters of the traditional idiom, and the combination of flute and harp is a no-brainer, at least with musicians of this caliber. To this, Rooney adds his considerable talents as a composer, four of his tunes being included here. With the addition of violins and cello, Rooney's minuet "Na Maithe Móra" is a beautiful piece which would have made the Carolan generation of harpers proud, and his slip jig "Tír Rafartaigh," previously recorded by Siobhan Peoples and Murty Ryan (apparently under the wrong title), is a jewel. McCormack's flute playing is as immaculate as her tone is powerful, and it's a pleasure to hear her renditions of Josie McDermott tunes. However, I must confess that, at first hearing, I thought the album lacked energy. After spending more time with it, I would have to say that my expectations at first prevented me to listen to the music on its own terms. This is gorgeous, often delicate, music, akin to chamber music rather than to a raucous session at the neighborhood pub, and it shouldn't be judged on the same terms. Just beautiful. Rating: ****
Review of performance at Comleroy Road School of Arts, Sydney, Australia
'Harpist Michael Rooney and flutist June Mc Cormack, had the capacity audience spellbound with their Irish music that ranged from the sentimental and stirring to humorous and foot stomping, when they hit Comleroy Road School of Arts.
From the outset, it was obvious the pair were enjoying their Comleroy audience every bit as much as the audience was enraptured with them. The audience sat transfixed, silent and motionless as the music filled the historic hall and flowed out into the balmy autumn evening.
"Michael and June were absolutely magnificent & they created magic that night and we are delighted to offer Hawkesbury people a second chance to hear these exceptional musicians", Paul Maher of Loxley Hotel.'
Review of the TnaG Traditional Music Awards Ceremony on October 26th 1998 (Irish Music Magazine)
There's no doubt as to who the stars were on the night. June Ní Chormaic, the young musicians award recipient and Tommy Peoples, the main award winner.
...June received her award and followed with some equally velvet like tones on her flute to the sweeping rhythm of Michael Rooney's harp. Her music leaves no doubt that she was a most worthy choice for this new award. Síona are the band June plays with, friends who grew up together, learnt their music locally, and who are determined to remain true to those roots. They played a fine set of solid, very traditional tunes, more of which can be heard on their album 'Launching the Boat'.
Review of Síona's 'Launching the Boat' (Irish Echo newspaper, New York City)
'Every so often, a recording arrives unannounced that demonstrates how vibrant the traditional scene is among the young in Ireland. The debut recording by a quartet named Síona from the musically rich Sligo-Leitrim area proves that promising talent will find an outlet & even on a so-called "vanity" pressing.
There's no trace of vanity on this album, where all egos are subsumed to the sheer pleasure of playing dance music as well as possible. Fiddler Damian O'Brien and piano accordionist Oliver Loughlin, both from Drumkeerin, Leitrim, flutist June Ní Chormaic from Ballintogher, Sligo, and keyboard player Kevin Brehony from Castlebaldwin, Sligo, are a superbly matched group, bearing the stamp of such excellent tutors as Carmel Gunning, Bernard Flaherty (author of the outstanding 1990 book 'Trip to Sligo'), Paddy Ryan and the Shanley Family from Kiltyclogher.
What an absolute delight it is to hear a piano accordion played with the sensitivity and complementary mastery of Loughlin, 1996 All-Ireland champion, sporting a bass hand of rare touch. His teasingly slow-tempo lead on an unnamed reel, where he's backed by Brehony on piano and joined by June Ní Chormaic on flute, gradually picks up pace, then shifts into higher gear with O'Brien's fiddle and guest Darragh Kelly on drums for a superb rendition of 'The Old Road to Charlestown.' The latter was written by Brendan Tonra, who emigrated from that Mayo town to Boston in 1959 and whose tunes deserve much wider attention.
The tempo of the jigs 'Tommy Maguire's' and 'The Queen of Mayo', a Charlie Lennon composition, is faultless, reflecting how closely in sync Síona is, while 'The Castle Set' reels is a dancer's dream, revealing a buoyancy and balance that much older musicians would envy.
Piano accordion and fiddle together expertly kick of the reel 'The Ash Plant', with guest Michael Rooney lending a hand on harp, that is then followed by June Ní Chormaic's excellent flute playing, crisply backed by Brehony, playing 'Dan Breen's' reel. They are soon joined by fiddle and accordion, which in turn, drop out, leaving the flute, harp and piano to carry on until the fadeout. Though short in duration, it's an impressively layered arrangement nonetheless.
Beautifully paced medleys such as 'Launching the Boat/Gerry Cronin's', 'The Spey in Spate/Kilcoon', and 'The Good-Natured Man/Miss Galvin's' further affirm Síona's emerging status as an Irish traditional band whose future is as bright as the past they revere. What a find this East Sligo-North Leitrim foursome is for anyone who loves Irish traditional dance music played as it should be.