Kevin Carr

For decades Kevin Carr has played the fiddle in smoky pubs in Ireland, in remote cabins in Quebec, and in dance halls all across America. He's played banjo in Latvia, learned to play the bagpipes of a dozen countries OTHER than Scotland (did you know there are hundreds of kinds of bagpipes in the world?), and spent his spare time hunting for good stories to share in his one-man musical theater of the imagination.

Shows :

Grandfather's Fiddle:
Grandfather's stories lit a fire under Kevin's imagination when he was four years old, and he's spent the next half century following the sparks from that fire, as they glinted off folktales and tunes and musics from around the world. Only when he was grown, and already had a fiddle in his hand, did Kevin learn that his Grandfather, long passed, had also spent years playing the fiddle. Chasing the same sparks?

MUSIC from far off green places, from hills and islands, played on fiddles , banjos, bagpipes of all types.
STORIES told in full of drama and humor. TRUE LIFE ADVENTURES

" Kevin Carr is one terrific musician: fiddles, bagpipes, whistles, drums, you name it. He also has one of the most engaging stage presences I have ever seen."

Stories from the Musical Realms - The Music Between the Notes

This is a program of folk tales concerning inspiration and the magic of music, with culturally authentic examples played on fiddle, Irish, scottish, Slovakian, French and Galicia/Spanish bagpipes.

" With twinkling eyes and a wry smile, Kevin carries his listeners along on magical journeys with his art of storytelling and music. Masterfully weaving his tales with his virtuoso pipes and fiddles, Kevin opens our ears, minds and hearts to the music between the notes. " - Jean Gibson Gorrindo, Dance caller and community music organizer.

Fiddle music in the Americas

Our ancestors brought with them rich musical traditions when they came to the North American continent, and one of the chief instruments on which they kept those traditions alive was the violin, or fiddle as it came to be called in folk music circles. Portable, loud enough to play for dancing, versatile enough to play music that was nostalgic and sweet, as well as fiery and hypnotic, the fiddle was a perfect vessel for keeping the old music and dances alive, and for helping them evolve in the New World.

Kevin plays multiple styles of fiddle music, and can talk engagingly about the history of the fiddle, and of dance music in many immigrant communities. An accomplished storyteller, he weaves together tales and lore with music from Irish, Scottish, French( and Quebecois), Latino and Scandinavian sources, leaving adults and children alike tapping their toes and humming historic melodies.

"In response to a standing ovation, Carr capped his energetic two-hour performance by playing a set of soulful Spanish fiddle pieces that truly illustrated what he calls 'the spiritually lucrative field of traditional music.'"
- Mendocino Beacon Review, January 10, 2011

Irish Music and Tales

Irish traditional folk music has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity in the last thirty years. Kevin demonstrates this beguiling music on fiddle, Irish ( Uilleann) bagpipes, pennywhistle, tenor banjo, concertina and accordion. He also tells the kind of tales which are inextricably woven in with the music, and explains the evolution of the music over the last several centuries.

" Storytelling is becoming a lost art. Kevin Carr is one of its most skilled practitioners. When he tells stories and plays music, children and adults are entranced, and magic happens. "

- Kacy McClure, former director of Peninsula School in Menlo Park, California:

The Other Bagpipes:

Exotic and Lesser-Known Piping Traditions of the World
For a thousand years, across Europe, North Africa, and much of the Near East, rural people danced to, performed rituals with, and treasured the music of their indigenous bagpipes-once one of the most ubiquitous of folk instruments. Now the bagpipe is most often thought of as a uniquely Scottish instrument, a circumstance largely due to the British Army's use of Scottish regiments as the vanguard in their creation of the British Empire.

This program introduces listeners to the bagpipes of many cultures, along with a bit of the folklore associated with this powerful, beguiling, almost shamanic instrument. The piping traditions of Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Slovakia, Croatia, Georgia, Iran, and Tunisia will be represented. The pipes of these countries range from grand in size to petite, and in sound volume and timbre from strident to suave. The pipes themselves are marvelous cultural icons to look at-each unique, and each chosen to represent a particular type, or family of instruments.

" This is a heartfelt thank you for the fabulous evening you gave us last Wednesday. You sent 230 people away reinvigorated and exhilarated. I think you could have kept them there for another hour. I've heard from a number of people since then, and all they can say is that this is the coolest program we've done all year. Thank you for making that happen!"

-Charles Junkerman, Dean of Continuing Education at Stanford University.