Alasdair Fraser is a Scottish fiddler who is based in California and runs his own record label, Culburnie Records. He also founded the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle School, which has been attended by many of today's prominent young fiddlers, including Hanneke Cassel, Laura Risk, Athena Tergis, Brittany Haas, and Lissa Schneckenburger. He has often collaborated with pianist Paul Machlis and Scottish guitarist Tom McManus, among others.
Celtic Thunder is a singing group composed of male soloists Keith Harkin, Ryan Kelly, George Donaldson, Neil Byrne - who played guitar and sang backup on the albums before he joined, and Colm Keegan. And, formerly, Damian McGinty, Tenor Paul Byrom and Emmet Cahill, who perform both solo and ensemble numbers. Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at the Helix in Dublin, Ireland, accompanying the Celtic Concert Orchestra under the direction of Phil Coulter, the musical director of the group.
Celtic Woman is a musical group from Dublin, Ireland comprising five irish women with a repertoire that ranges from traditional Celtic tunes to modern songs. Current members include the three vocalists Máiréad Carlin, Susan McFadden, Lisa Lambe and the violinist Máiréad Nesbitt. Deirdre Shannon sang with the group during Ní Mhaolchatha's pregnancy in 2005-2006. Hayley Westenra, a New Zealander of Irish descent, sang with the group during its 2006-2007 tour as its sixth member.
There are three artists under the name Dervish: 1.) An Irish traditional music band formed in 1989 by a group of five musicians: Liam Kelly, Shane Mitchell, Martin McGinley, Brian McDonagh and Michael Holmes. Their first album was The Boys of Sligo, but it was the album Harmony Hill which won them widespread critical acclaim and was described by many as a landmark Irish traditional album. 1991 singer and bodhran player Cathy Jordan joined the band.
Gaelic Storm is a highly-acclaimed Celtic band. Their music ranges from traditional Irish and Scottish music to original tunes, in both the Celtic traditions. Gaelic Storm's origins can be traced back to 1996, when Patrick Murphy and Steve Wehmeyer joined with Steve Twigger and Uillean piper Brian Walsh to perform at O'Brien's Irish Pub and Restaurant in Santa Monica, California, of which Murphy was the manager. This led to a number of pub performances for the next year.
Mary Fahl has an almost Opera-like voice, exploring the reaches of folk and soft new age rock music. She was originally with the band October Project from 1993 to about 1995 for 2 albums until they split up. Fahl's most recent solo album is called The Other Side of Time and was released in 2003. This work was a mix of pop, opera and folk.
Salvatore, Knight Adamo, simply known as Adamo (born 1 November 1943, in Comiso, Sicily, Italy) is a Belgian – Italian composer and singer of ballads, mainly in French, but also in other languages such as German, Italian and Spanish. He had commercial success during the 1960s and 1970s, mostly in Europe and Latin America, but also in Japan and the United States. Now he lives in Belgium. He is of Sicilian/Italian ancestry.
The Celtic Tenors began life as the Three Irish Tenors on RTE's Theatre Nights on October 1995. The group at that time consisted of James Nelson, Niall Morris and Paul Hennessey.
The High Kings is an Irish ballad group formed by the same creators as Celtic Woman. Finbarr Clancy, Brian Dunphy, Martin Furey, and Darren Holden make up the group.
The Irish Tenors started in 1998 by television producer, Bill Hughes, for a of PBS special The Irish Tenors. They have since recorded 5 PBS specials and 7 albums. The group's current line-up is Anthony Kearns, Finbar Wright, and Karl Scully. Bill Hughes formed the idea of a trio of Irish tenors during a Cannes festival at which the famous Three Tenors, Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras and Plácido Domingo were performing.
Boureima "Vieux" Farka Touré (born 1981) is a Malian singer and guitarist born in Niafunké, Mali - son of Malian musician Ali Farka Touré. Vieux has proven in his energetic live shows that he is the heir to Ali's talent while still distinguishing himself from his famous bluesman father, Malian legend Ali Farka Touré, and has transcended the limitations of the world music genre itself. For the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa, Vieux performed before a billion people, and has become one of the most celebrated African guitarists in history.
Ustad Zakir Hussain (born 9 March 1951), son of tabla player Ustad Allah Rakha, is the most famous classical tabla player in India (and, probably, in the world) today. He is appreciated both in the field of percussion and in the music world at large. He has won many awards and much recognition for his contributions. Zakir Hussain has worked with many leading Western and Indian artists, and has produced many works of East-West fusion, perhaps most notably with George Harrison.