The Mayo News

Celebrating their 15th album and 39 years in the industry, trad veterans Shaskeen will shake it up in Matt Molloy’s at the end of the month. Shaskeen to play in Matt Molloy’s


Going out
Henry McGlade

It’s not easy to sum up Shaskeen’s 39 years of music making and entertainment, but listening to the trad band’s new CD ‘Walking Up Town’, it is clear that they are going to be leading the way for quite a while yet.
Like many Irish traditional musicians, Shaskeen has been caught up in the whirlwind of the set-dancing era, and their last four albums were comprised of music for the sets. Now they are making a change to concert-style performances.
‘Walking Up Town’ – remarkably, the band’s 15th album – marks a return to their original musical formula. It’s an album ‘for listening to’, and it features a generous collection of jigs, reels, waltzes, polkas, barn dances and songs. The title tune is an American ‘breakdown’, a fun rag-style tune. It’s probably the best summing up the band could ask for.
It is hard to beat well-seasoned musicians, and the members of Shaskeen are as experienced as they are skilful. The band has maintained the same ethos over its many years of making music – and the many variations in its line-up. At the core of the band are Tom Cussen on banjo, Eamon Cotter on flute, Patsy McDonagh on accordion, Johnny Donnellan on bodhrán, Pat Broderick on pipes and whistle, Tony Howley from the Mayo/Sligo border on flute and saxophone, Geraldine Cotter on piano and Pat Costello on banjo, mandolin and guitar.
Shaskeen are currently on tour and will be in  Matt Molloy’s Yard Bar, Westport, on Sunday evening, November 29, from 8pm to 10.30pm. Doors open 7.30pm.

---

Share this page