The NORTHEAST CEILI BAND Homepage
page updated 12/13/11
"I had a great time and look forward to next year. I appreciate all the time and effort that went into making the weekend special. You played a good selection of dances that appealed to all."
Larry Tormey's short video from CCCW VIII
More about band members and guest artists
inquiries: Bill Black 508.540.5324 - email northeastcb@earthlink.net
Formed in June of 2004, the NECB is comprised of musicians from the Boston and New York areas who have
played together extensively in the past, and who appreciate ceili band playing as a particular skill
within the broader spectrum of Irish traditional music.
In addition, the members of the NECB appreciate one another both as musicians and as individuals. The
love and respect of the band members for one another is clearly manifest at every NECB performance, and
of course infuses the band's music as it is experienced by the dancers fortunate enough to be in
attendance at an NECB ceili.
The NECB prides itself on being responsive to the desires of its dancers - we don't tell you what
the next ceili dance or set is going to be, you tell us!
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NECB PAST & FUTURE
THE FUTURE
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CCCW IX
January 27-29, 2012, at the "new" Irish Village. Guest artist for the weekend will be the legendary
accordion champion and recording artist John Whelan. On Saturday night, the NECB will be
joined by members of Carraroe and by keyboardist-vocalist Paul Kenneally.
Dance instructors will be Eileen Dugal (ceili) and Barry & Pat Callahan (sets).
Saturday dance workshops are scheduled.
Click here for more information!
THE PAST ....
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January 2011
CCCW VIII: first ceili weekend at the "New" Irish Village - big success!
NECB is joined by members of Carraroe (Kevin Daly, box; Mark Oien, fiddle; Torrin Ryan, pipes)
for a memorable Saturday night ceili
February 2010
CCCW VII: great weekend as old friends and new assemble to do what they love
February 2009
CCCW VI a great success - dancers in abundance, musicians as always ready to
tear away at the tunes, weather as good as February will ever supply on Cape Cod.
Memorial Day weekend 2008
CCCW V - NECB joined by guest fiddler Brendan Bulger
Always room for more dancers but the ones that attended had a great time!
January 2008
CCCW IV - great time had by all (despite bogus fire alarms and blizzard threat!)
October 2007
NECB appears at a Gertie Byrne "#1 Irish Weekend" at the Falls View
Hotel in the Catskills
June 2007
Midsummer Ceili at the Irish Village
Jan 2007
CCCW III - the best yet as lads are joined by Rosemary and Maeve Flanagan and dance
workshop instructors Aidan Maher (ceili) and Barry and Pat Callahan (sets)
June 2006
Cape Cod Celtic Festival IV
Jan 2006
Cape Cod Ceili Weekend II - great time had by all!
Sept 2005
NECB returns to its second Newport Irish Festival
July 2005
NECB performs as part of the Cape Cod Celtic Festival
May 2005
Memorial Day weekend ceili at the Irish Village
Jan 2005
first annual Cape Cod Ceili Weekend (or "CCCW I"). Great weekend in spite of un-Cape-like
weather (30+ inches of snow on the ground)
Sept 2004
ditto, at the Newport Irish Festival
June 2004
NECB makes its debut to universal approbation and amazement (or vice versa)
at the Cape Cod Celtic Festival
band
inquiries: Bill Black 508.540.5324 -
email northeastcb@earthlink.net
(thanks to Peter Jee for the ceili pictures)
Bill Black - banjo, bouzouki, guitar
Seán Reynolds - fiddle
Larry Reynolds Jr - accordion
Pat Reynolds - drums
Kevin Killeen - accordion
Rose Flanagan - fiddle
Maeve Flanagan - fiddle
Jerry O'Sullivan, uilleann pipes
Brendan Bulger, fiddle
Keith O'Neill
Mike Reynolds
Carraroe
(thanks to Peter Jee for the ceili pictures)
Bill Black - banjo, bouzouki, guitar
Senior member of the band, Bill also handles
publicity on behalf of the
group. Bill did his Irish traditional apprenticeship in
New York in the early 1970's and became an active member of the
Boston scene when he and his family moved to Cape Cod in 1979. Bill is
active in the Cape Cod session scene, founded and
performs
in the local traditional group "Cape Tradition", and also does classical and choral composing
and arranging as
well as traditional tune
composing, web archiving, production, song
writing etc. Bill's web home page is www.capeirish.com.
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Seán Reynolds - fiddle
Larry Reynolds Jr - accordion
Pat Reynolds - drums
Two brothers (Sean and Larry) and a cousin
(Pat) who have been
intimately involved in the Boston traditional scene all their lives,
which is only to be expected when Larry Reynolds is your dad
(or, in Pat's case, your uncle!) Seán is a rock-solid fiddler,
Larry is a first-class accordion player, and Pat is certainly
one of the top three ceili band drummers in the U.S. All live in the
Boston area, and in November 2002 Seán and Pat were
inducted into the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (CCE) Hall of Fame
for their efforts on behalf of traditional music in general and ceili
music in
particular over the years.
Kevin Killeen - accordion
Kevin is the other New York member of the
band, and brings a wealth of
ceili playing experience to the group. He has been an active teacher
and performer in the New York trad scene for years.
Kevin and banjo player Bill Black first shared tunes at various CCE
conventions starting in the 1980's, and in the meantime Kevin
became acquainted with (and appreciated by) the Reynolds brothers for
his solid technique and command. His accordion playing style blends
very well with the style of Larry Reynolds Jr to create a distinct and
powerful sound for the band.
Guest Artists
Our thanks to the following great musicians who have joined us in the past
(and we hope will do so again)!
Our thanks to the following great musicians who have joined us in the past
(and we hope will do so again)!
Rose Flanagan - fiddle
Rose Conway Flanagan is an traditional Irish
fiddle teacher from
Rockland County in New York who originally began music lessons as a
child with Martin Mulvilhill while was growing up in the
Bronx. She further developed her Sligo style of playing with the
help of Martin Wynne and her older brother Brian.
Great New York fiddlers like Andy McGann and Paddy Reynolds were also frequent visitors to the Conway household, which was the Bronx version of a "teach ceoil" (house of music) in the best Irish tradition.
Rose was an original member of the all-women Irish traditional band "Cherish the Ladies". She currently has a large music school in her hometown of Pearl River where she is hard at work preparing the next generation of great traditional musicians, which include several All-Ireland winners and medalists.
In her spare time she has been a teacher at the Alaska fiddle camp as well as a regular instructor at the Catskills Irish Arts Weeks, runs various sessions, and plays with her group the Green Gates Ceili Band in the tri-state area.
Rose's husband Mike is also a fine traditional musician.
Great New York fiddlers like Andy McGann and Paddy Reynolds were also frequent visitors to the Conway household, which was the Bronx version of a "teach ceoil" (house of music) in the best Irish tradition.
Rose was an original member of the all-women Irish traditional band "Cherish the Ladies". She currently has a large music school in her hometown of Pearl River where she is hard at work preparing the next generation of great traditional musicians, which include several All-Ireland winners and medalists.
In her spare time she has been a teacher at the Alaska fiddle camp as well as a regular instructor at the Catskills Irish Arts Weeks, runs various sessions, and plays with her group the Green Gates Ceili Band in the tri-state area.
Rose's husband Mike is also a fine traditional musician.
Maeve Flanagan - fiddle
Maeve is a daughter of the Flanagan - Conway
family and a fine fiddler
in her own right. She took first place in her age category at
the All-Ireland Fleadh in 2001, second place in 2006, and a third in
2008. As anyone
familiar with the Irish traditional scene will tell
you, these are excellent accomplishments for a young American!
Maeve recently graduated from Stonehill College in the Canton MA
and is pursuing a law career. She's also a "founding member" of the
highly-acclaimed female trad
group "Girsa".
Maeve's command of the basic ceili repertoire and the energy of her playing made her a natural fit as guest fiddler with the NECB, and we look forward to having her join us again in the near future.
Maeve's command of the basic ceili repertoire and the energy of her playing made her a natural fit as guest fiddler with the NECB, and we look forward to having her join us again in the near future.
Jerry O'Sullivan, uilleann pipes
Brendan Bulger, fiddle
Keith O'Neill
Mike Reynolds
Carraroe