Ken Fleming (Banjo, accordion, guitar and singing) - Episode 52 - The Blarney Pilgrims Traditional Irish Music Podcast
Accordion tunes in the 90 degree heat. On the ‘80s Cowboys and Irish music in Dallas, Texas. On De Danaan kicking up a dust storm; the Charlie Piggott route to falling in love with the banjo and struggles in learning to play. O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat and the sweetness of playing music with your kids.
As always the episode is free to stream or download from all the usual spots:
Our Website: https://blarneypilgrims.fireside.fm/52
iTunes: https://apple.co/2XsbLo0
Google Podcast: http://bit.ly/3cPTkis
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3aFuOPa
Ken Fleming’s such an easy going guy, but when you hear his story you’ll realize he’s driven. I mean, you can’t get an Irish music festival up and running in Texas without some amazing combination of vision, commitment and a willingness to take a punt. It’s probably not an exaggeration to say that without Ken’s work over the past forty years, the Irish music scene there would be a shadow of what it’s now become (thriving).
So - here’s the North Texas Irish Festival (NTIF), of which Ken was a key founder:
https://ntif.org/
And you can find the O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat here:
https://oflahertyretreat.org/
Check out their list of past guest musicians and you’ll get an idea of the calibre of the weekend:
https://oflahertyretreat.org/instructor_role/core-classes/
Enjoy,
Darren and Dom
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