By Peter Lindblad
Taking an immediate shine to Altan, Dolly Parton once called them “Ireland’s best traditional band.”
It was a ringing endorsement from the country music legend, who recently passed away. She was always smitten with their lovely Celtic melodies and flowing instrumental chops.
For Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Altan’s lead singer and fiddler, Parton’s words meant the world.
“Oh, she loved the band,” said Mhaonaigh, who will lead Altan when the iconic Irish outfit plays the Stoughton Opera House in Stoughton on Sept. 18. “Yeah, we were so lucky, but we never exploited it too much. We were just honored that somebody of that caliber actually liked the band.”
Their relationship didn’t end there, as Altan appeared on three recordings with Parton, including her 1994 release Heartsongs: Live from Home, which gathered cuts from a series of concerts at Dollywood, her theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
“Which was a hoot,” recalled Mhaonaigh. “That was very, very fun. The second one was in Los Angeles where she did Little Sparrow in 1999 and invited us. We were actually playing in the Hollywood Bowl, would you believe? And she invited us to join her in the studio where she was making an album.”
With its Appalachian styles of folk, bluegrass and gospel, hewing closely to Parton’s musical origins, Little Sparrow was nominated for a Grammy for “Best Bluegrass Album” and won “Best Female Country Vocal Performance” for the song “Shine.”
Mhaonaigh sang with Parton on a beautiful version of “In the Sweet By and By.” Later, Parton returned the favor by singing on an Altan album, as Parton made Altan an offer they couldn’t refuse.
“We wouldn’t even dream of asking her because we thought the world of her as a musician and a singer,” said Mhaonaigh. “So, we did take her up on the on that, and she loved ‘An Cailín Deas Óg,’ which is ‘The Pretty Young Girl.’”
The track, a favorite of Mhaonaigh’s father, appears on Altan’s 2002 LP The Blue Idol, with Mhaonaigh and Parton again engaging in a breathtaking duet.
“I went to Nashville, met her in her studio, and had a lovely day with her, and recorded that,” said Mhaonaigh, who took to CNN not long after Parton’s death to discuss her legacy and her impact on Altan. “And the thing about her was, she made you sing your best or play your best in her company, because she never had any qualms about anybody, you know? She was such a marvelous musician, but she never made you feel intimidated by her. So, she was one of these generous artists that made you play your best and sing your best in her presence.”
Not to be outdone, for all her modesty, Mhaonaigh also has a powerful aura, her spirited fiddle playing and captivating vocals casting an unshakeable spell over all those in her orbit. Altan, as a collective unit, is just as impressive, especially live.
Mhaonaigh believes Altan has never performed at the Stoughton Opera House, but she’s looking forward to it.
“It’s always lovely to play new venues, because we’ve been going to America for a long time and I like opera houses,” said Mhaonaigh. “They’re the old-fashioned opera houses. I love them. They’re spotted all around America, and they’re usually acoustically fantastic.”
Considering themselves ambassadors of County Donegal, located at the northern tip of the Republic of Ireland, Altan will bring bit of Donegal with them to Stoughton.
“We play Irish traditional music, tunes and songs that we got from our family, and especially my father and my relatives,” said Mhaonaigh, who sings in both Irish and English. “And also, we compose as well. So, in that same genre, we compose a lot of music ourselves, and we like to add on to the tradition. A lot of our tunes would be played at sessions now all over Ireland, and a lot of people wouldn’t even know that we composed them. So that’s fine. That’s the biggest compliment of all.”
Famed for being the first traditional Irish band signed to a major record label, as they were added to Virgin’s roster in 1996, Altan has scads of gold and platinum records to their credit. Along the way, they’ve stormed venerable venues, such as the Sidney Opera House, Carnegie Hall and Glastonbury, as well as the Hollywood Bowl, touring far and wide all over the globe.
Born to an Irish-speaking Donegal family, Mhaonaigh started Altan in the late 1980s with Belfast flutist Frankie Kennedy, her late husband. Putting a fresh spin on traditional Irish music, celebrating the classic styles, Altan became a sensation in their home country, and after Kennedy died in 1994, she kept the band going, driving Altan to even greater international acclaim.
Mhaonaigh is quick to acknowledge those who helped get Altan to where they are now.
“We learnt, and we were mentored by some of the finest musicians here in Donegal and in Ireland and abroad as well from traveling,” said Mhaonaigh. “So, we feel very fortunate to have made this our career and that we’re still going after 40 years and really enjoying the music still. That’s the most important thing. We still get joy from playing our music and joy from meeting people and saying hello. It’s always good. And the U.S. is one of our favorite places to go.”
Made up of original core members and skilled newcomers, mostly from County Donegal, Altan retains the elements of what makes Donegal Irish music particularly appealing, especially with guitarist Mark Kelly’s mastery of open tunings.
“We’re very lucky that we have all these styles in a small little country,” said Mhaonaigh, who explained what makes the Donegal style special. “Donegal’s style is very energetic and has a lot of Scottish influence, but Scotland, of course, and Ireland are close cousins because we’re a Celtic nation. They still have Gaelic there. We have Gaelic here. So, we have that Scottish connection through people emigrating to Scotland and mixing with Scottish people and bringing back songs and tunes. So, we have that Scottish element. We’re the next step over between Scotland and Ireland. So, our music is very influenced by Scottish fiddling. It’s a strong tone with the use of bow is very important as well. And then we combine it with the more lyrical style of the south of Ireland, where it’s mostly finger work and more relaxed.”
Adding to the mix is accordion player Martin Tourish, who was picked as “Young Musician of the Year” in 2008 by the National Irish Language Public Service Broadcaster TG4. A part of the band since 2008, Tourish has worked with The Chieftains, Ricky Scaggs and Patti Smith.
Clare Friel is new to Altan, giving Mhaonaigh a formidable vocal and fiddling partner.
Altan will also have a special guest on this tour, as Cathal Curran steps in as a multi-instrumentalist, playing bouzouki, fiddle and banjo. He’s from the same village as Mhaonaigh.
It’s hard to overstate Altan’s impact in the global exportation of traditional Irish music, especially considering their relationship with Virgin Records. Signing with the label was incredibly important. Mhaonaigh remembers how it came about.
“Well, I suppose we were playing a lot, and a lot of, we’ll say, trendy BBC DJs liked our music at that time because world music was becoming a thing in London especially, and I think that is how we got the Virgin deal, which was actually a big deal here in Ireland for a traditional band that didn’t really compromise,” said Mhaonaigh. “We didn’t mix it with any other type of music and the likes of Virgin, which was actually one of the top record labels at the time, when it meant to be a big deal to be with the record label … that they wanted to sign us, that gave us a lot of street cred. I think it helped our career here in Ireland especially, and in Europe, but we were plowing away in America at that stage.”
While laying the foundation for their success overseas, Altan realized their ambitions with the 1993 record Island Angel, recognized by Billboard as the fourth biggest-selling world music album of world music in 1994. That year, U.S. President Bill Clinton invited them to perform at the White House on St. Patrick’s Day.
“We had done a lot of work, and our album Island Angel actually went into No. 2 in the Billboard World Music Chart,” said Mhaonaigh. “So, things were happening for the band at the time, and again I put it down to a lot of hard work and integrity, and that people saw that we were genuine about what we were doing and passionate about our traditional music.”
Other musical luminaries were paying attention, too, as Altan has played with everyone from John Prine and Allison Krauss to actor/musician Steve Martin, The Chieftains and Enya.
“Well, Enya’s a neighbor of mine, so she would know my music pretty well,” said Mhaonaigh. “Her parents would know my parents, and I knew her while she was growing up.”
Altan worked with Enya when she was just getting going. Mhaonaigh said she was familiar with older traditional songs, and that Enya writes beautiful music. They were lucky to be able to collaborate with her, said Mhaonaigh.
“But I’ve spoken to her recently, and she’s enjoying life more now, and she’s taking it easy,” said Mhaonaigh. “It’s easier for her to relax more, and she can just enjoy being with family. But the likes of The Chieftains we knew very well and respected their music and their professionalism, and John Prine … well, he married a Donegal woman, and we played at their wedding in Nashville.”
According to Mhaonaigh, Prine played in the same keys at Altan.
“We would just go up and play along with him in our own style and he liked that,” said Mhaonaigh. “So, he guested with us a few times here in, I think, at the Celtic Connections (a folk, roots and world music festival) in Glasgow and here in Dublin and surprise guests with them as well. And of course, Bonnie Raitt would be one of his big friends.”
Yes, Altan has worked with Raitt, too.
Throughout it all, even though he’s not physically with them anymore, Kennedy hasn’t left their side, at least spiritually. His presence is still felt, as will be the case when Altan rolls into Wisconsin.
“Frankie’s never left us,” said Mhaonaigh. “He’s always there as a guide. I hear him in my head all the time. He was an amazing leader of the band. He had a great foresight. He just knew what he wanted while the rest of us were a little bit more modeled. But I’m seeing things more clearly now, and I know which way he wanted to bring the band, without compromise and just playing our music as well as we can. And that’s all you can do and communicate with the audience.”