Irish fiddle virtuoso Martin Hayes and Chicago-born guitarist Dennis Cahill possess a rare musical kinship, ranking them among the most memorable duos of our era. The twosome holds listeners spellbound with their slow-building, fiery performances, releasing the pure, distilled beauty and vast emotional depths of traditional Irish music. The New York Times calls them, "a Celtic complement to Steve Reich's quartets or Miles Davis's 'Sketches of Spain." Their new CD, Welcome Here Again (Compass), captures the amazing fire and chemistry of their duo playing.

Martin plays in the unhurried, lyrical style of his native Ireland's East County Clare. His father, P. J. Hayes, was the leader of the famed Tulla Ceili Band and Martin developed a great reverence for the older generation of players, whose music, as Martin puts it, "contains the longing and essence that moves you at the level of your soul." Now residing in Connecticut, Martin has been an All-Ireland fiddle champion six times over, and has taken home a National Entertainment Award, the Irish equivalent of the Grammy, for Traditional Musician of the Year.

Dennis studied at Chicago's prestigious Music College before working with Martin. The musical rapport he has with the fiddler is so strong that it is often said they appear to be playing one instrument, working on a seemingly telepathic level: their live performances weave tunes in what Martin describes as "a three-way conversation between the two of us and the music."

Martin & Dennis start the evening with a Q&A session, the inaugural talk in the Freight's new Chamber Folk Series, providing audience members the opportunity to ask questions about the music they'll present, its history, and their creative process. Sunday afternoon February 21, Martin & Dennis return to teach workshops at 11:00 am - an Irish Fiddle Masterclass from Martin and Dennis will teach an Advanced Irish Guitar Workshop.

Celtic harpist/storyteller Chris Caswell opens for the duo.

Visit Martin & Dennis' website

Visit Chris' website

Listen to a track from Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill:

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