And each time I’ve reread Last Night’s Fun, it’s fed me differently.Ĭhicago-based multi-instrumentalist John Williams described Last Night’s Fun - and the food, drink, music, and memories that it contains - as this quintessential meditation on the Irish tradition. When the book was published in 1996, I devoured it. And communion - in the keys of D, G, and E Minor. He talks about iconic musicians associated with them, feelings they evoke, and food that surrounds the memories of playing these tunes. For each chapter, Ciaran takes a different tune - like Boil the Breakfast Early, The Steampacket, and the title chapter tune, Last Night’s Fun - and then he shares memories of playing these tunes. [ Music: “Grupai Memories,” from Production Music made for Irish Music StoriesĪs I’ve assembled these tales, I’ve kept in mind Ciaran Carson’s exceptional book Last Night’s Fun. For this episode I’ve prepared a menu of appetizing memories from Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Matthew Olwell, Jamie McClennan, and Matt Heaton. > Shannon: From Philly to Guidor, all trad musicians and dancers have anecdotes of how food, drink, and company led to nights of song, dance, and tunes. > Mairéad: These people, we would have sat and ate with them and drank with them and had a lot of merriment and serious discussion with these people, and these people are always part of the music. Singer and fiddle player Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh tasted the importance of sitting and eating with neighbors and mentors as a kid in Gweedore in the Irish-speaking part of Donegal: Like many practitioners of the Irish tradition, he’s picked up on the way that non-musical rituals, like eating and drinking, inform the music. > Shannon: That’s Philadelphia-based dancer and flute player Matthew Olwell. > Matthew: For me the sharing of food, and tea, and community, and people coming together to play music and to eat has always been kind of part and parcel, like they go hand in hand. …like what tea and toast, and chips and cheese, are really about for traditional musicians and dancers: [ Music: “Free the Heel,” from Kitchen Session And this is the season finale of Irish Music Stories, the show about traditional music, and the bigger stories behind it ... > Matt Heaton: Boston-based guitarist and bouzouki player > Jamie McClennan: New Zealand-born fiddler and guitarist now based in Scotland > Liz Carroll: master fiddle player, composer, and National heritage Fellow > Kathleen Conneely: tin whistle player from Bedford, England > Kevin Doyle: Rhode Island-born dancer and 2014 National Heritage Fellow > Nigel Heaton: young announcer for Irish Music Stories > John Williams: Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist > Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh: singer, fiddle player, and co-founder of the band Altan > Matthew Olwell: Philadelphia-based dancer and flute player > Shannon Heaton: flute player, singer, composer, teacher, and host of Irish Music Stories This Irish Music Stories episode aired November 12, 2019 Episode 35 – Last Night’s Food: How drinks and snacks feed traditional music