Kevin Burke
2015
PM
MEL LEHAN HALL AT ST. JAMES i
3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano
Accessible 
All ages
This event has already taken place.
KEVIN BURKE’s fiddle playing has been at the forefront of traditional music for over 30 years. He has been established as a first class musician ever since his work in the early 1970’s with the renowned BOTHY BAND. During his long career Kevin has earned international acclaim as a solo performer, a teacher and as a member of some of traditional music’s foremost ensembles. His contribution to music was acknowledged by The National Endowment for the Arts when he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship, the USA’s highest honor for excellence in the folk and traditional arts.
By 1980 Kevin had settled in the US and was performing with Bothy Band colleague Micheal O Domhnaill. Their 2 albums, “Promenade” and “Portland”, became, and still are, very influential resources for many traditional musicians. In 1985 Kevin was a founding member of the group, “Patrick Street”. He then spent much of the 90’s recording and performing in a series of highly successful concert tours with Johnny Cunningham from Scotland and Christian Lemaitre from Brittany, a trio of fiddle players known as “The Celtic Fiddle Festival”.
In 2007 Kevin set up his own record label, “Loftus Music”, which has already developed a reputation for excellence in both its musical output and its somewhat unique and eco-friendly packaging design. The first release on his new label was the impressive “Across the Black River”, a duo recording with his good friend, composer/arranger Cal Scott. The CD garnered high praise from music critics on both sides of the Atlantic and was hailed by the New York Times as one of the top world music releases of the year. Kevin’s “Suite” was the label’s second major release.
KEVIN BURKE SOLO : THE NAKED FIDDLE!
“With the great popularity of various groups over the last 25 years or so, many people have forgotten that this kind of music used to be played mainly solo. The bands, groups and accompanists are a relatively recent development… so I thought it would be interesting to let people hear the ‘naked’ fiddle once more.” – Kevin Burke