This year, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann’s annual Mid-Atlantic Fleadh (https://ccemidatlantic.com/) took place April 25-27 at the Crowne Plaza Princeton, N.J., Conference Center. Co-chaired by Mid-Atlantic Regional Chair Annmarie Acosta Williams and North American Provincial Chair Frankie McCormick, the Mid-Atlantic Fleadh is a qualifying event for the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Ireland, where young folks go to compete for the vaunted “All-Ireland” title on their respective instruments. This year’s event turned out very well and one organizers and participants alike won’t soon forget!
It was a year of new beginnings. New faces and a new location gave the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Fleadh a fresh look. The move from Parsippany to Princeton NJ not only followed the Irish tradition of rotating competition location every couple of years, but it also acknowledged the geographic diversity of the region’s competitors. Although the Mid-Atlantic Region includes branches as far flung as New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Pittsburgh, it welcomes all competitors not eligible for the Mid-West Fleadh, meaning it attracting folks all over the United States as well as Canada. In the eyes of event organizers, Princeton was an ideal location, given its easy proximity from New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, where the bulk of fleadh participants are located.
Although the weekend’s focus was competition, organizers ensured there was lots to do durning the downtime, especially for the young folks. In addition to the many kid-friendly amenities the hotel had to offer, including a swimming pool, billiard & shuffleboard tables, and ample outdoor space for pickup soccer matches, event the annual Saturday night pajama and pizza party was once again a feature and included a lively kids session, hosted by some of the region’s finest musicians.
The annual gala banquet once again took place on Saturday night, but this year there was a new wrinkle. Instead of holding the Hall of Fame induction ceremony during the banquet, this year’s honorees, including Kathleen and Dom Lavin, Martin Reilly and Frank Curran (RIP), as well as Katherine Ball-Weir, who was given the service award, were fêted in a focused ceremony before the dinner.
All in all, it was an excellent event! Although modest in size compared to years past, Fleadh organizers really delivered, making the whole weekend a great success for all who competed and their families as well. Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to prepare and to those whose efforts will take them to Wexford for the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in August – best of luck! For more info on the race to the All-Ireland, see https://fleadhcheoil.ie/.
In other news: Comprised of Alex Sturbaum and Brian Lindsay, Countercurrent are a duo hailing from Olympia, Wash., that specializes in contra dance and acoustic music. In the media yoke this week is “Flow,” their recently released third studio album that mixes Irish traditional with old-time, rock, pop, and Americana influences. It’s a fascinating, well executed album that will attract the ears of festival goers and dancers alike.
Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Sturbaum (https://www.alexsturbaum.com/) is a versatile musician with roots in the Irish, Scottish, Appalachian, and maritime traditions. A multi-instrumentalist best known for their guitar and accordion work, they have released four solo albums (“River Run Wide,” “Loomings,” “Atlantic Dreams,” and “Slash”) that reflect a range of traditional influences. Over the years, they’ve been involved with an assortment of diverse projects including the contra group “The Waxwings,” “The Vashon Sessions,” which is a collaborative project involving musicians from the Pacific Northwest, and the annual singing weekend “Raise the Rafters,” among many other things.
Lindsay (https://brianlindsaymusic.com/) is a lifelong musician. In addition to being a Mid-Atlantic Fleadh champion fiddler who studied with the great Brian Conway, he is an accomplished singer who also excels on the banjo, mandolin, guitar, and tin whistle. In addition to Countercurrent, he has also worked with Sturbaum in the group Gallimaufry and with fiddle player Penka Jane Culevski as part of the old-time duo Dear Crow (https://dearcrowmusic.com/). Lindsay is also an experienced sound engineer specializing in both live and studio work and was the set of ears behind the mixing of this project.
Intended as a “cohesive” listening experience that guides the listener’s experience, the album moves from tune to tune in intuitive fashiion, with the occasional short interlude that act as bridges from one track to the next. Outstanding tracks for me include “Devil,” which is made up of a pair of reels, one Irish – one of Paddy Fahy’s self-titled efforts – and the other, “Devil In The Strawsack,” American, I believe. Lindsay really shows off his fiddle chops here and Sturbaum does an excellent job driving a hard rhythm both on guitar and bodhran. “Curiouser” is another that appealed to me. This track includes two tunes, Ed Reavy’s “Hunter’s House” and an original after which the track is named. The driving fiddle/guitar dynamic that characterizes the album as a whole is very much evident here, with the little moments of “Americana” that punctuate the Irish melodic giving it its style.
Sturbaum contributes a great song here in “Six Workers Dead in Illinois.” Written in reaction to a tornado that destroyed an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill., in December 2021 in which six employees died, the song’s lyrics are sharply critical of the corporation’s actions during the disaster as well as the manner in which it handled things in the aftermath. It’s a great track, with Sturbaum’s crisp songwriting delivering an effective and sharp message that speaks for the many folks whose voices are too commonly drowned out in this contemporary moment.
“Flow” is a strong album that fuses traditional musics of all sorts. The musicianship is superb and is something that surely translates to their live performances which I understand are terrific. Give this one a listen if trad fusion is your thing, you won’t be disappointed! To learn more and to order, visit https://countercurrentmusic.com/.
