Trial Balloon: August 22, 2009 Archive

Celts & Calamities

Posted at 6:00 AM on August 22, 2009 by Dale Connelly (9 Comments)

The destructive potential of Hurricane Bill and a tornado causing havoc in Minneapolis served to remind us this week that we are entering a time for unstable weather and any number of bad things could happen. The best possible scenario is that no one gets hurt, but nature causes enough of a fuss to yield some interesting songs. In hour one of Radio Heartland on MPR News stations, I'll look through the library for music about earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and floods. Only a few of them are funny.

In hour two, I'll talk with two local legends for Celtic music - Dáithí Sproule and Laura MacKenzie. They're each having a great year, both winning individual Bush Foundation Artist Fellowships for 2009 and at the same time releasing a collection of duets called "The Pinery".

Though Laura and Dáithí both have many reasons to be personally cheerful, they'll bring us unsettling music - a song about kidnapping and death brought on by the mischievous wee folk and a heartbreaking barge ballad set in the Wisconsin Dells - not your typical scene for a Celtic tragedy.

That's tonight on Radio Heartland, from 9 to 11 pm on MPR News stations.

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