Sweden’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations got off to a flying start as one of Sweden’s most famous trad bands hit the road with Irish music legend Andy Irvine for a 30th-anniversary tour that has been playing to packed-out venues.
On the eve of St. Patrick’s Day the tour stopped off in Dieselverkstaden in Nacka on the south side of the capital, and the sell-out crowd was treated to a brilliant evening of songs, tunes and shanties by the vastly-experienced quintet.
The evening opened with Quilty – four Swedes who fell in love with Irish music in the 1970s – going through some of the songs and tunes that made them one of the most popular folk acts in the country.
A superbly gifted musician who effortlessly switches between instruments, Gideon Andersson set the tone with his infectious enthusiasm, and he was flanked by Staffan Lindfors, whose upright bass added both driving rhythms and atmospheric counterpoints to the evening’s eclectic set.
Quilty were then joined after a few numbers by Irvine, undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in the history of Irish music, to play some of the songs that inspired the Swedes to take up music in the first place.
With Irvine’s signature feathery touch on his bouzouki and Dag Westling’s beautifully melodic guitar-playing, the stage was set for a whistle-stop tour of Europe’s long folk tradition as they told tales of rigged horse races, spurned lovers and more than one person tipped into the local river by a jealous spouse.
In a nod to the breadth of the 80-year-old’s staggering back catalogue, fiddler Esbjörn Hazelius gently ribbed Irvine over his “East Wind” album, which the Swede purchased thinking it would be full of Celtic tunes but turned out to be a fascinating experimental work featuring Bulgarian folk music. Hazelius eventually learned to love that record, and there was even a rendition of one of the more complex tunes here, much to the obvious delight of Irvine.
The tour continues until March 26, with CDs on sale from both Irvine and Quilty and an opportunity to get them signed after the show – full details can be found on the band’s website.
