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Take
four musicians steeped in their native Appalachian music, add in the beautiful
repertoire of Celtic music and the result is - Celtibillies.
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Celtibillies performing at the Blue Ridge Music Center near Galax, Virginia
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"A masterful work of art
that transcends all musical genres". That's how Bluegrass Unlimited
described the music of Celtibillies. Formed in 1994 as a contradance band,
Celtibillies began exploring the deep rooted connections between Celtic
music and the Appalachian music of their home region of southwest Virginia.
Their music expanded beyond dance tunes to include a wide range of traditional
Celtic and Appalachian Old-Time music and song as well as original music.
The band features Becky Barlow on hammered dulcimer, keyboard and bodhran,
Jack Hinshelwood on fiddle and guitar, Tim Sauls on banjo, bouzouki and
guitar, and Jeff Hofmann on bass. Celtibillies performances are an energetic
mixture of duet vocal arrangements and spirited jigs, reels, waltzes and
breakdowns.
Celtibillies was selected to
represent the best of music from Appalachia at the 37th Smithsonian Folklife
Festival, the largest annual cultural event in the U.S. capital. Over
the years, the Folklife Festival has featured exemplary tradition bearers
from throughout the world that embody the creative vitality of community-based
traditions.
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Kelly Witherspoon, Champion Irish step dancer, performed with Celtibillies at the Court Square Theatre in Harrisonburg, Virginia
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The music of Celtibillies was
featured in the sound track of
"In the Company of Strangers",
an independent full length motion picture that won Best Dramatic Feature
Film in the 2002 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival.
Celtibillies performed for the film premier at the beautiful Valentine
Theatre in Toledo, Ohio. The music of Celtibillies also appeared in “Down In The Old Belt – Voices From The Tobacco South,” a full length documentary movie on the history of the tobacco economy and culture in Virginia & North Carolina.
The Celtibillies were named
by the Virginia Commission for the Arts to the 2005-2007 Artist Tour Directory.
The Virginia Commission for the Arts supports excellence in all the arts
and is funded by the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment
for the Arts.
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The
individuals who make up Celtibillies are:
Becky Barlow
Jeff Hofmann
Jack Hinshelwood
Tim Sauls
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