Music
portunity to ask some artists that we had worked with over the years to collaborate on the album “CAS.” It was very refreshing to change the focus a little from jigs and reels etc. The songs required a softer, more ambient approach which I think balances well against the energy of the tunes.
Holiday spirit
Lunasa will play their Irish music at Cornell University on March 18 By G. M . Bur n s
T
he artful musicians of Lúnasa decided on their name from the ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish deity Lugh. Formed in 1997, the band had former members from a wide range of popular Irish groups. And since their inception, the group has had a commitment to intricate rhythms and sophisticated musical arrangements. The band has also collaborated with other iconic artists such as Natalie Merchant, Mary-Chapin Carpenter and Tim O’Brien. Below, bassist Trevor Hutchinson spoke about his experiences with the band and the upcoming live performance at Cornell University on March 18. Ithaca Times: For decades Lúnasa has been performing Irish music and is known the world over for their sold out shows. But talk about the way you first began to perform Irish tunes and how you were drawn to music? How did you
choose the instrument you Lunasa will play at Cornell March 18 now play with? Trevor Hutchinson: My involvement in Irish music came later than that tour, not realizing we would still be the rest of the guys; I grew up listening to together 25 years later. It was interesting in the Beatles and the Stones and played elec- that we had total control of the direction tric bass in rock bands for several years. It of the music with no record company or was through working with Sharon Shanmanagement input. So we made plenty of non who had joined the Waterboys during mistakes along the way but at least they my time with them that I got drawn into were our mistakes and I think we learned the Irish traditional genre. I also started a lot from the process. playing upright bass at that time which I thought worked better with the overall IT: All the members of Lúnasa play sound. with verve, but how does the group focus to keep moving ahead and come up with IT: Can you talk about how you first new directions such as with your last joined Lúnasa and what was that like release titled “CAS”? What was that like for you in the beginning with this band for you and the other members of the given your past work with other artists? group? TH: Lúnasa was originally formed as a TH: Every album is always a challenge on e off project for an Australian tour that trying to capture something of the live enI had been offered, so we put together a ergy. We always had wanted to incorporate lineup and recorded a cd specifically for songs into our music and we took the op-
Ma r ch
1 6 – 22 ,
IT: Is a new album possible in the next year? TH: Now that we’re back on the road after two years we’ll hopefully start that conversation. The time off proved very difficult in terms of recording as we’re all scattered in different countries. We did manage a couple of online concerts but they were pretty challenging from a technical view. IT: What will this coming performance at Cornell be like for you and what will be unique for you about it? TH: We’re very much looking forward to the Cornell concert, we always have an amazing audience there and hopefully the energy we’ve experienced being back on the road will be even better by then. We also have our original fiddle player Sean Smyth back with us for this tour so that adds another dimension for us.
Bailey Hall Lúnasa will perform at Cornell University’s Bailey Hall on Friday, March 18, at 8 p.m. For tickets, https://www. cornellconcertseries.com/lunasa-2022/
2 0 2 2
/ T h e
I t h a c a T im e s
19
