Massachusetts residents Laurel Martin (fiddle), Mark Roberts (flute, banjo, bouzouki & percussion), and Kieran Jordan (sean-nós / “old style” step dance) perform traditional Irish music with the sweetest of melodies and heartiest of grooves. As long-time friends through music, these three artists have collaborated previously in other groups, and they have toured and performed together as part of the fiddle ensemble, Childsplay. As a trio, they present tasteful musical selections, with dance woven in as rhythmic and visual accompaniment. Performing with lyricism and consummate skill, this group also sprinkles their concerts with entertaining and heart-felt anecdotes, promising an uplifting show of good tunes, good steps, and good spirits.
Traditional Irish trio Líofa, Sarah Martin, Kathleen Guilday, Laurel Martin
Líofa is the joyful partnership of friendship and family born of a shared love and deep appreciation for the Irish musical tradition. The term Líofa (Irish for “fluent”) celebrates the proficiency with which Laurel, Sarah and Kathleen produce their eloquent, expressive blend of melodies and harmonies.
Laurel Martin began playing the fiddle in 1980, and during the 1990s she studied the regional fiddle styles of Ireland with master fiddler Seamus Connolly under the auspices of a Traditional Arts Master Apprentice grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Laurel's lyrical musical style reflects her fascination with the enigmatic sounds of the old fiddle masters of Clare, East Galway and Sligo. A regular performer at concerts and sessions throughout New England, she is also an engaging teacher of traditional Irish fiddle music, having taught at Boston College, Wellesley College, at many traditional festivals and currently at the Indian Hill Music School. Laurel co-authored and recorded the collection of traditional Irish tunes Forget Me Not in 2002, has recorded and toured with the fiddle ensemble Childsplay for more than twenty years, and has recorded two well-received solo albums, The Groves (2006) and Larks & Thrushes (2018). In 2002 and in 2010 she was awarded Traditional Arts Master Apprentice grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council as a master teacher.
Sarah Martin (Laurel's daughter) grew up in a house full of music. At a young age she began distracting her loved ones by humming to herself constantly, and she never stopped. Trained as a classical violinist and violist, Sarah has gradually moved towards the music that she heard her mom play, share, and teach at home: traditional Irish fiddle. She also loves singing, composing, and playing guitar. In 2010 Sarah released an album of her own songs, In-Between Lullabies.
An All-Ireland harp champion, Kathleen Guilday has appeared at Boston's Symphony Hall with The Chieftains and entertained President and Mrs. Clinton and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern at the White House. Kathleen is affiliated with the Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Éireann music school in Boston and frequently adjudicates preliminary All-Ireland competitions at the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest Regional Fleadhanna Ceoil. A member of the Childsplay fiddle ensemble, Kathleen has recorded multiple CDs with the group and appears in the film Childsplay: Fiddlers, Fiddles and a Fiddle Maker. She can also be heard on fiddler Séamus Connolly's recordings Notes From My Mind and Here and There, on accordion player Joe Burke's album The Tailor's Choice, and on Laurel Martin's CD The Groves.
Renowned performer of traditional Irish fiddle music Laurel Martin plays with a lyrical, subtle style that is influenced by the old regional fiddle styles of Ireland. Laurel has performed and taught at festivals and local venues throughout New England for almost thirty years, and has toured and recorded with the fiddle performance ensemble Childsplay since 1998. She has taught Irish traditional music at Boston College, Wellesley College and privately, and she currently teaches at the Indian Hill Music School in Littleton. Her first solo album, The Groves, was released in 2006, and in 2018 she released her new solo CD, Larks & Thrushes, which features Jim Prendergast on guitar.
A masterful and versatile accompanist, Jim Prendergast spent thirty years working in the studios and orchestra pits of Nashville, TN, and in recent years has moved to Portsmouth New Hampshire where he has delved into playing and producing traditional music. His sensitive accompaniment provides the perfect complement to Laurel’s playing, and together their duo creates a traditional sound and performance style that is dynamic, warm and engaging.
Known for her lyrical, subtle style, Irish fiddler Laurel Martin plays at sessions, concerts and festivals throughout New England, and has taught Irish fiddle for more than 20 years privately and at Boston College, Wellesley College, at traditional music festivals, and currently at the Indian Hill Music School in Littleton. With her mentor Seamus Connolly she co-authored a book of traditional Irish tunes in 2002. She has also recorded two solo albums. Mark Roberts has been playing traditional music for more than 30 years. He has recorded and toured extensively, playing 5 string banjo, flute, and bouzouki amongst other instruments. Some of the bands he has been a member of are: Touchstone, The Red Clay Ramblers, The Sevens, The Clay Foot Strutters. Mark and Laurel have both performed and recorded with the fiddle ensemble “Childsplay” for more years than they can remember, and more recently in a performance trio with sean nos dancer Kieran Jordan.
After thirty years working in the recording studios and orchestra pits of Nashville, TN, guitarist Jim Prendergastnow resides in New Hampshire where he specializes in producing traditional music at his Mill Pond Music Studio in Portsmouth, NH. He is a highly sought-after accompanist specializing in DADGAD-tuned guitar. Jim’s sensitive, masterful guitar accompaniment provides the perfect complement to Laurel and Mark’s duet playing. Their recent performances as a trio include appearances at the Boston Celtic Music Fest at Passim in Cambridge MA, the River’s Edge Arts Alliance in Hudson, MA, Indian Hill Music School, Littleton MA and the Parish Center for the Arts in Westford. Mark and Jim are both featured on Laurel’s recently released CD, “Larks & Thrushes.”
Laurel was a member of the traditional fiddle ensemble "Childsplay." She toured and recorded with the group from 1999 until their final tour in December 2019. Laurel loved playing with this incredible group of talented musicians and she cherishes the musical relationships that grew from her time playing with the band.
