Liz Carroll won the Senior All-Ireland Championship on fiddle when she was 18 and has since become one of the more sought after traditional music performers. Her first solo album, Liz Carroll released in 1988, was chosen as a select record of American folk music by the Library of Congress. Liz was also named Traditional Performer of the Year in 2000 by the “Irish Echo”. Although she plays Irish traditional dance tunes, her records also feature original compositions that highlight the traditional styles. Carroll is a huge draw for traditional music conniseurs and the general public alike, as indicated by her draw and awards. In 1994, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Liz a National Heritage Fellowship for her great influence on Irish music in America, as a performer and a composer. More recently, her 2009 duet album Double Play with John Doyle, was nominated for a 2010 Grammy for Best Traditional World Music Album, and she and John were invited to play for President Obama at the White house.

Dáithí Sproule of Derry, is one of Irish music’s most respected guitar accompanists, and one of the first guitarists to develop DADGAD tuning for Irish music. He is also a fine singer in English and Irish. Sproule’s original compositions have been recorded by Skara Brae, the Bothy Band, Altan, Trian, Liz Carroll, Aoife Clancy, the RTE Concert Orchestra and others. He is also known for his innovative arrangements of traditional songs, and in 1995 he released his first solo album, A Heart Made of Glass, with songs in English and Irish. In 2008 he released an instrumental guitar album, The Crow In the Sun, featuring thirteen original compositions. In addition to performing and recording, Dáithí is a sought-after teacher and lecturer in subjects ranging from guitar styles and song accompaniment to Irish traditional music, language and literature. He is a 2009 Bush Artist Fellow, awarded by the Minnesota based Archibald Bush Foundation.

Liz and Dáithí play at 6pm on Saturday. Liz will also be included in the Fiddlers In The Round workshop at 3pm, Saturday.

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