Irish folk singer Cara Dillon took a career break after the dramatic, premature birth of her twin sons in November 2006, and returns creatively refreshed with Hill Of Thieves, her fourth CD. It’s also the first release on Charcoal Records, the label formed by Cara and her partner Sam Lakeman.

Hill Of Thieves has a significantly more acoustic sound than previous albums and also sees her returning to her roots with an outstanding collection of traditional songs. Already a highly acclaimed torch-bearer of the tradition and original songwriter, Cara and husband, producer and fellow musician Sam set out with a view to emulate the sound and style of classic albums by artists like Planxty and Paul Brady & Andy Irvine.

Cara delivers some of her finest performances to date with sublime interpretations of classics such as "The Parting Glass" and "She Moved Through The Fair", plus a fresh sounding "Spencer The Rover" which features Cara's brother-in-law (and fellow groundbreaker) Seth Lakeman on vocals, fiddle and tenor guitar.

As you'd probably expect, the other guest musicians on this release are equally outstanding and the collection of fiddles, whistle, bodhran and uilleann pipes never fail to deliver a united backing while Sam Lakeman's guitar and piano provide the foundations for each arrangement. Other stand-out songs include the title track, Hill Of Thieves, an original song from Cara and Sam written about her hometown in County Derry; the little known "Johnny, Lovely Johnny" and a gorgeous, unaccompanied rendition of "Fil, Fil" in Gaelic.

The sonic quality and production is much earthier, more direct and well rounded, and at times much simpler than previous albums. Meanwhile, Cara found recording her vocals easier than before. "Since becoming a mother to twins my time was so precious that I found my approach to recording this album changed dramatically compared to previous records. I was more focused when it came to singing and it took only a handful of takes to get the one.”

Cara’s planned maternity break came much quicker than expected, when her waters broke whilst she was on stage in November 2006. Her two sons Colm and Noah were born three months prematurely and she and Sam endured an anxious time until the babies were able to leave hospital early in 2007.

“Sam and I had planned to take a long break to prepare for the arrival of Noah and Colm but were knocked sideways by their early birth. Our whole world went into slow motion for several months while they were in hospital. It was an extremely difficult time for us all even after they were allowed to come home, but it’s been such an incredible journey so far and it seems to get better and better with every step.”

Hill of Thieves is release on January 26th 2009 via Charcoal Records

For all regional press enquiries please contact Joe at Quite Great Roots on 01223 410000 or email joe@quitegreat.co.uk

Alison Brown has achieved success in many areas: a Harvard graduate, record label co-founder and owner, mother, and, the role that most people know her in: banjo virtuoso. With her tenth release, The Company You Keep, the usually soft-spoken Brown is speaking up for independent music. "The Company You Keep isn't solely a statement about me or my band, or about Compass Records, it's about independent music as a whole. The fact that we are all still here when you see closures, mergers and percentages down everyday is a testament to real music, good music, music that matters. We're into our 15th year with this business model at Compass and we're not struggling, we're thriving."

The title of Brown's new studio release The Company You Keep was originally inspired by the words of Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote): "Tell me the company you keep and I'll tell you what you are." But it wasn't until the project began to develop that Brown realised the title actually held two separate, but equally important, meanings for her and for her music. "I've been writing, recording and performing my own tunes for nearly 20 years now," Brown reflects. "And as I thought about the progression of my sound - our band sound - I began to think about what a collaborative effort this musical journey has been. After 15 years of recording, performing and philosophising about music with (pianist) John R Burr and (bassist) Garry West, I really wanted to draw that collaborative spirit to the forefront on this album." The Company You Keep features the musicians she has spent most of the past 15 years performing with: John R. Burr (piano), Garry West (bass), David Grisman Quintet alum Joe Craven (fiddle/mandolin/percussion) and Larry Atamanuik (drums) alongside guests John Doyle (guitar), Stuart Duncan (fiddle) and Kenny Malone (drums) on a set of engaging, upbeat and melodic tunes, many of which were co-written by Brown and Burr, in some cases right before the recording sessions.

The Company You Keep opens with “Crazy Ivan,” a minor hoe-down with an enigmatic odd meter intro. It’s a great example of the interplay between banjo and piano. The records offers its own take on a version of piano accordion virtuoso Maírtin O’Connor’s The Road West. “I have been a fan of Maírtin’s since we met at the Roisin Dubh in Galway several years ago. He gave me a copy of his latest record and I loved that tune from the first time I heard it.” The fifth track, “Under the Wire” is probably the most blue-grassy tune on the album and the first – and last – tune the band recorded for the album. “We cut a version of that tune on our first session but as we opened it live it really took on majestic sort of Western feel and we just had to re-cut it.”

According to Brown, The Company You Keep is also a tip of the hat to her approach to business as one of the co-founders of the Compass Records Group. "I co-founded Compass with Garry West the same year that I began touring with my own band so the development of the label and the development of the band have grown up in tandem, even though I didn't release an album on Compass until 1998." At a time when the record business is being turned upside down, the Compass Records Group has continued to grow and today boasts nearly 600 releases across the Compass, Green Linnet and Mulligan Records catalogues. " We take a very long tail approach to our business and feel a great sense of pride in having built a business model that is scaled to be successful with records that may only sell a few thousand units. Some of our smallest records say more about us as a label than our biggest selling records do."

Alison Brown is a Harvard alum, received her MBA from UCLA and worked as an investment banker before joining Alison Krauss and Union Station for a three year stint in 1989. She has received 3 GRAMMY nominations for her solo recordings and a GRAMMY award in 2001 for Best Country Instrumental Performance as well as the International Bluegrass Music Association's award for Banjo Player of the Year. Praised by both fans and critics alike, her take on the traditionally Appalachian instrument has earned Brown features on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR's All Things Considered and in The Wall Street Journal as well as numerous other honours. Brown tours internationally with the Alison Brown Quartet, and The Company You Keep will be available in the UK on March 2nd, 2009.

For more information please visit www.alisonbrown.net. For all press enquiries contact Joe Henley at Quite Great Roots on 01223 410000 / joe@quitegreat.co.uk

Beoga are very tight-lipped about the title of their third album, The Incident. “We are willing to disclose that the so-called ‘incident’ did occur on the road in 2008...perhaps I’ve said too much,” bodhrán player Eamon Murray says with a wink. So much of what makes up The Incident, both in title and in musical delivery, truly captures the essence of Beoga, a self-described “trad band on anabolic steroids.”

A five-piece traditional Irish band based in County Antrim, Beoga’s unique sound features the twin dueling accordions of Seán Óg Graham and Damian McKee, four-time All-Ireland bodhrán champion Eamon Murray, pianist Liam Bradley, and one of Ireland’s premier young singers, Niamh Dunne. Beoga’s repertoire of fresh self-penned tunes, original covers, and inventive arrangements mark them as one of the most exciting acts to emerge from Ireland in recent years.

On The Incident, Beoga continues with the tight, lively and fiery tunes they’ve become known for – while of course adding nuances from a variety of other genres. The Incident hits the ground running with the “Lamped” set: three boisterous, yet turn-on-a-dime tunes (polka/slide/reel). Niamh Dunne’s soulful vocals stir on the Gospel-gone-Irish cover of Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “Strange Things”. Special guest vocalist Ciaran Gribbin (aka ‘Joe Echo’), swaps vocals with Dunne during the duet “On The Way”, a cheeky song about a couple fighting in the car on the way to Donegal.

The Incident also revives the band tradition of laugh-out-loud funny liner notes. Although everyone in the band still refuses to fess up about what “the incident” actually is, there are enough other anecdotes that ultimately lent their names to tunes on the CD to keep the listener/reader entertained. One example is “The Flying Golf Club” set, which is based on band member Damian McKee’s gone awry attempt to win a car by sinking a hole-in-one at a local amusement park. Beginning as a carnival-style polka before returning to their bouncy traditional sound, Beoga left the amusement park minus the car, down a club, but in hysterics. “It was possibly the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” says Murray.

Immediately embraced by press and fans alike, Beoga’s debut album, A Lovely Madness, earned 9/10 in Ireland’s Hot Press, and was one of their Top Trad/Folk Albums of the year. Describing Beoga as a “phenomenon” and their music as “madcap genius”, Irish Music Magazine predicted they would make a big mark on the Irish music scene and in 2005 nominated them for the best traditional newcomer’s award. Beoga released their subsequent album, Mischief, with then new vocalist Niamh Dunne, in 2007. Mischief has received excellent reviews across the board, including early “album of the year” predictions from The Celtic Connection and Irish Music. Hot Press gave Mischief a 9.5/10 rating and the Irish American News proclaimed “super vocals, a terrific staccato beat to the rhythm, with a real sense of style and wit. This is a major, major band to be reckoned with.” The Irish Echo describes Beoga as “perhaps the most audacious band rooted in trad today” ranking them as the one of most promising bands launched in the new millennium.

Over the last few years Beoga have performed at major Celtic and Folk festivals throughout Europe and the USA, including the Cambridge Folk Festival, the All-Ireland Fleadh, Dranouter, Tonder, Boston, Kansas, and Milwaukee Irish Festivals, the Guinness Irish Christmas tour of Austria, the Irish Folk Festival tour of Germany along with Solas and Kevin Burke, and the Irish Unplugged Tour of Holland with the Fureys and Davey Arthur. In September 2007, Beoga performed live with the BBC Orchestra to a television audience of millions as part of the prestigious “Last Night Of The Proms”. In 2009, Beoga’s popularity will continue to flourish as they captivate audiences on a global scale with their blend of passion, energy and vitality.

 For more info please visit www.beogamusic.com. For press enquiries please contact Jay Taylor at Quite Great Roots on 01223 410000 / jay@quitegreat.co.uk