This was written by Scottish fiddler Angus R. Grant, and recorded by him and his band Shooglenifty, pioneers of the "acid croft" sound – a blend of Celtic traditional music and dance grooves described as "hypno-folkadelic ambient trad." The "250" in the title refers to a 250CC motorcycle, on which Angus once rode to Vigo, a town in the Galician region of Spain.  We're very grateful to Greater Boston fiddle legend Barbara McOwen for inspiring us to learn it!

"Mom's Jig" was written by Jerry Holland, a legendary Cape Breton fiddler who actually was a native of Brockton, Mass. Jerry's mom was from Saint Pamphile in Quebec, on the border with Maine, and in an interview he mentioned that she had retained her French accent. His father, though Irish, also had a mother of French extraction "but not one who spoke French."

"Pipe on the Hob" is from the Irish tradition. "Hob" refers to the bench next to the fireplace, or sometimes a burner for heating a pot or skillet. Supposedly, the tune also was called "Piper on the Hob" -- a "piper" was a grasshopper, and having one appear on your hob on a cold night was supposed to be good luck. 

There are many, many versions of this song in the English and Scottish folk traditions. Back in 17th century Scotland, some beggars were actually licensed by the king, which may have helped inspire the idea put forth here of begging as a profession worth considering. Sean was inspired by the Old Blind Dogs' version, although he uses some slightly different lyrics, some of which he made up himself.

We've been having fun putting together some "classic" fiddle-tenor banjo Irish tune sets, but deviated a little from the norm (it happens) to pair this well-known staple of Irish sessions with a tune written by Paul James of the inimitable English band Blowzabella. Paul said he was inspired to compose it after the band performed in a decaying opera house in Brazil called Bello Horizonte.

The first reel was one of hundreds composed by fiddler Ed Reavy, who was born in County Cavan in Ireland and later emigrated to the Philadelphia area. We decided to slow it down, so as to savor its loveliness, especially in the transition from G to E minor. Another Philadelphia-based fiddler, Brendan Callahan, wrote the second reel. Brendan earned prominence not only as a musician – he won a number of national and international competitions – but as a student at Penn he competed in discus, hammer and shot put. 

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Mrs. Wilberforce performed as part of Summer BCMFest at Club Passim on July 7, 2024!