Ten Strings And A Goat Skin

http://www.tenstringsandagoatskin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Article-August-2-2013-Common-Folk-Music-UK-Blog-Review-.jpg - Common Folk Music - UK

http://www.tenstringsandagoatskin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Article-August-2-2013-Common-Folk-Music-UK-Blog-Review-.jpg - Common Folk Music - UK

http://www.tenstringsandagoatskin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Article-Aug-16-2013-Music-Nerd-Chronicles-Moncton-NB-.jpg - The Musicnerd Chronicles

http://www.tenstringsandagoatskin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Article-Aug-16-2013-Music-Nerd-Chronicles-Moncton-NB-.jpg - The Musicnerd Chronicles

http://www.folkradio.co.uk/2013/07/introducing-ten-strings-a-goat-skin/ - Folk Radio UK

http://www.folkradio.co.uk/2013/07/introducing-ten-strings-a-goat-skin/ - Folk Radio UK

http://www.tenstringsandagoatskin.com/new-review-trad-magazine-france/ - Trad Mgazine

http://www.tenstringsandagoatskin.com/new-review-trad-magazine-france/ - Trad Mgazine

http://www.tenstringsandagoatskin.com/new-review-penguin-eggs-magazine-autumn-2013/ - Penguin Eggs Magazine - Autumn 2013

http://www.tenstringsandagoatskin.com/new-review-penguin-eggs-magazine-autumn-2013/ - Penguin Eggs Magazine - Autumn 2013

Fiddle-filled, foot-stomping Irish gatherings formed a regular part of life when Caleb and Rowen Gallant were barely old enough to hold instruments.

10 Strings and a Goat Skin like to mix things up, combining traditional Celtic and Acadian music with more contemporary sounds, like grunge, punk and rock. They say they’re looking for an audience that’s open to appreciating something a little different.
The brothers, who hail from the shore of Rustico, P.E.I., are two-thirds of 10 Strings and a Goat Skin, a Celtic and Acadian band that combines contemporary and traditional music.

“There are definitely people who think traditional music should remain traditional and that’s what they like,” Rowen said. “…(We appreciate) people who enjoy hearing something a little different sometimes.”

Along with their high school buddy, 18-year-old Jesse Periard, Caleb and Rowen’s spin on the music they grew up with comes from a few facets of modern music. The brothers – respectively aged 16 and 18 – like grunge, punk and rock, including bands like the White Stripes and Flogging Molly.

That’s the sound they aim for using an acoustic guitar, violin and a bodhran (a traditional Irish drum).

Following a week of showcases at this year’s ECMAs in Moncton and a nod for Roots Traditional Group Recording of the Year, buzz built around the trio. Earlier, the boys landed the 2012 Music PEI Award in the same category.

They released Tri, their first full-length recording in Feb. 2011 and plan to head back to this studio this winter.

Though none of the three are legal drinking age in any of the Maritime provinces, playing for older crowds at free pub nights is a common occurrence, they say.

“When you have an experienced audience in a pub or bar and they see three kids that shouldn’t legally be there, it’s almost easy to take them by surprise with our material.” - The Telegraph Journal

Think of some of the long-standing, deeply-rooted, highly successful folk festivals in this country: the 33rd annual Edmonton Folk Festival; the 35th annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival; the 33rd annual Calgary Folk Music Festival; the 39th annual Winnipeg Folk Festival. The list goes on.
........ And now, a group led by Music P.E.I. executive director Rob Oakie is looking to bring a new annual folk festival to life for the Maritimes — one centred on P.E.I.
Called the Malpeque Folk Festival, it will reach its full fruition next year in August.
And this past weekend, an afternoon of music, called Malpeque Folk Festival Presents Concert on the Row, was featured on Victoria Row in Charlottetown to promote next year’s festival.
It all kicked off at 1 p.m. on Sunday when Halifax-based roots/folk duo Acres and Acres (with an additional backing accompanist) .......................Next up at 3 p.m. was the pride of Kensington (and, yes, certainly the whole Island), Rose Cousins, who serenaded the gathered-round audience as they stood taking it all in with Sunday afternoon coffees in hand, gazing on placidly through sunglasses to the stage where tunes like The Darkness, Celebrate Our Love and even a cover of The Pretenders’ I’ll Stand By You, soothed us into a peaceful ease.
“This is the busiest and hardest working band on P.E.I. this summer,” said emcee Rob Oakie, as he then introduced the next act of the day, TEN STRINGS And A GOAT SKIN.
And I would say that Oakie would be bang-on with this assessment of the young trio that has steadily made a huge name all over the Maritimes over the past two years and has seemingly played absolutely everywhere.
Jesse Périard, Caleb Gallant and Rowen Gallant make up this on-fire fiddle/guitar/percussion trio who have harnessed an Acadian traditional spirit between them that is completely intoxicating, playing everything from French to Irish to even Gypsy music. You just never know where their ceaseless energy will take you next.
Finally, it was the recently knot-tied Dennis Ellsworth (congratulations, man!) who tied up the afternoon of music with a soulfully-relaxed, heartily-sung hour-long set of songs, complete with a slew of new originals (destined for a new recording this fall) thrown into the mix.
Ellsworth also commented near the end of his set about how much he supports the Malpeque Folk Festival endeavour, adding that it can grow to become a “world class” event that would be a great thing for Eastern Canada.
Oakie is excited and hopeful that the festival will reach the potential they envision for it and yet emphasizes how important it will be to recruit volunteers in order to make it all that it can be. ......... - The Guardian

What a month of weather it truly has been.
Here on the last day of one of the most beautiful Septembers that most can recall — during which the main chorus chirped by all of us as we’ve met each other on the street has been, “Finally gettin’ our summer, eh?” — it’s certainly time to give a nod back in gratitude for a month of heavenly weather.
Through it all, our crops have come around, our end-of-summer spirits have been lifted and Fall Flavours — the annual Islandwide celebration of P.E.I.’s harvest season — has enjoyed a stupendous run.
In the culmination of the month-long festival last weekend, I was lucky enough to be a stow-away on the MV Confederation last Friday evening for Chef on Board, a Fall Flavours Signature Event presented in partnership with Northumberland Ferries Limited.
This was such a cool event. I mean, just the idea of it is entertaining. You fill up a ferry boat with seven masterful chefs and their delicious cuisine (including celebrity chef Lynn Crawford of Pitchin’ In on the Food Network), you invite some amazing musicians along to play for the ride (Lenny Gallant, Dave Gunning and Ten Strings And A Goat Skin) you make sure a local distillery and winery are part of the equation (P.E.I. Distillery and Rossignol Winery), you allow 400 lucky ticket holders to hop aboard and then you set sail for an autumn evening party cruise on the Northumberland Strait.
Talk about livin’ it up the way an Islander should.
And I have to say, the evening delivered as impressively as its description reads.
The entertainment started even before we were on board, as the fiery tunes of Ten Strings and a Goat Skin (the young Island traditional trio consisting of Rowen and Caleb Gallant with Jesse Periard) echoed out of the parking area in the Confederation’s opened hull to greet us as we walked on.
The red carpet led the way up the ramp to the NFL Ferries welcome team who handed out drinks and programs as we made our way upstairs.
I soon found out that we were in good hands at the helm, as I passed by none other than Lester MacPherson on his way to the bridge, who told me he’d be the one steering our course on the strait for the evening.
And as MacPherson pulled her away from the shore, the 400 of us were already well on our way toward falling in line with a steady stream of indulgence at tasting stations set up all over the ship.
The assortment was too plentiful to mention all the chefs and their exquisite creations, but if I had to pick a favourite I would actually have to say it was the Baked Clams Casino with Chorizo Sausage by Crawford. (But all of our local chefs prepared scrumptious works of art as well.)
Crawford had an autograph signing and photo op session on board, too, at which one man was so excited that he got her to sign his white shirt (he said he’ll, of course, never wash it), and one happy fan even presented her with a freshly-baked blueberry kuchen to express her adoration.
Through all of this, the music of Jill Harris on harp (whom I appropriately heard playing Hallelujah near the dessert area at one point), Gunning (who performed for over two hours in total as the host for his own lounge, and was quoted to say as he began, “I haven’t done a gig like this ever, I don’t think!”), Ten Strings and a Goat Skin and Gallant, made the sweet sail on the strait seem all the more luxurious.
It was Gallant who brought us cruising home that night as he performed to a downstairs lounge full of glowingly appreciative folks, playing his classics like Peter’s Dream, The Band Played On (so fitting to hear on the ship) and Tales of the Phantom Ship (which he played with such soul that it’s a wonder he didn’t conjure the ship up right beside us in the strait!).
Kudos to NFL Ferries and Fall Flavours for bringing such a grandiose idea to life in a very impressive way indeed.
Next week: I’ll fill you in on Kim Stockwood at Harmony House tomorrow night.
Todd MacLean is a local freelance writer and musician. If you have a comment or suggestion for a review, you can get in touch with him at tmaclean@theguardian.pe.ca or at 626-1242. But he won’t be offended if you don’t. - The Guardian

What a month of weather it truly has been.
Here on the last day of one of the most beautiful Septembers that most can recall — during which the main chorus chirped by all of us as we’ve met each other on the street has been, “Finally gettin’ our summer, eh?” — it’s certainly time to give a nod back in gratitude for a month of heavenly weather.
Through it all, our crops have come around, our end-of-summer spirits have been lifted and Fall Flavours — the annual Islandwide celebration of P.E.I.’s harvest season — has enjoyed a stupendous run.
In the culmination of the month-long festival last weekend, I was lucky enough to be a stow-away on the MV Confederation last Friday evening for Chef on Board, a Fall Flavours Signature Event presented in partnership with Northumberland Ferries Limited.
This was such a cool event. I mean, just the idea of it is entertaining. You fill up a ferry boat with seven masterful chefs and their delicious cuisine (including celebrity chef Lynn Crawford of Pitchin’ In on the Food Network), you invite some amazing musicians along to play for the ride (Lenny Gallant, Dave Gunning and Ten Strings And A Goat Skin) you make sure a local distillery and winery are part of the equation (P.E.I. Distillery and Rossignol Winery), you allow 400 lucky ticket holders to hop aboard and then you set sail for an autumn evening party cruise on the Northumberland Strait.
Talk about livin’ it up the way an Islander should.
And I have to say, the evening delivered as impressively as its description reads.
The entertainment started even before we were on board, as the fiery tunes of Ten Strings and a Goat Skin (the young Island traditional trio consisting of Rowen and Caleb Gallant with Jesse Periard) echoed out of the parking area in the Confederation’s opened hull to greet us as we walked on.
The red carpet led the way up the ramp to the NFL Ferries welcome team who handed out drinks and programs as we made our way upstairs.
I soon found out that we were in good hands at the helm, as I passed by none other than Lester MacPherson on his way to the bridge, who told me he’d be the one steering our course on the strait for the evening.
And as MacPherson pulled her away from the shore, the 400 of us were already well on our way toward falling in line with a steady stream of indulgence at tasting stations set up all over the ship.
The assortment was too plentiful to mention all the chefs and their exquisite creations, but if I had to pick a favourite I would actually have to say it was the Baked Clams Casino with Chorizo Sausage by Crawford. (But all of our local chefs prepared scrumptious works of art as well.)
Crawford had an autograph signing and photo op session on board, too, at which one man was so excited that he got her to sign his white shirt (he said he’ll, of course, never wash it), and one happy fan even presented her with a freshly-baked blueberry kuchen to express her adoration.
Through all of this, the music of Jill Harris on harp (whom I appropriately heard playing Hallelujah near the dessert area at one point), Gunning (who performed for over two hours in total as the host for his own lounge, and was quoted to say as he began, “I haven’t done a gig like this ever, I don’t think!”), Ten Strings and a Goat Skin and Gallant, made the sweet sail on the strait seem all the more luxurious.
It was Gallant who brought us cruising home that night as he performed to a downstairs lounge full of glowingly appreciative folks, playing his classics like Peter’s Dream, The Band Played On (so fitting to hear on the ship) and Tales of the Phantom Ship (which he played with such soul that it’s a wonder he didn’t conjure the ship up right beside us in the strait!).
Kudos to NFL Ferries and Fall Flavours for bringing such a grandiose idea to life in a very impressive way indeed.
Next week: I’ll fill you in on Kim Stockwood at Harmony House tomorrow night.
Todd MacLean is a local freelance writer and musician. If you have a comment or suggestion for a review, you can get in touch with him at tmaclean@theguardian.pe.ca or at 626-1242. But he won’t be offended if you don’t. - The Guardian

Rowan Gallant et Jesse Perriar membres du groupe de la relève de Charlottetown Ten Strings And A Goat Skin. tenstringsandagoatskin.com - Radio-Canada

Rowan Gallant et Jesse Perriar membres du groupe de la relève de Charlottetown Ten Strings And A Goat Skin. tenstringsandagoatskin.com - Radio-Canada

Rowan Gallant et Jesse Perriar membres du groupe de la relève de Charlottetown Ten Strings And A Goat Skin. tenstringsandagoatskin.com - Radio-Canada

Rowan Gallant et Jesse Perriar membres du groupe de la relève de Charlottetown Ten Strings And A Goat Skin. tenstringsandagoatskin.com - Radio-Canada

John Morgan ( with guest Rowen Gallant of Ten Strings and A Goat Skin)

Show date(s): March 18th, 2011 - March 18th, 2011

Country music singer and songwriter, John Morgan will be showcasing his impressive debut album "The Little Things", an album that takes a look at all the little things that make our lives worth living. John combines strong vocals with touching sensitive lyrics in this self-penned effort. With a mix of hard pumping tunes and heartfelt ballads there is something for everyone. 16 year old Rowen Gallant from Rustico, PEI, will be featured in the show. Rowen has been playing both traditional and classical violin since age 6. Member of the Singing Stings Senior Orchestra and a member of the traditional trio, Ten Strings & A Goat Skin. Along with his brother Caleb, Rowen presented a daily Ceileidh at the PEI Preserve Company's River Theatre in New Glasgow throughout the 2010 summer season. He has accompanied Lennie Gallant at various concerts, most recently at the Confederation Center.

Additional Information:
For more information about this theatre or John Morgan, please visit: http:\\www.harmonyhousetheatre.com. - PEI Box Office & Harmoney House Theatre

There’s nothing like a little Irish fiddle music to perk the ears and pique the curiosity of customers at the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company in New Glasgow.

All it takes is Rowen Gallant, 16, and his 14-year-old brother, Caleb Gallant, of Rustico, to fiddle and drum their way through their first traditional Irish tune and people are irresistibly drawn to the onsite River Theatre to hear more.

“Most of the people who come in don’t even know about us. They come to the Preserve Company because it is an attraction, then they’ll hear the music and they come in and sit down and really enjoy it,” Caleb says of their noontime ceilidhs which they perform weekdays until Aug. 20.

“We’ve had some come in and just start walking away (thinking we’re) just kids. But then we sort of won them over after that,” Rowen laughs.

This summer the brothers are known as Four Strings and a Goat Skin, which they jokingly point out is temporarily downsized from their usual group name, Ten Strings and a Goat Skin, which includes their guitarist friend Jesse Perriard, 16, of Suffolk who is away for the summer.

“We’ve been playing for a while, but this is the first (show) where it’s actually been consistent,” says Caleb.

“This is the first gig that has been an hour long and specially devoted to us,” Rowen adds. “Mainly we’ve been playing small ceilidhs where we have a little section of 10 or 15 minutes and play a couple of sets, but this is all us.”

Growing up in a musically-inclined family with French, English, Irish and Scottish roots — their parents are Mark Gallant and Tracy Thompson Gallant — the brothers pretty much have lived what they’ve learned.

“I’ve played classically since I was six,” says Rowen, who plays first violin with the Singing Strings Orchestra. But for traditional Irish tunes he breaks into a fiddling mode and occasionally picks up the tin whistle and the guitar during their hour-long show.

* This promotional poster for Caleb Gallant, 14, left and Rowen Gallant, 16, of Rustico sports their temporary name, Four Strings and a Goat Skin, downsized from Ten Strings and a Goat Skin, which includes their guitarist friend Jesse Perriard, 16, of Suffo
*

“I’ve done the traditional music (since I was young as well) because it’s been in the family and it’s a big part of our history and heritage. And both sides of our family are very musical, so I guess we just grew up loving it.”

Caleb is pretty much self-taught in the bohdrán, an Irish frame drum. He also has a liking for the jambe hand drum and a three-stringed strumstick that he plays for effects for some songs.

From their first performance at St. Augustine Church in South Rustico three years ago, the brothers and their friend, Jesse, have added plenty of ceilidhs and weddings to their appearance resume.

“So this (concert series at the P.E.I. Preserve Company) is probably going to be a big jumpstart,” says Caleb.

Being that they are onstage for an entire hour, Rowen and Caleb have added some interactive and often humourous banter to further engage the audience.

“It’s hard to interact with the audience and get to know them in 10- or 15-minute sets when you’re doing someone else’s show or ceilidh,” Rowen says.

“It was a good starting point, (but the noon ceilidhs are) such a great experience to be able to learn to interact with the audience and get a feeling for what they like, the humour that they enjoy and what they’re going to laugh at.”

In an average week, they play at least eight shows, including some evening gigs at the P.E.I. Preserve Company. In addition, they work in the Preserve Company’s dairy and dessert bar in their non-performing time.

Rowen also makes a point to attend the afternoon traditional Irish music sessions at The Old Triangle - The Guardian - Charlottetown PEI