On The Banks Of The Sweet Primrose

Ar Fol Lol Lol O

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Rob Crozier 734 271 5980

Along With My Love I'll Go

Birds At The Fairy Fulling

The Mermaid's Croon

To The Lord Of The Isles

The Ash Plant

The Wind On The Moor

Come To The Hills

05 Running Up That Hill

The Grey Selkie (Child ballad #113) Melody by Maz O'Connor.
Arrangement by Nessa ©2016 Ancient Song Discoveries (BMI)
Kelly McDermott - vocal.
Rob Crozier - bass loops.
Tyler Duncan - uilleann pipes.
David Mansfield - guitar.
https://nessa.bandcamp.com/track/the-grey-selkie
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The Grey Selkie

Irish dance traditionally called a "gravel walk" arranged by Kelly McDermott and Brian Brill ©2018

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Travel Walk

Irish dance arrangement Nessa ©2018

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Tidy Girleen

Irish ballad arrangement Nessa ©2018

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Occasional Song

Original song by Nessa. Cre is Irish Gaelic for Earth.  This is a prayer for the healing and vitality of our Mother Earth.

Prayer For Cre

This original by Nessa reflects the fire dances in many cultures that honor the seasons with rituals.  This fire dance is inspired by the Celtic Beltane festival on May Day, a celebration of new life, love and fertility.

Fire Dance

This is a Nessa arrangement of a traditional song from the Hebrides which incorporates actual water samples from the Lake Michigan.

Singing Waters

An original by Kelly McDermott, this track is a tribute to her favorite saint.  St. Brigid stands for hope and new life.  "Air" has a double meaning, Brigid's spirit in the air and to denote the type of song.

Air For St. Brigid

“A Stitch In Time” is also a feminist song.  This song is a bit edgier than Wraggle Taggle Gypsies.  In Gypsies, the woman celebrates “freedom” and choice.  In Stitch, this woman is fighting for her life and safety of her 4 children.  I am not big on being edgy with my music.  I work hard to give my  audience a positive experience and an escape from our stressful world. I try to provide relief to my listeners from the violence, political nightmares, and chaos.  With Stitch, I could not resist to tell this story.  The woman literally stitches her husband in bed and beats him with her kitchen utensils including a frying pan.  She has gathered her strength (after a life time of being beaten by her husband, who spends the family money on booze), and puts an end to her abusive life.  She knocks so much sense into him, he never drinks again.  I put a small rap in the song to pay my respects to an art form which has incredible depth and energy.  Which can awaken people to situations which cause anger, trauma, prejudice, and power struggles.  Oh if it were that easy to stitch abusers in bed to be rid of domestic violence.

Otherworld

A Stitch in Time

A Stitch In Time

Original by Dan Palmer.  The title means "Gratitude" in Irish Gaelic.

Buiochas

“Wraggle Taggle Gypsies”:  The inspiration is that it is a feminist song.  There are not too many feminist songs in the folk tradition.  This is a song about a woman who is very rich and is married to a “lord”.  She is approached by 3 gypsies who ask her to come away with her.  (I love this part), she takes off her silks and finish gowns and puts on leather! (especially because this song was believed to be written in the mid 18th. century.) whoa…  She runs off with the gypsies.  Her “lord” uses his fastest horse to find her, and pleads with her to come back to him.  She would rather have the freedom of being with the gypsies than the riches of being with her lord.  She sleeps on the cold ground rather than the feather beds.  This song supports my mission on the album, which is to be a part of the political and social movement of women’s empowerment.  I believe that this is the time when woman’s rights, woman’s wages, sexual harassment, and domestic violence must  change/end.  Even the subtlest hints of sexism in the work place or power shifts the home must be addressed.  I am using this song on my album, along with other feminist songs, to feed the current in the air, to use the song as a platform for discussion at shows, in my newsletters and otherwise.

Wraggle Taggle Gypsies

Original by Rob Crozier.  This track was written in tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsberg who is a phenomenal example of standing in strength to seek change and equality.

RBG Reel

Sovay is the second track off of Nessa’s soon to be released album “Otherworld”.  Nessa’s leader Kelly McDermott is dedicating the album in part to the empowerment of women.  5 of the 10 tracks on the album are about creative women pushing against social norms.  This song is a traditional English song about a women who dresses like a man, (sometimes called the female highway man), to test her fiancé.  She robs him at gun point to see if he’ll hand over his diamond ring.
It begs the question, truly what kind of relationship did Sovay and her lover have? Sounds like shades of the opera Carmen. 
Kelly admits finding feminist songs in the folk tradition was a challenge.  When asked, why are you recording ancient feminist songs? she replies” because I need to keep the discussion alive for as long as it takes.”

Sovay

An original by Nessa's Kelly McDermott.  "Otherworld" was believed by the ancient Irish to be a dimension much like heaven, right beside us on our Planet Earth in nature and the mist.  Ms. McDermott wrote this song to inspire us to think about the miracles and mysteries all around us.

Nessa brings the best kind of surprise to any music event. Combining whimsy with serious musicianship, Nessa can put audiences into a trance or up on their feet dancing. The music is Celtic inspired, but presented in a new and unique way. Spicing things up with African, Caribbean, Eastern flavors with classical and jazz influences, Kelly McDermott and her band bring charm and delight to listeners of all ages.  

“Great fun! Wonderful music.”  Cynthia Canty - NPR

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