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LHI Live: Fiddler Ryan McKasson & Singer/Guitarist Eric McDonald

C. Lieurance

When two musicians find themselves compatible with each other, distance matters less. Fiddler Ryan McKasson, who lives in Tacoma, WA and Boston-raised singer/guitarist Eric McDonald, of Montreal, Canada, are a top-notch duo that play traditional music of Scotland, Ireland and North America. They recently visited WMUK while touring with their new album, Harbour

Credit C. Lieurance
Ryan McKasson and Eric McDonald, in the Takeda studio at WMUK.

In the studio at WMUK with Cara Lieurance, McKasson and McDonald talk about their individual histories with traditional music. McKasson admits he was not making much progress in the Suzuki method as young classical player, but something clicked when he began fiddling. He pursued classical training with the legendary violist Donald McInnes, who encouraged his passion for celtic music. McDonald, who grew up in a folk music community centered around Club Passim in Boston,  was an adept bluegrass mandolinist before applying his skills toward celtic guitar technique. (His advice for celtic accompanists is not to get "glued" to chord patterns.) McKasson and McDonald demonstrate their dynamic playing in two dance tune sets, and offer two contrasting song settings of Child Ballads, "Geordie," and "Bay of Biscay." 

2018-06-22_McKasson_McDonaldFULL.mp3
The full session with Ryan McKasson and Eric McDonald. Audio engineer: Martin Klemm.

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Cara Lieurance is the local host of NPR's All Things Considered on 1021 WMUK and covers local arts & culture on Let's Hear It on 89.9 Classical WMUK weekday mornings at 10 - 11 am.
As Chief Engineer for WMUK, Martin Klemm is kept busy by tending to a variety of issues - from computers to tower lights - he will never run out of things to fix. Before coming to WMUK in 2003, Martin worked in Los Angeles making records with some outstanding producers, but preferred to be close to his family here in west Michigan. He enjoys keeping a busy schedule balancing WMUK, loving on his friends' doggos, and remodeling his home in the Edison neighborhood (which never seems to end)
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