Just Fiddlin' Around

Last Saturday I got up early to visit some missionaries down in Delaware. It took about 90 minutes to get to their apartment. Following my visit with them, I returned to the Mission Home. To pass the time I listened to a great radio station, WXPN 88.5. I love good music. WXPN is the premier guide for discovering new and significant artists in rock, blues, roots, and folk, and is the non-commercial, member-supported radio service of the University of Pennsylvania.

A beautiful song was playing. I turned on my iPhone and opened up an application called Shazam. This clever application "hears" the song that is being played in the car and, in about 20 seconds, sends a message to my iPhone telling me the name of the song and the artist. The artist of the song I was listening to was Eileen Ivers. I have a couple of her songs in my iTunes library. Then the DJ at WXPN casually mentioned that Eileen Ivers would be playing that night in Media, PA. (We're now living in Media, PA!)

Mission presidents and their wives are encouraged to attend cultural events. So this was a great excuse for a night out. Joyce and I went to the Media Theater for the Performing Arts. Built in 1927 as a movie theater, this is small, wonderful venue to hear a live concert. We didn't know what to expect from Eileen Ivers.

The daughter of Irish immigrants, Eileen Ivers grew up in the culturally diverse neighborhood of the Bronx, New York. Rooted in Irish traditional music since the age of eight, Eileen proceeded to win nine All-Ireland fiddle championships, a tenth on tenor banjo and over 30 championship medals, making her one of the most awarded persons ever to compete in these prestigious competitions.

Well, Joyce and I were in for a treat. This was perhaps the best live concert we have ever attended. The musicians were superb. The music was inspiring. And the joy was contagious. We had a great evening. Hooray for talented people like Eileen Ivers and her band-mates!

Watch the YouTube video below. This is from a different concert, but you'll get a good feel for her music.