This collection of tracks recorded at the Baltimore Fiddle Fair in May 2003 is one of the best live recordings I’ve heard in a long time. Engineer Billy Robinson does an absolutely brilliant job of capturing in full, pristine clarity the sound of a dozen different acts ranging from Altan to Breton band Kornog to Sean Tyrrell, Liz Carroll and the Foghorn String Band.
Cork-based trad group Calico contributes a lovely set of original tunes by piper Diarmaid Moynihan, and Paul Brady turns up as a backing guitarist for Altan fiddler Ciaran Tourish.
The first Fiddle Fair CD was released a few years ago; if the quality of its successor is anything to go by, it should become an annual product.