guitar

Covid Mashup • with Antti, Esko & Maija

Covid Mashup • with Antti, Esko & Maija

Here’s a Finnish/American musical mashup of traditional tunes from my final Otherlands collaboration of this first year. Lockdowns hit hard around the world while I was in Finland and the gigging landscape changed in a big way. Testing the waters with Antti Järvelä (guitar), Esko Järvelä (fiddle), and Maija Pokela (kantele, voice).

Love Song From Kauhava • with Maija Pokela & Antti Järvelä

Love Song From Kauhava • with Maija Pokela & Antti Järvelä

After a couple weeks in Kaustinen, I hit the country roads and headed southwest to Härmä. There I spent the afternoon with a great vocalist and kantele player, Maija Pokela, and guitarist Antti Järvelä on a rare happy love song from the region.

OTHERLANDS: India [Recap]

OTHERLANDS: India [Recap]

Our fourth stop on this year of Otherlands travels brought us to India. Our first time in this amazing country, we would spend eight weeks visiting Kolkata (and surrounding), Bengaluru, Mysuru, Goa, and Chennai. I hope you enjoy the collaborations, music, photos, and reflections.

“Baaro Saadhanakerige” • with Raghu Dixit

“Baaro Saadhanakerige” • with Raghu Dixit

I met and immediately locked with the amazingly powerful and soulful singer Raghu Dixit in Bengaluru, India. We played a piece of poetry by Dr. Da. Ra. Bendre that he had set to music — a traveling song of of leaving your home to search for what may be better, only to return to your home and find that it has been the true place for you all along.

Tunes in the Arisaig House Bar with Eilidh Shaw & Ross Martin

Tunes in the Arisaig House Bar with Eilidh Shaw & Ross Martin

When I mentioned to friends I was heading up to the western Highlands of Scotland, I kept hearing that I should meet fiddler Eilidh Shaw and guitarist Ross Martin. They were right. We met on many different occasions and were able to record in an amazing location.

"Peggy Gordon" w/ Tommy O'Sullivan

"Peggy Gordon" w/ Tommy O'Sullivan

Back in 2013, I was headed down the west coast of Ireland and landed in Dingle for a day. As I order a drink at the Courthouse Pub, the man behind the bar asks, "Do you play the fiddle?" Yes. "Is your name Casey?" Yes. This man is Tommy O'Sullivan and he runs the pub with his wife Saundra. It turns out we had met in Texas. When planning to return to Ireland with my family, a stopover in Dingle was a must.