Tickets available in advance on Eventbrite and at the door the night of the event.
$10 General Admission
Tickets available in advance on Eventbrite and at the door the night of the event. $10 General Admission
In the early 20th century several "song catchers" traveled throughout Maine transcribing and recording songs from traditional singers. Julia Lane and Fred Gosbee research these archives and collections to find and present musical stories of romance, ramblers, and rogues. Songs and context are woven with history and humor. Castlebay interprets this music with their fine, expressive vocals accompanied by Celtic harp, guitar, fiddle, and woodwinds.
For over thirty years, Lane and Gosbee have been exploring the traditional music connections between the Celtic lands, the Canadian Maritimes and Maine. These regions share in the richness of this heritage as revealed by the many variations of ancient songs, tunes and stories carried by families moving through the area by land and sea.
Castlebay’s wide knowledge and deep cultural roots, their vocal and instrumental skills, and their personable performance style have been appreciated in museums, libraries, schools, arts centers and festivals in the US, Canada, the British Isles and Ireland
Julia Lane's ancestors have lived in Maine since the 1600’s, engaged in the traditional fishing, shipping, and lumbering industries for generations. Fred Gosbee's family were lumbermen, coming to Maine from the Maritime Provinces in 1922.
Since 1984, Castlebay has created a body of work which celebrates Maine’s heritage and environment, blending history, legend and experience into their personable performance style.
Castlebay has released over three dozen recordings and their book, Bygone Ballads of Maine, Volume I - Songs of Ships and Sailors, contains many of their findings including lyrics, tunes and relevant lore.
Castlebay’s wide knowledge and deep cultural roots, their vocal and instrumental skills, and their personable performance style have been appreciated in museums, libraries, schools, arts centers and festivals in the US, Canada, the British Isles and Ireland.
Audio Tracks
Tickets available in advance on Eventbrite and at the door the night of the event.
$10 General Admission
Tickets available in advance on Eventbrite and at the door the night of the event. $10 General Admission
Merrimack Public Library, 470 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, NH
In Northern Europe, the first of May has been, since ancient times, a time for revelry and celebration. The world is finally released from Winter’s grasp and Spring enlivens every living thing. A wealth of lore and music is associated with this time and on May 2 the folk duo Castlebay will present joyous songs and stories in a traditional May Garland.
The evidence left us by the early inhabitants of the British Isles indicates that they viewed the calendar year as a circle or wheel with fixed points determined by solar and lunar activity. In addition to the well-known solstices and equinoxes, the ancients marked the cross quarter days or halfway points between with appropriate celebration. Beltane, also called May Day, is one of these "cross-quarter" days, and is celebrated on May 1st, the midpoint between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice.
The music and lore of the British Isles is alive with imagery associated with the turning points of the year and our relationship to the natural world. In many areas, these traditions are still carried on. The "Queen of May" and her consort the "Green Man" preside over Beltane.The denizens of the Fairy realm travel between the worlds. New life is celebrated in symbolic activities assuring the fertility of animals and crops for the rest of the year. The great fruitfulness of the earth and the exuberance of Spring are honored, beginning the night before, with a carefree sense of playful abandon. Rising to greet the dawn, celebrants sing, gather flowers, and dance around the May Pole.
In olden times a garland was not only a woven chain of flowers, but also a collection of songs and music. In this year's May Garland, traditional musicians Julia Lane and Fred Gosbee (known as Castlebay) of Round Pond, Maine, will join voices and instruments to weave together songs and tunes celebrating the coming of May. These fine singers support their vocals with a variety of instruments including Celtic harps, 14 string guitars, fiddles, and woodwinds. The music will be interspersed with humor and historic anecdotes. Come and join Castlebay to cast off winter's cloak as the music of Spring fills the air.
We will be guiding groups of students in writing ballads of local significance.
Maine's First Ship will be hosting a community Maypole Dance. Live music, ribbons, history! All are welcome!
Past Library Performances
Anderson County Library , Anderson, SC 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019
Avon Free Public Library , Avon, CT 2004, 2005, 2010
Bangor Public Library, Bangor, Maine 2021
Camden Public Library , Camden, Maine 2003, 2005
Citizens Library , Washington, PA 2007, 2008
Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library , Clifton Park, NY 2005, 2007
Collier County Public Library , Naples, FL 2008
Crandall Public Library , Glen Falls, NY 2005
Fairfax Community Library , Fairfax, VT 2004
Jacksonville Public Library , Jacksonville, FL 2021*
Jay Niles Memorial Library , Jay, Maine 2022, 2023
Kennebunk Free Library , Kennebunk, Maine 2004, 2022
Lake Placid Memorial Library , Lake Placid, FL 2019
Lewis Public Library , Corinna, Maine 2002
Lucy Robbins Wells Library , Newington, CT` 2000
Lynn Public Library , Lynn, MA 2009
Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library , Presque Isle, Maine 2012
Memorial Hall Library, Andover, MA 2009
Newport Public Library , Newport, Maine 2022
Northeast Harbor Library , Northeast Harbor, Maine 2003
Peabody Memorial Library , Jonesport, Maine 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017
Pearl River Library , Pearl River, NY 2005, 2007, 2009
Plymouth Public Library , Plymouth, MA 2008, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023
Ridgefield Library , Ridgefield, CT 2008, 2016, 2022
Rockport Public Library , Rockport, Maine 2017
Rowan Public Library , Salisbury, NC 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020*
Rumford Public Library , Rumford, Maine 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
Sebring Public Library , Sebring, FL 2013
Simsbury Public Library ,Simsbury, CT 2004
Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME 2022
Smyth Library , Candia, NH 2016
Stewart Free Library, Corinna, Maine 2002, 2008
Topsham Public Library, Topsham, Maine 2023
Warner Library, Sleepy Hollow, NY 2004
Washington County Public Library, Chipley, FL 2014, 2016
Williamsburg Regional Library, Williamsburg, VA 2016
Wilton Library, Wilton, CT 2023
* postponed/canceled by Covid 19