Brendan Taaffe Random photos of Brendan Taaffe

Store – USA

This page is for shipping to US addresses only. For international orders, This link opens in a new windowplease visit this page. Thank you for the extra click.


CDs: Fly Down You Little Bird | Can't Hold the Wheel | No Time To Tarry
Vineyard | Signs and Wonders | Here Below
The Waxwing Four | Stomping Ground
Song Licenses: Small, Standard, Unlimited
Books: A Word From The Field

 

Fly Down You Little Bird

A follow up to 2013's 'Can't Hold The Wheel', 'Fly Down' continues to reimagine traditional ballads.

Cover of Fly Down You Little Bird CD

$12.00 (US) plus $4.50 shipping/handling to the U.S.
Vermont residents pay 6% sales tax

the songs:

  1. Pretty Saro
  2. Foreignlander
  3. Undone in Sorrow
  4. Henry Lee
  5. Pisgah
  6. Goin' 'Cross the Mountain

the band:

Brendan — vocals, guitar, banjo, mbira, electric guitar (4), shruti box
Mark Roberts — banjo, gourd banjo, film canister, kanjira
Colin McCaffrey — electric guitar
Corey DiMario — bass

with Mia Bertelli — harmony vocals



 

The New Line • Can't Hold the Wheel

Bringing together African and old-time music with a marriage of mbira and gourd banjo, The New Line reimagines traditional Appalachian ballads.

Cover of Can't Hold the Wheel CD

Out of print, but you can still download to your heart's content at This link opens in a new windowbandcamp or itunes.

the songs

  1. Train on the Island
  2. Danville Girl
  3. Red Rocking Chair
  4. Nobody 'Cept You
  5. Little Sadie (listen)
  6. Fall on My Knees
  7. Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
  8. Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still (listen)
  9. The Old Churchyard
  10. The Blackest Crow
  11. Friend of Mine
  12. Goodnight Irene (listen)

the band

Brendan Taaffe vocals, mbira, guitar, pump organ
Adam Hurt gourd banjo, steel-strung banjo
Stefan Amidon percussion, vocals
Colin McCaffrey electric guitar, bass
Mike Olson trumpet
Heather Masse vocals

Check out some recent reviews here.



 

No Time To Tarry

The fourth and final recording from the Bright Wings Chorus is a collection of original works that spans both elegy and celebration, personal and political. Recorded with special guest Larry Gordon.

Cover of No Time To Tarry CD

$15.00 (US) plus $4.50 shipping/handling to the U.S.
Vermont residents pay 6% sales tax

the songs:

  1. Vermillion
  2. Syria
  3. Glencolmcille
  4. I Cross Til I Am Weary
  5. My Heart Will Bow
  6. Heartland
  7. Joy Will Bring Me To Your Arms
  8. Holman
  9. Aleppo
  10. America
  11. Bamidon
  12. Like Stars Our Bones Shall Fly
  13. Ten Thousand Charms

the singers:

Meg Chittenden
Elsie Gawler
Emily Thompson
Mia Bertelli
Sarah Gibson
Rachel Gordon
Addie Rose Holland
Stephen Higa
Wheaton Squier
Brendan Taaffe
Mason Gohl
Casey Steinberg
Special Guest: Larry Gordon



 

Vineyard

Beautiful, soulful singing from the Bright Wings gang, recorded on Martha's Vineyard at the end of a four-day group retreat.

Cover of Vineyard CD

$15.00 (US) plus $4.50 shipping/handling to the U.S.
Vermont residents pay 6% sales tax

the songs:

  1. Laurieston
  2. Moab
  3. Way Out On the Mountain
  4. April Rain Song (listen)
  5. You May Stand Mute
  6. Mountains Now Are Dancing
  7. Cameron
  8. Mt. Tabor
  9. Gilead (listen)
  10. Beyond Your Chariots
  11. Home Is The Sailor
  12. May You See Diamonds

the singers:

Kimaya Diggs
Emily Thompson
Rachel Gordon
Mia Bertelli
Addie Rose Holland
Sarah Gibson
Brendan Taaffe
Conor Weiss
Adam Jacob Simon
Mason Gohl
Casey Steinberg



 

Signs and Wonders

The second collection of songs by The Bright Wings Chorus, including original shape note songs, traditional American ballads, and contemporary choral pieces.

Cover of Signs and Wonders CD

$15 (US) plus $4.50 shipping/handling to the U.S.
Vermont residents pay 6% sales tax

the songs

  1. Marching to Zion
  2. Greenwood Lake
  3. Sophia
  4. Harlemville
  5. Millbrook
  6. Seems Like to Me
  7. Lord, Build Me a Cabin
  8. Better Day A-Comin'
  9. Come Love Away (listen)
  10. When He Passed Over
  11. Awake, Awake
  12. When the World Comes to an End
  13. Bright Wings
  14. Abbeystead
  15. Prospect
  16. Inman
  17. Old North End
  18. Superior (listen)
  19. The Wheel

the singers:

Rachel Gordon
Addie Rose Holland
Sarah Gibson
Mia Bertelli
Emily Thompson
Erica Morse
Julia Wayne
Leighanne Saltsman
Gideon Crevoshay
Wheaton Squier
Brendan Taaffe
Adam Jacob Simon
Mason Gohl

special guest: Carter Stowell

What People are Saying:

"I've been recovering from a concussion for the past several months, which means that I need to sleep A LOT. Signs and Wonders has been a huge comfort, and is my go-to when I'm exhausted and need to recover. I arise more powerful and healed than I was when I lay down."

"1000x better than listening to the annoying guy next to me on the bus. . ."



 

Here Below

A collection of original shape note songs, composed from 2003–2011. Recorded live in August, 2011 amidst lots of wine and laughter with nine friends at the Old Meeting House, Montpelier, Vermont.

Cover of Here Below CD

$15 (US) plus $4.50 shipping/handling to the U.S.
Vermont residents pay 6% sales tax

the songs

  1. Deep Springs
  2. Arkansas
  3. East Pond
  4. Rochestown
  5. August
  6. Kilfenora
  7. What are they doing in Heaven today?
  8. Wester Caputh (listen)
  9. The Grieved Soul
  10. Chasm Lake
  11. Weatherhead
  12. Wenlock
  13. Agawa Bay
  14. White (listen)

the singers:

Adam Jacob Simon
Mason Gohl
Gideon Crevoshay
Wheaton Squier
Brendan Taaffe
Rachel Gordon
Addie Rose Holland
Katie Trautz
Julia Wayne
Emily Steelehurst Thompson

What People are Saying:

"My husband and I joke about 'talking each other down' when things get too crazy and overwhelming, especially the things you can't control, no matter how you try. I might need to listen to your song Wester Caputh daily. There is so much hope and joy and certainty in that tune: it sings me down."

"I was walking the boardwalk at lunchtime and felt I was about to join the seagulls in flight listening to your CD on my ipod! There's such a sense of sheer beauty and joy in it."

"If you are moved by the sacred, if you need music that takes hold of your bones and won't let go, you should own a copy of Here Below. It's simply the most powerful stuff I've heard in a long time and I don't know what to do with it except tell you over and over that you must have it."



The Bright Wings Combo Pack: all four albums
(No Time To Tarry, Vineyard, Here Below and Signs and Wonders)

$48 (US) plus $10.50 shipping / handling to the U.S.

Vermont residents pay 6% sales tax



 

The Waxwing Four

Tight, joyful male a cappella harmony from early American traditions—jubilee gospel, bluegrass quartets, and Appalachian folk hymns.

Cover of The Waxwing Four CD

$15.00 (US) plus $4.50 shipping/handling to the U.S.
Vermont residents pay 6% sales tax

Track List

  1. My Lord is Writing
  2. Devotion
  3. Glacier
  4. I Wanna Go To Heaven And Rest
  5. This Is A Mean World
  6. Joys Above His Power
  7. Turtle Dove
  8. Get Right Church
  9. Sister, Thou Art Mild And Lovely
  10. Deep River (listen)
  11. One Morning Soon
  12. Old Ship of Zion
  13. The Old Churchyard
  14. What Are They Doing in Heaven? (listen)
  15. Starfish and Coffee

The Waxwing Four are:

Wheaton Squier, first tenor
Brendan Taaffe, second tenor
Adam Jacob Simon, baritone
Stefan Amidon, bass



 

Magic Foot: Stomping Ground

Recorded in the spring of 2009, this is Magic Foot's first full length album. On it, we bring together traditional Irish music, a few foreign visitors, and some poignant songs. Lauded by Brian Conway as "tasteful, soulful music."

Cover of the Stomping Ground CD

Colin Lindsay - fiddle, concertina, harmony vocals
Chris Stevens - button accordion
Brendan Taaffe - guitar, vocals
Stefan Amidon - percission, mandolin, harmony vocals

$7 (US) plus $4.50 shipping/handling to the U.S.
Vermont residents pay 6% sales tax

  1. Devanney's Goat / O'Dowd's Favorite / Tom Ward's Downfall
  2. Pidder a Dreska / Hawthorn Hedge / O'Sullivan's March
  3. Farewell to Fiunary
  4. Goat Dance
  5. Mary and the Soldier
  6. En Flandres / Canal En Octobre
  7. Flatbush Waltz
  8. Lark in the Morning / When the Cock Crows, It is Day
  9. Phyllis's Birthday / Palmer's Gate / Road to Errogie (listen)
  10. Eunice Two-Step

What the Reviews are Saying:

"Their sound is that of musicians who really enjoy playing together. The arrangements are not bombastic but wonderfully played, with all the necessary pulse and drive intact. As I listened to this wonderful collection of lovely songs and tunes, I was transported back to the classic Sunday ceilidh performances at the Philadelphia Folk Festival [...] Many thanks to Magic Foot for helping me reconnect with a very special time in my life."

— Sing Out!



 

Song Licenses

I do ask for a licensing fee if you are teaching or performing my works. To purchase a license, please visit the This link opens in a new windowTurtle Dove Harmony Song Licensing page.



 

A Word From the Field

Cover of A Word From the Field

A collection of six essays that explore the intersection of art, nature, and personal experience.

If you're interested, you can This link opens in a new windowread an essay about my trip to Alaska.

$20 (US) plus $4.50 shipping/handling to the U.S.
Vermont residents pay 6% sales tax





performer   |   songleader   |   composer
listen | watch | reviews | schedule | weddings | schools | store | connect | home
     

performer

songleader

composer

listen

watch

reviews

schedule

weddings

schools

store

connect

home





© Brendan Taaffe – 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018. All Rights Reserved.