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Karan Casey: The Countryside Personified

Some musicians have road managers, drivers, sound technicians and stage managers. Our little corner of the music world has fewer barriers. Karan Casey -- perhaps Ireland's best singer these days -- hopped out of the van herself and came to the front desk: "Would you please let Jim know we're here?" Then, with her forever smile, she offered to help carry one of my bags. If the rest of the music business were like this, everybody would be smiling.

Casey and her band did have two requests. As they followed me over to the studios, they begged me to let them stop for coffee on the way, and offered to buy me a muffin. Is everybody nice in Ireland? They also needed a keyboard, which one of our recording engineers graciously delivered.

One of the reasons for the relaxed attitude is that Casey and her three bandmates rarely tour, and when they do, it's for 10 days max. Casey is now a mom, and doesn't like to be gone for long. The years with Solas and the band's intense road schedule also wore on her. She talks about both in the interview.

Copyright 2022 Folk Alley. To see more, visit Folk Alley.

Jim Blum has been sharing his love of folk music as a radio host on WKSU-FM for more than 25 years and, since 2003, also on FolkAlley.com. Blum graduated with a B.A. from Kent State University, played bass in a bluegrass and swing band and used to be a landscaper. As host and music programmer for Folk Alley and WKSU's weekend folk music, Blum has nearly three decades of experience broadcasting to a folk community that is now, thanks to the Internet, global in scope. His broadcasts include his own mix of musical influences featuring classic folk heroes, acoustic instrumentals, world rhythms, contemporary singer/songwriters, Americana, bluegrass and other roots-based sounds. He also acts as a valuable resource for area venue owners and concert coordinators as well as holding the position of artistic director for the Kent State Folk Festival, the nation's second oldest folk fest held on a college campus.