Norah Rendell
Rock and Reel Magazine calls Norah Rendell “a fabulous lead vocalist”. Her work with guitarist Brian Miller earned her a nomination for 2008 Traditional Singer of the Year from the Canadian Folk Music Awards. Norah is also a master flute and whistle player who plays those instruments “with a degree of style and sensitivity envied by many” says Tim Carroll of FolkWords.
Norah hails from Vancouver, BC and has performed throughout western Canada and on CBC radio. She was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Canada Council for Performing Arts grant which she used to study traditional flute and singing in Ireland; earning a masters in Irish traditional music from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. She is the lead singer and flute player in the UK/Ireland-based band The Outside Track with whom she tours on “both sides of the pond”.
Visit Norah's Website
Visit Norah on MySpace
Brian Miller
“The backing of [Brian] Miller on guitar flexes not just muscle but a fully complementary style” writes esteemed Irish music critic Earle Hitchner. Also an accomplished singer, his trademark guitar accompaniment is the backbone of nationally touring Irish music group Bua, a band that draws from some of the finest young Irish musicians in the US.
Brian has long been a highly visible character in the Twin Cities Irish music scene, while often sneaking away to his other adopted home of Cork, Ireland. He has performed throughout the US and in Canada and Ireland. In Ireland he has been featured on TG4, RTE television and RTE radio. The Irish Times calls his guitar accompaniment “superb”.
Visit Brian on Myspace
Visit Brian's Website
Nathan Gourley
Nathan held his first fiddle at 2 years of age. With support from his musical family (in particular his father who is a fiddler), Nathan enrolled in Suzuki violin lessons when he was 5 years old. He went on to study classical violin with Gene Purdue, former first violin of the Thouvenel Quartet. In his younger years, Nathan made regular stage appearances as a guest in many of his father's bands such as Stone Soup, Buffalo Trail and Rosewood Moct.
It was during annual trips to numerous fiddle and folk music festivals where Nathan was exposed to all sorts of fiddlers such as Martin Hayes, Liz Carroll, Alasdair Fraser, Brendan Mulvahill, Dale Russ and Laura Risk. In spite of his classical background and a stint as a member of the University of Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, traditional Irish music has become Nathan's passion. Now settled in the Twin Cities, he is also a member of The Doon Ceili Band and is active in numerous Irish sessions.
Two Tap's Bodhran Tappers of Choice:
Eric Carlson
Eric Carlson began playing bodhran as one of the three members (along with Brian Miller) of the Irish music trio, The Gaels. The band formed in Bemidji, where Eric is based again these days.
Eric, who is also a great singer, song writer and guitar player wrote the Gaels' popular song "Play Patrick Play", eulogizing the late Pat Ryan, his bodhran mentor who tragically died in a train accident shortly after teaching Eric how to play the drum. Another, entitled "Heart and Home" was a song that invoked the construction of the log house his father built when he was a child.
Eric has played with various ensembles of Irish musicians in the Twin Cities area and has accompanied the Rince na Chroi Irish Dancers and the O'Shea Irish Dancers. He often joins the Two Tap Trio for dance performances and larger venues.