New-England-Contramusic?

[Celtpastor]

...and while we're at it: Any nice Contra-CDs You can recommend? Rather bands than soloists, preferably without callings...

[crookedtune]

It's been my experience that few listen to contradance music for the musical content. It's usually performed live, as accompaniment for the dancing. Subsequently there aren't a great many recordings. (And they're not all that interesting, at least to me).

You might look up Yankee Ingenuity, Wild Asparagus, Rodney Miller, etc...

[awildman]

Jigsaw: Cut Up The Floor

Available at www.glencottagemusic.com

[brewerpaul]

Check with Walt Sweet via the Sweetheart Flutes website. He plays this type of music regularly for dancing.

[crookedtune]

Spare Parts

http://www.bfv.com/spareparts/

I got my first whistle lesson MANY years ago from Liz Stell.

[s1m0n]

It's been my experience that few listen to contradance music for the musical content.

That's a pity, because there are some really gorgeous Playford tunes.

I've got an LP by the Boston band Bare Necessities that I like a lot.

[Wormdiet]

Living in Vermont, I am kind of spoiled for contradance music.

The following bands all put on a good show, and have albums.

Wild Asparagus
Nightingale
Beeswax Sheepskin (now defunct, but a fantastic band based around a clarinet)
Crowfoot

[JS]

Beverwyck String Band
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/beverwyck

Bill Spence with Fennig's All-stars
http://www.oldsongs.org/billspencemusic/recordings.html

George Wilson
http://www.oldsongs.org/georgewilson.html

[Celtpastor]

In between, I managed to get the CDs of almost every band You recommended (not an easy task from Europe ), and firstly I have to say:
Thank You veeery much! You gave me the chance to listen to some wonderfull music during the last weeks - sometimes I took over extra tasks for my job and my family that had to do with driving, so I could listen to Contra-music in my car .
All of the music recommended was really good - but one band really was special, shooting up into my personal top-ten folkbands of any style, and that's Nightingale from Vermont.
It's not first of all their musical craftmanship - they are very good musicians, all three of them, doubtlessly. But listening to their solo-projects, I sensed, something was missing (, though Becky Tracy's CD is great, as well as Jeremiah McLane's "Hummingbird" - I found his other albums a bit too experimental, and I'm not a big fan of Keith Murphy's singer-songwriter-stuff... Not really my genre...). As a trio, they just get together perfectly - on all three albums published (so far...). Very gentle, subtle, yet powerfull interpretation, beautifull choice of tunes, impressive compositions - and just the perfect mixture between Celtic, French, Skandinavian and English trad-style dancemusic I like so much about Contra.
10 out of 10!