Her name may not be the first to come to mind when you think of Celtic music. But, listen to her debut album and you'll be sure to remember her name the next time it comes up.

Judith Weikle offers an excellent selection of traditional music in 10 tracks on Pirates, Poets & Patriots, her debut album.

A native of Michigan, Weikle now resides in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She earned her bachelor of arts in music from the University of Hawaii and was awarded an individual artist development grant by the Wyoming Arts Council in 2006. She collects and sings traditional Celtic music at various cultural events and concert venues.

She has a refreshingly clear and lilting voice appropriate to the genre and sure to transport the listener to distant shores and different times. The music is evocative of the hard times and suffering of the Irish and Scots and short on joyful jigs, except for one or two more upbeat selections.

Weikle is backed by an outstanding group of musicians topped by fiddler/folksinger Kate MacLeod on violin and harmony vocals. Others joining her are Steven Sharp Nelson, cello; Giles Reaves, percussion, piano and synthesizers; Dylan Schorer, acoustic guitar and bouzouki; Gael Shults, bodran and hammered dulcimer; and Jonathan Shults, electric bass.

[ visit the artist's website ]