This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen magazine #98 (February / March 2002). The magazine is available on newsstands and by subscription.

While it's unlikely ever to be officially listed among the Celtic nations, the American South has a rich tradition of fiddle tunes and ballads that trace their roots back to the British Isles. The English, Irish, and Scots who moved into the region in the eighteenth century brought their songs and dance tunes with them, and the music flourished from the Appalachian hills to the piney woods of the coast, eventually evolving into what's now known as old-time music and then helping give birth to modern bluegrass and country. This month's survey of self-produced Anglo-Celtoid CDs begins with some new recordings from American bands that have made a point of drawing their sounds and material from both Celtic and Southern sources.

The Alabama-based quintet called Henri's Notions features a commendable transatlantic mix of songs and tunes on A Weaver's Life [self-produced (2000)]. The mostly traditional material ranges from the heartbreaking Scottish song "Bogey's Bonnie Bell," to the title track, a rousing America workers' spiritual, from a wry English tale of warring spouses, "The Barring of the Door," to a Kentucky version of the broken-token ballad "A Pretty Fair Maid." Lead singers Jil Chambless and Tom Stem have clear, strong voices well suited to the material, and the band's instrumental mix adds a bit of banjo to the customary fiddle, flute, whistles, guitar, and acoustic bass.

There are nine more recordings discussed in this column from Dirty Linen #98 (Feb./Mar. '02). Read the full text in the magazine, available via subscription or on newsstands and in bookstores.