They say everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day; at the very least, I hope everyone gets to hear a little Irish music today. If you aren’t headed to one of the Irish-themed events on our calendar or in your area, here are a few Irish accordionists who can provide the soundtrack to your day:

• Joe Burke
  Hailing from East Galway, Burke sparked a revival of interest in Irish accordion music in the early 1960s. Influenced by early players like Paddy O’Brien and Joe Cooley, Burke’s masterful playing, live performances, and charm have established him as a living legend of Irish music.
  Joe Burke: The Morning Mist mp3
• Sharon Shannon
  Sharon is a traditional musician in the loosest sense of the word; her influences are all ‘traditional’ but from various parts of the globe. Incorporating Portuguese, French Canadian, and Scottish influences, her 1991 debut album is the best-selling traditional Irish music album ever.
  Sharon Shannon: Blackbird mp3
• Joe Derrane
  Born in Boston to Irish immigrant parents, Joe Derrane recorded a series of 78rpm records in the late 1940s that stunned the Irish music world with their unique styling, power, and flawless technique. After a 40-year hiatus from the button box, Derrane is again wowing audiences and received an NEA National Heritage Fellow award in 2004.

The South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival kicked off in Austin today and, with hundreds of artists performing at over eighty venues, there are plenty of accordions in the mix. As we’ve done in previous years, here’s a quick look at some performers that may have flown under your radar:

• Dusty Rhodes and the River Band
  Not your typical West Coast indie rock band, this Orange County six piece blends a love for 70’s era classic rock with folk and bluegrass, ensuring that the guitars are never far from the accordion, violin, and banjo.
  Dusty Rhodes and the River Band: Dear Honey mp3
• Rupa and The April Fishes
  Hailing from our backyard — the San Francisco Bay Area — Rupa and the April Fishes mix sounds from the Far East, Europe, Latin America and the US, with multilingual performances in French, Spanish, English, Hindi and Roma. The band features Isabel Douglass on the accordion.
  Rupa and The April Fishes: Une Americaine a Paris mp3
• Rana Santacruz
  Born in Mexico City and heavily influenced by both folk and alternative music, Santacruz’s music has been labeled by some as “Irish mariachi”, favoring acoustic instruments like the guitar, accordion, and guitarrone.
  Rana Santacruz: Cajita de Barro mp3
• 1001 Nights Orchestra
  Austin’s longest running Middle Eastern music group has a repertoire that stretches from Southwest Asia and the Caucuses in the East to the shores of the Mediterranean in the West, as well as many original compositions.
  1001 Nights Orchestra: Neda Voda Nali Vala mp3

There’ll also be a number of accordion-toting bands performing that we’ve covered here before, including DeVotchKa, Pistolera, Bowerbirds, Great Lakes Myth Society, The Felice Brothers and many others.

There are few places where you can hear so many excellent artists in one place, so if you’re anywhere near Austin this week — on your way to the National Accordion Association convention in Richardson, perhaps? — stop in, have a drink, and meet your new favorite band.

I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz lately about the Felice Brothers, three brothers (and a traveling dice player named Christmas… seriously) from upstate New York who play rough and tumble American roots music. They started out busking in the NYC subway and touring in a “short” school bus, but now they’re wowing critics and drawing comparisons to Dylan, Springsteen, and the Band. Not too shabby for a band whose self-titled debut just came out today.

They may not live up the comparisons yet, but make no mistake, this is honest, hearty, gritty music. You can hear James Felice’s excellent accordion all over their new album; my favorite track is the shuffling “Frankie’s Gun”:

The Felice Brothers: Frankie’s Gun mp3

With so much riding on next week’s Democratic primary in Texas, it’s no surprise the Obama and Clinton campaigns are pulling out all the stops to court Hispanic voters in the Lone Star State. In the past week, both campaigns have turned to music as a vehicle for getting out the vote.

First, the Obama campaign released a song and video called “Viva Obama!” that (literally) sings the praises of Barack Obama to a catchy mariachi beat supplied by Mariachi Aguilas de Mexico. Today, the Clinton campaign released an accordion-infused cumbia called “Hillary, Hillary Clinton”, written and performed by Walter Suhr and the Mango Punch. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the song will be played at rallies, parties and other campaign events across Texas.

Who knows, maybe one of these songs will become the next “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”…

Walter Suhr and the Mango Punch: Hillary, Hillary Clinton mp3

With Super Tuesday behind us, it’s time to focus on a contest that really matters: the Grammy award for Best Polka Album, to be handed out this Sunday in Los Angeles. This year’s nominees include some polka freaks from Texas, a pair of Canadian polka greats, and a 16-time winner who shows no signs of slowing down. Let’s take a closer look at the nominees:

Brave Combo, Polka’s Revenge

Eclectic polka-rockers Brave Combo are no strangers to the Grammy scene, having won in 1999 for their album Polkasonic and in 2005 for their album Let’s Kiss. For more than twenty five years, they’ve relentlessly busted genres and boldly taken polkas where they’ve never gone before. On Polka’s Revenge, the band fuses rock and Tex-Mex-inspired polkas with old-world waltzes, schottisches, and obereks. Originals like “The Denton Polka” mingle freely with updated renditions of classics by the Connecticut Twins and Ampol Aires.

Brave Combo: The Denton Polka (MP3 download)

John Gora & Gorale, Bulletproof Polkas

Born in Poland, now living in Ontario, Canada, saxophonist John Gora and his band earned their fourth Grammy nomination this year. The repertoire on Bulletproof Polkas runs the gamut from traditional polkas sung in Polish to polka-fied covers of rock songs. In the latter category, Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon” survives the transition well, but the same cannot be said for John Lennon’s “Woman.”

John Gora & Gorale: Karma Chameleon (MP3 download)

Bubba Hernandez and Alex Meixner, Polka Freak Out

When Bubba Hernandez (former bassist for Brave Combo) first heard accordionist Alex Meixner, he asked himself, “What would this guy sound like on a Tex-Mex tuned accordion with some Tejano players?” The result is Polka Freak Out, an unlikely collaboration that places Alex’s technical mastery of the accordion over a Tex-Mex rhythm section, with dollops of Tejano, pop, and rock thrown in for good measure. Think Brave Combo, but with more accordion (and a heck of an accordion player at that).

Bubba Hernandez and Alex Meixner: A Heart’s Grand Opening (MP3 download)

Walter Ostanek and Brian Sklar, Dueling Polkas

“Canada’s Polka King” Walter Ostanek matches up with Saskatchewan fiddler Brian Sklar and his band, the Western Senators, for an old-fashioned double album. It’s an apt pairing: Sklar is a Canadian country music legend and Ostanek has been bringing country and western stylings to Cleveland-style polkas for years. The two styles merge effortlessly on Dueling Polkas and, fifty years after starting his first band, Ostanek is still one of polka’s greatest accordionists.

Walter Ostanek and His Band: Iron Mike’s Polka (MP3 download)

Jimmy Sturr and his Orchestra, Come Share the Wine

Having won 16 out of the 22 awards given for Best Polka Album, Jimmy Sturr has earned his share of both respect and enmity from his polka colleagues. But few can deny that he’s one of polka’s hardest-working promoters, cranking out an album a year and following a relentless tour schedule that ranges from the Bayway Polish Home to Farm-Aid. Come Share the Wine may lack the star power of his most recent releases (no Willie Nelson cameo this time), but that’s actually a good thing; this time, the focus rests squarely on his top-notch band.

Jimmy Sturr and his Orchestra: Red Wing (MP3 download)

It’s a diverse set of contenders for the polka field and it’s anyone’s guess as to who will bring home the Grammy. Will Jimmy Sturr add another trophy to his collection? Will the Texas polka mafia power either Brave Combo or Polka Freak Out to victory? Or will one of Canada’s polka heroes swoop in from the Great White North? We’ll find out on Sunday!

Last week, the Chicago Tribune had a fun piece on Chicago punk/polka band The Polkaholics. Fortified with Old Style and Old Spice, The Polkaholics recently celebrated their 10th anniversary and continue their quest to bring polkas rocking and screaming into the 21st century. Guitarist “Dandy” Don Hedeker (day job: professor of biostatistics!) describes the reaction of older polka fans who sometimes stumble upon their shows:

“Sometimes they’re excited to see what we’re doing with the music… Other times they think we’re the devil.”

The band’s latest CD, Ten Years to the Floor, is a live album highlighting the band’s unique brand of polka madness. As with anything punk, it’s more about the spirit and raw energy than musicianship — “we may miss a note, but we never miss a party” — and you can practically hear the beergarden and mosh pit coming together. This is a Polkaholics original from that album:

The Polkaholics: Ten Drinks to the Floor (MP3 download)

Passing the baton to a younger generation has been difficult for polka, but Cajun music is having no such problem. Spinner writes about the current youth movement in Cajun/Creole music, noting the proliferation of young bands and musicians in the Lafayette (Louisiana) area. Some, like accordionist Kristi Guillory of Bonsoir, Catin, were drawn together through summertime Cajun French immersion programs held in Nova Scotia (home of their ancestors). Others, like accordionist Wilson Savoy of the Pine Leaf Boys, had to move away to realize the importance of their Cajun heritage.

The result is a new golden age of Cajun music, led by a tightly knit group of young musicians who gather regularly to jam, watch each other’s shows, and keep the traditions alive. Here’s a clip from one of those bands, the all-female Bonsoir, Catin:

Bonsoir, Catin: Le vieux Dodge à Bill Landry (MP3 download)

Take one accordion virtuoso from Pennsylvania, son of a polka legend, with a diverse background in jazz, pop, and folk. Take one bass player from Texas, formerly of Brave Combo, known for rocking Tex-Mex and cumbias with Los Super Vatos. Put them together and what do you get? Polka Freak Out!

Polka Freak Out is a collaboration between Alex Meixner and Bubba Hernandez that combines polka styles from around the world (Slovenian, Austrian, Polish, you name it) with conjunto/tejano rhythms and rock and roll energy and enthusiasm. It started with a casual jam session a few years ago, while Hernandez was passing through Alex’s area during a Brave Combo tour. Now they’ve released their first self-titled album, which includes guest appearances by bajo sexto legend Max Baca and Texas Tornado keyboardist Augie Meyers.

The duo will be out on the road later this month, with shows in New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Chicago. Check our calendar for details.

Polka Freak Out: Uzmi (MP3 sample)

Polka doesn’t always have to be about the beer — it can be about a good cause, too. That’s the case with Polkas for Charity, a polka supergroup formed by Ted Borzymowski to record an album and raise money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. The album, Let’s Get This Party Started!, features an all-star lineup with vocals from Lenny Gomulka, Wally Dombrowski, Johnny Karas, and many more. In the 100 days since the album’s release, they’ve raised more than $10,000 for St. Jude’s. Polka power at its best!

Polkas for Charity: More Beer (featuring Mark Trzepacz) (MP3 sample)