Nearly 25 years ago, a group of post-grad musicians created Irish band Téada.
The group seemed to come together naturally, and while it began informally, the band soon was brought to the international stage. "It was just one of those processes where you do one thing that leads to a few other things, and then it snowballs," said the band's fiddler, Oisín Mac Diarmada.
This Friday, Téada will perform at Stargazers Theatre as part of its tour across the U.S. The band plays traditional Irish music, featuring instruments such as the fiddle, accordion, flute, guitar, bodhrán and piano.
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For Mac Diarmada, the fiddle has been his instrument of choice for most of his life. He started learning how to play around 5 years old in his small village within County Clare. Mac Diarmada described it as "a great place for music."
"There was great music that was close by, and that was very inspiring to listen to as a kid," Mac Diarmada said. "It was a lovely, lovely journey, and like every journey, you never know when you start where it's going to end up."
The fiddle, a notable instrument across many cultures, is a key pillar of traditional Irish music. Mac Diarmada compares playing the fiddle to high-performance sports, as both require constant practice.
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"It's expressive and that can be done in some so many -- millions -- of different ways," he said. "We put these things to the side, and then they rebel against you, and you have to kind of tame the instrument again. It's really fun."
The style of music is often dependent on the show and audience, Mac Diarmada said. If it is a solo performance, it can often be more intimate, emotional pieces. But when the band is together, the music tends to become more uplifting and loud.
There's also something special, even decades later, about sharing Irish culture with the world through music.
"The sense of amazement when you come across other people's interests in this. It never goes away," he said. "The audience are the key. They really are."
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