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* Pipe Bands

General sites
  • Bob Dunsire's Bagpipe Web Directory, more than 3900 piping related links, including more than 1100 band links.
  • Oliver Seeler's Universe Of Bagpipes, contains information in text, pictures and sound about dozens of different kinds of bagpipes and their histories, makers and players from many countries and regions - over 50 megabytes of bagpipe material including over 1,000 graphics on over 500 separate pages.
Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) Ireland
  • Irish Pipe Band Association, is the governing body for associated pipe bands within the Republic of Ireland.
  • Na Píobairí Uilleann, the aims of the society are to perpetuate the spirit of the music, in particular the playing of the pipes and the production and maintenance of the instrument itself.
Europe United States and Canada Oceania Africa Top

* Poland
  • Folkowa, contains information about the Polish folkmusic scene. (in Polish)
  • Polish Folk Music, contains basic information about the folklore-inspired Polish musical scene.
  • Atman, another example of "Earth Folk", a raga like almost trance psychedelic folk with instruments they learned to build themselves, added with some Tibetan instruments too, gathered during their travels in the East. Lots of inspiration comes forth from their original workshops in the forest.
  • Bal Kuzest, Breton folk music. (in Polish)
  • Buraky, plays music from the Polish mountains and lowlands, Ukraine, the Balkans, the Rom, and the Lemki people (who live in the borderland region where Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia come together). Buraky also writes their own compositions, which are inspired by these rich East European traditions
  • Carrantuohill, since the beginning of their existence in 1987 theyhave been performing traditional Celtic - Irish and Scottish - music. Their developing reportoire enriches the beauty of Celtic roots with the unique climate of Slavic spirit, using instruments like violin, accordion, bouzuki, bodhran, flutes, tin whistles, uilleann pipes, zither and accoustic guitar. In order to emphasize the group's sound they often add drums, keyboard and bass guitar.
  • Chudoba, collects and rearranges folksongs from the Polish mountains, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Ukraine and especially from the Lemkish region in the Southeastern part of Poland. (in Polish)
  • Czarna Góra - Polska Kapela Góralska, a Polish folk band from Genk, Belgium, playing Polish, Czech, Slowak, Hungarian folk music.
  • Dautenis, is a folk group from Suwalki region in north-east part of Poland. This corner of Poland is outstanding for its scenic postglacial landscape, climatic features, wildlife, history of human settlement, ethnic structure and very rich archaic singing tradition.
  • Dikanda, "music of four directions of the East". This idea describes the band's repertory which includes: Polish, Macedonian, Gypsy, Israeli, Byelorussia, Greek, Ukrainian, Turkish, Russian and Bulgarian songs, refrains and melodies. Their music is not faithful to its ancient origins, but it is a new music based on tradition.
  • Emerald, Celtic music. (in Polish)
  • Golec uOrkiestra, combine folklore music (of the Karpaty Mountains) with jazz, pop, rock-and-roll music.
  • Les Gorale de Dourges, music from the mountains of Poland played by a France-based group.
  • Ula Kapala, sings the traditional folk ballads from British Isles, USA and Canada.
  • Kapela Drewutnia, has been playing songs inspired by traditional music of the pre-war Poland, and especially by music of the territories where various cultures and traditions existed side by side and mingled with each other (Lemkish and Ukrainian tunes, songs from the Lublin region, Silesia or the Southern Poland). The goal of Kapela Drewutnia is to familiarise the contemporary listener with old folk songs in the original interpretations of the band. The group seeks to faithfully preserve lyrics and melodies of songs and to convey fully their mood - using available instruments and polyphonic singing. (in Polish)
  • Kapela Ludowa "Po Zagonach", original Polish folk music played by professional musicians. The melodies they play originate from different Polish regions/lands. Both arrangements and music interpretations include characteristics and performance standards of authentic folk bands. new!
  • Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa, play folk dance melodies, ballads and rural songs, performed in a special way - using a special, old technique of singing, that consists in using so called white voices.
  • Kontraburger, they haven't really come to any conclusion about which style, current or trend they belong to. Their audience associates us with folk, hippy music, acoustic rock, or sung poetry. To make journalists', critics' and promotors' lives easier, they have decided to announce that they are precursors of a style they call "fantasy folk".
  • Kwartet Jorgi, plays "Earth Folk", a very original folk with many instruments. They find their roots of inspiration from the ground they live on: the pure deserted nature of some areas in Poland.
  • Lautari, their music is a modern ethno-jazz rooted in the tradition of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe and Caucasus, in particular in the music and attitudes of the Gypsy Lautars, the virtuosi of "Gypsy jazz" improvisation. In Lautari's compositions can also be heard the oriental ornaments, the subtlety of Byzantine music, the rhythms of the Balkans, and Slavic vigor.
  • Mazowsze, this colorful and energetic folk group was born in 1948 of two people's dedication to the preservation of native folklore, dance, costume, and song. Mazowsze performs folklore which is artistically transformed and stylized. It is worked up in a form of a carefully staged spectacle of great tempo and dynamism. (in Polish)
  • Motion Trio, is an accordion trio founded in 1996 by Janusz Wojtarowicz. A unique entity on the European and world music scenes, the Motion Trio is changing the face of the accordion while performing their own, original music. Their concerts are musical events, full of action and drama.
  • Orkiestra Sw. Mikolaja, focus their activities on everything associated with Eastern European folklore, especially what is condemned to be forgotten, and yet can inspire and enrich contemporary culture.
  • The Reelium, is a very fresh band on the Polish folk scene connected with Celtic music. They play Celtic music from Ireland, Galiza and Asturias using their own arrangements.
  • Rzepczyno Folk Band, plays a strong mixture of rhythms: reggae, ska, punk and folk melodies. They named themselves this kind of music as a "Agro folk-rock".
  • Sarakina, performs ethnic music originating in the regions of Bulgaria and Macedonia. The objectives of the musicians is in capturing the rich musical heritage of classic and unique Balkan compositions.
  • Shannon, take their audience on a magical journey through Irish and Scottish moods performed in contemporary arrangements of a truly Slavic expression.
  • Stilo, is a Polish-Turkish music group from Warsaw, that plays original, instrumental mix of ethnic, jazz and rock music.
  • Trebunie - Tutki, "new highlander music" or "heavy wood music" obtained by mixing traditional highlander music from Podhale mountain region with elements of reggae, jazz and rock.
  • Warsaw Village Band, their repertoire consists of folk dance melodies, ballads and rural songs, which are performed in a special way - using a special, old technique of singing, that consists in using so called white voices. However it's not only a simple imitation of Polish folk music, but rather adduction to the concept of folk music, giving the style of folk performance which is closer to modern aesthetic conventions.
  • Warszawianka, is the folk song and dance ensemble of the University of Warsaw.
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* Polka
Polka music started in Europe steming from classical music and later was transformed into a different style in the 1920s/30s in the US. Contemporary polka music is actually a product of many immigrants that came from Poland to the United States. There is an very large amount of polka-related sites. The following are good starting points:
  • Nancy's Place For Polkas, Nancy Hlad guides you through the internet's most comprehensive polka site, mainly about Slovenian-Style (aka Cleveland-Style).
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* Portugal
  • Canto da Terra - Música Tradicional Portuguesa, all about Portuguese folk music.
  • Fado, a complete website about the origins of Fado, players and albums.
  • Tradballs, is a Portuguese website agenda of traditional dance and music. Also organises traditional events like balls, tours, workshops, meetings and small festivals. Tradballs: "tradition, is no longer the same". (in Portuguese)
  • José Afonso, the singer whose song, Grândola, Vila Morena, sparked a revolution:
  • Mafalda Arnauth, participated for the first time in a concert in Lisbon in 1995, side by side with the greatest fado singers from Portugal. In the end of her performance Mafalda received the congratulations on behalf of the other artists that participated in that concert. (in Portuguese)
  • Balada do Atlântico, traditional and popular music from the islands of Azores, at its best. Actually, what we have here is a love matter: the love for traditional music by a handful of prestigious musicians with very different music backgrounds. (in Portuguese)
  • Beltane, if you're asking yourselves by now "What on Earth has a portuguese band to do with traditional irish songs?", well, they don't really know!
  • Brigada Vitor Jara, over the years, the members of Brigada have collected music from every region in Portugal and their live performances reflect this diversity, with striking and rhytmic tunes from the far north, beautiful harmonies from the Alentejo and even influences from abroad brought by immigrants. (in Portuguese)
  • Comvinha Tradicional, traditional portuguese music. (in Portuguese).
  • Dazkarieh, they are usually classified as being in the "world music" category in the sense of the musical fusion brought to life by the experiments made by the musicians. These experiments extend from traditional to rock music, from erudite to experimental, using, for such experiments, traditional instruments from diverse cultures, like Swedish, Irish or Arab, but having given a special emphasis to Portuguese traditional music in the last couple of years.
  • Ficções, mixes the rhytmic and melodic influence of Portuguese ethnic roots (Iberian, Brazilian, African) with Jazz, especially in terms of improvising.
  • Frei Fado d'El Rei, mix Medieval music, fado, traditional sounds and flamenco. (in Portuguese)
  • Gaiteiros de Lisboa, basing its work upon the combination of the sound of various wind instruments and of vocal polyphonies, the band plays both songs and tunes strictly coming out of the Portuguese tradition or from other cultures and contexts, as well as their own compositions. (in Portuguese)
  • Ginga, is a folk rock band associating the language of traditional instruments to that of modern instruments. They play songs from the Portuguese songbook and from the Galician traditional music, but they deny the international image that their country spreads out as the land of the "fado" and the "saudade". (in Portuguese)
  • Madredeus, is a musical group that combines elements of traditional Portuguese music (such as fado) with modern musical styles and instruments, as well as the beautiful voice of their vocalist, Teresa Salgueiro:
  • Mandrágora, is a young band of Oporto, that distinguish themselves for the creativity of their original compositions, evoking the Portuguese musical tradition, and exploring the meeting with other cultures and still revealing a great diversity of influences of modern music. (in Portuguese)
  • Mariza, is the new face of Portuguese Fado. She is a Mozambican whose soul was forged in the old Mouraria district of Lisbon: "I lived in a traditional Lisbon neighbourhood and have always sung the fado - I know what it is, I understand myself through it".
  • Moçoilas, re-work traditional songs from their homeland, Algarve: powerful singing and traditional percussion playing, old and new songs from the land and the sea performed with unique joy and freshness. (in Portuguese)
  • Modas à Margem do Tempo, combines traditional Cante Alentejano (folk music from the Alentejo region of Portugal) with elements from other musical traditions, giving it a more universal and sophisticated sound.
  • Moderniça, their project has simple, yet ambitious, objectives: to find a new role for the viola campaniça (a nearly extinct ancient type of folk guitar from the south of Portugal) in contemporary musical contexts, and to recover the traditional musical repertoire from the Alentejo region, by experimenting with new instrumentations and arrangements.
  • Realejo, combines traditional Portuguese and European sounds with ancient court music. The band plays only acoustic and traditional instruments, some of which created by the bandleader Fernando Meireles. (mainly in Portuguese)
  • Ronda dos Quatro Caminhos, is one of the most significant acts of the Portuguese folk music. Ronda dos Quatro Caminhos has been in activity for 22 years, time during which they've released 13 albums.
  • Stockholm Lisboa Project, musicians from Portugal and Sweden joined to communicate their music traditions. Distant in space, under the universal language of music they found new textures and bridges between North and South, one tradition and the other. The repertoire is about Portuguese and Scandinavian folk music, from Fado songs to Polska dances.
  • Toque de Caixa, new traditional music from northern Portugal, with a strong acoustic flavour. Starting from their own musical researches in "deep Portugal", this band has developed a solid reputation in the Portuguese folk/traditional music scene. (in Portuguese)
  • Vai de Roda, the Portuguese band more advanced in terms of recreating traditional music; although the Portuguese character of their music is unquestionable, the band has been keeping a very pleasant dialogue with Galician musicians in their projects.
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