Back to the ballot box

Before Christmas we asked you to vote for your favourite albums of 2011. Unfortunately, the trad albums of the year category did not appear correctly on the online voting form. So we’re going to try again. Here’s what Siobhán Long had to say about the shortlist for Best Trad Album. Please vote for your favourite at irishtimes.com/ theticketawards by Friday, January 20th and we’ll have a winner for you in The Ticket on January 27th. Your patience is a virtue. Thanks.

Reflection and contemplation seem to be the order of the traditional music world these days. Stand-out albums have had one thing in common: a consistency of tone and mood that hints at a desire to do so much more than merely air a new (or an old) tune set or song.

Galwegian box player Johnny Óg Connolly burst out of the traps late in the year with a quiet delight in Aisling Yoshua/Joshua's Dream. Tom McElvogue and Barry Kerr debuted with a long player in the best sense of the word on The Long Hard Road– flute playing at its best. The Unthanks dug deep with their almost symphonic Last. Less is so much more in Breanndán Begley's new collection, Fé Scáth, which is light years removed from his more usual garrulous self. And Iarla Ó Lionáird raised the bar yet again with his soul-filled light world, Foxlight.

NOMINATIONS FOR BEST TRAD ALBUM 2011

Fé ScathBreanndán Begley

FoxlightIarla Ó Lionaird

Aisling Yoshua/Joshua's DreamJohnny Óg Connolly

The Long Hard RoadTom McElvogue and Paddy Kerr

LastThe Unthanks