Album Notes

Acoustic trio Banshee in the Kitchen offers a winter feast with the release of their fourth album, INVITE THE LIGHT: WORLD MUSIC FOR WINTER (Speirbhean Records, 2006). The touring band, based in Bakersfield, California, transcends their trademark New Celtic sound, infusing an eclectic array of seasonal tunes with fresh insight and beauty. Banshee in the Kitchen brings all the right ingredients to the seasonal mix of Invite the Light, creating an ambience that welcomes winter and warms the spirit. It's among a small handful of new seasonal albums to make the Echoes playlist in 2006. - John Diliberto, Host-Producer of Echoes the music soundscape heard on 130 public radio stations and at www.echoes.org INVITE THE LIGHT charts new territory for the Banshee. From lesser known Christmas carols to haunting Jewish melodies, the album pays musical visits to France, India, England, Ireland, Los Angeles, and a living room in Aurora, Colorado. Add superb audio production from Hollywood mastering wizard Bernie Becker, and you have a midwinter’s delight In your own CD player. “We have wanted to make a holiday album for longer than we’ve been us—Banshee in the Kitchen, that is. True to Banshee form, the result is eclectic, born of our diverse spiritual paths and shared sense of the season as a time when light emerges from darkness. … we chose devotional and festive tunes we loved, adding a touch of romance and sadness to round out the midwinter picture.” - liner notes, INVITE THE LIGHT Banshee in the Kitchen has been touring and recording since 2001. Their first three albums are If We Were Us (2002) and Catching the Mooncoin (2003), and Even Hotter Water (2005). Their recordings and live performances have been featured on Echoes (PRI) as well as other public and internet-enabled radio shows, and continue to get regular play in Ireland, Europe, Australia, and across the U.S. Banshee in the Kitchen is: national hammered dulcimer champion Brenda Hunter (fiddle, hammered dulcimer), Jill Egland (flute, accordion, whistle, bodhran) and Mary Tulin (six- and twelve-string guitar, bouzouki).