What they're saying ...

"Finlayson is both a "violinist" AND a fiddler"! She's equipped with the musicianship and chops of a concert violinist with the feeling and spirit of a good old fashioned fiddler! This diversity and well-rounded approach shines through in her music..." Charles Barber, cdinsight.com (full review at bottom of page)

"Cady's playing will have you longing for Ireland, even if you've never foot on the Emerald Isle before." -Streams-of-time.com Nancy's Reviews

"Cady Finlayson is a fiddle player with a remarkable talent and vision for her music." - Michael Allison, musicdish.com

"...Sweet and melodic..." -Dirty Linen Magazine

"Cady sizzles on the fiddle..." -Linda Atnip, Alternatives

"Cady Finlayson is one of America's top Celtic fiddlers, expressing a level of soulfulness not commonly heard" -NAV Magazine

"Very much a sassy, full-bodied set! Irish Coffee features contemporary takes on traditional Irish music that hasn't sounded this sprightly in quite some time!..." - Midwestrecord.com

"Cady FInlayson has proven herself a world music artist to watch...this quite organic Irish flavored music is delightful and spirited and a fine demonstration of the beauty of Irish folk music." - Kristofer Upjohn, DJfix.com (full review at bottom)

"...I think the NYC background gives Cady and her fiddling a fire the others don't have." -Chaos Realm

"Her musical style is acoustic and neotraditional, which sets her apart from the contemporary style arrangements that many modern Irish bands and soloists use. Finlayson uses accordian,guitar,percussion and uilleann pipes in many of her pieces. However the percussion adds a world music element to the mix, by combining fiery Peruvian cajon and other non Irish percussion instruments with her fiddle..." -worldmusiccentral.org (full review at bottom)

"Harp and Shamrock is a powerfully moving CD bursting with pure and natural talent"-James Lane, HotIndienews.com

"There are many so called Celtic influenced artists around these days, but let me assure you that Cady Finlayson tends to stand head and shoulders above her peers. The traditional tunes are arranged in an exacting manner that does not betray their origins and Cady's self penned numbers give life and joy to their very being; mix all of this up with a touch of world music and you have Cady at her best. Harp and Shamrock is an album that deserves full attention from World Music Fans as well as the traditional Folk and Celtic followers. Go buy!" Tony Bates, 3WBC Victoria, Australia

Irish Coffee by Cady Finlayson CDinsight.com
Cady Finlaysons' latest offering "Irish Coffee" features 19 wonderfully arranged instrumental tracks that take listeners to the enchanted land of Ireland with a few additional stops along the way. The disc ranges from very traditional Celtic offerings to tracks that offer a more worldly take (think Afro Celt Sound System with a bit more "Celt").

Stand out tracks for me included: "Tuttle/Caislean Oir" which features virtuoso fiddle playing with the worldly percussion and even the rainstick; - The flowing melody of "Jon Roy Lyall"; ...And "Jury Duty Waltz", which Finlayson wrote while spending a particularly long day waiting for her name to be called to perform her judicial civic duty.

Cady Finlayson is not a new artist by any means. She's a seasoned veteran violinist with three solo albums to her credit, many works with other bands and movie soundtrack work. She's well-traveled and has played Carnegie Hall. Finlayson is both a "violinist" AND a "fiddle player"! She's equipped with the musicianship and chops of a concert violinist with the feeling and spirit of a good old fashioned fiddler! This diversity and well-rounded approach shines through in her music and definitely makes "Irish Coffee" an outstanding release! Charles Barber, CDinsight.com

CADY FINLAYSON - IRISH COFFEE DJfix.com
Cady Finlayson has proven herself a world music artist to watch. Or perhaps that should be to listen to. At any rate, her presentation of Celtic flavored music is smooth and lovely and she's quite a talented fiddle player. Along with her fiddling are instrumentalists playing guitar, accordian, percussion, uilleann pipes, keyboard, bodhran and harp. It makes for a well-rounded sound, layered nicely and with plenty going on. This quite organic Irish flavored music is delightful and spirited and a fine demonstration of the beauty of Irish folk music. The melodies and layers of instrumentation are all executed with utmost skill and fans of this brand of world music or world music in general can happily snuggle up with some "Irish Coffee." -- review by Kristofer Upjohn DJfix.com

CADY FINLAYSON/Irish Coffee/Midwestrecord.com
American Celtic fiddler Finlayson keeps right on the money with her latest set. When working with a largely traditional repertoire, it’s often hard to break new ground, but Finlayson does it by keeping her chops in top form and adding the colors of new and different players to keep her raising her game. Very much a sassy, full bodied set, contemporary takes on traditional Irish music hasn’t sounded this sprightly in quite some time. Certainly a music to check out if this is your flavor of world beat. -Midwestrecord.com

Irish Coffee with a touch of Peru (worldmusiccentral.org)
American fiddler Cady Finlayson has released a new CD which pays tribute to Irish traditional music. Part of the pieces chosen are well known traditional jigs, waltzes and marches, as well as compositions by well known Irish folk music performers. The rest are Finlayson's originals.
Her musical style is acoustic and neotraditional, which sets her apart from the contemporary style arrangements that many modern Irish bands and soloists use. Finlayson uses accordion, guitar, percussion and uilleann pipes in many of her pieces. However, the percussion adds a world music element to the mix, by combining fiery Peruvian cajón and other non Irish percussion instruments with her fiddle.
The selection mixes lively rhythmic tunes with evocative fiddle and guitar duets. “I love to bring Irish music to people who might not normally hear it,” she says.
Finlayson studied Irish fiddling with New York-Sligo fiddler Brian Conway and later traveled to Limerick, Ireland as the winner of the President’s Award Scholarship. At the Blas International Summer School she learned from some of Ireland’s greatest fiddlers and studied Irish history, culture, dance, and language. - ARomero, WorldMusicCentral.org