Hands Across the Water -Latest News

Release Date Change
After much deliberation we have decided to delay the release of the CD until the anniversary of the Tsunami. We decided that since the anniversary is only a few months away and at a time when people are at their most generous we will be able to raise a lot more money for the children. The CD is ready and we are very excited for you to hear it but our main mission is to help the children and we feel that this postponement will reap more rewards and ensure a better future for them. So be patient and you will have some great music to listen to over the holiday season. In the meantime check out some of the tracks on Candace's website in the news item below.

Cerys Matthews joins the team
Welsh superstar Cerys Matthews joined Andrea. John and a host of Nashville's finest musicians to record a new song for the Hands project.
The song is a traditional Welsh song which Cerys sings in both English and her native Welsh. Cerys was the lead singer for Catatonia, one of the biggest rock bands in the UK throughout the 90s with hits like Mulder and Scully.

Máirtín O'Connor Pushes All The Right Buttons
World famous traditional Irish accordion player Máirtín O'Connor spent the day at Sun Street Studios in Tuam, Co Galway in the last few days. Máirtín was there to add tracks to a song by Jon Randall. Jon is one of Nashville's finest singers, guitarists and songwriters, having cut his musical teeth as Emmylou Harris' guitarist for many years. More recently he has been forging a very successful solo career and his songs have been recorded by many well known artists, including the recent hit "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley with Alison Krauss.
O'Connor is internationally known as one of the finest players to ever come out of Ireland. He has played with everyone from De Dannan to Mark Knopfler.

Pauline Scanlon Finishes Her Parts
Irish singer Pauline Scanlon dropped by Bill Shanley's studio in Dublin last week to add some vocals to a lovely song by rising Nashville band Blue Merle. The song which is called Part of Your History is on their latest CD and they kindly donated it for our project.
Pauline made a name for herself in Ireland as the singer for Sharon Shannon's band but it was her debut solo album Red Colour Sun that gained her international acclaim.

Solas Fly In
Celtic superband Solas flew into Nashville to record a track for the Hands Across the Water project before heading off on a grueling 6 week tour of America. MORE

Vince joins Altan to help the project
Country music star Vince Gill joined us in the studio this week to sing and play on a track from Irish traditional band Altan. Both Vince and Altan were among the very first to say yes to this project. MORE

Press Release

It has been a long and very rewarding few weeks. Watching the disasters unfold in South East Asia seems to have brought the world together in the most compassionate way imaginable. Record amounts of money have been raised all over the world already and it is being allocated to all the right places by various charities.
Of course there is only so much money that people can give directly and when that cash starts to dry up a little the needs of those who have lost so much will still be with us.
So my dear friend and wonderful musician, Andrea Zonn (pictured right) and myself have set up the "Hands Across the Water" project which we hope will generate much needed money for a long time to come.
The first stage of the project is a CD of collaborations by our friends in Ireland, Scotland and America and already we have secured some very exciting names to work together.
Our good pals at Compass Records were the first to join us and offer us full support for this project including covering the costs of recording, manufacturing and PR making sure that the most money possible goes directly to the charity.
Since then Andrea and myself have been on the phone day and night talking to people on both sides of the Atlantic and we are now sure we will have one of the most exciting CDs to come out of Nashville and Dublin this year. So stay tuned for more details and have a read of the first of many press releases from the "Hands Across the Water" team.

!!COMPASS RECORDS ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF HANDS ACROSS THE WATER WITH VINCE GILL, ALTAN, PAUL BRADY, ALISON BROWN AND OTHERS!!

*This unprecedented collaboration benefits victims of the natural disasters in Southeast Asia*

NASHVILLE , TN ­ In this global community, friendships and the exchange of information extend beyond conventional boundaries. The latest statistics regarding the disaster in Southeast Asia are instantaneously conveyed via satellite link ups and web blogs. This combination of tragedy and technology inspired Andrea Zonn and John Cutliffe to establish the Hands Across the Water project. They have gathered a formidable group of musicians from America , Ireland and the UK to record a CD to benefit children effected badly by the Rsunami.

Zonn is one of Nashville's most beloved musicians, both as a solo artist and contributor to albums and tours by such artists as James Taylor, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Alison Brown, and many others. Her collaborator and close friend John Cutliffe is similarly well-known behind the scenes as a musician, tour manager, and webmaster of Jigtime.com, a site that chronicles both Irish and American roots music.

Hands Across The Water has secured the support of Vince Gill, Altan, Maura O'Connell, Eddi Reader, Paul Brady, Beth Nielson Chapman, Sharon Shannon, Alison Brown, Lúnasa, Jim Lauderdale, Pauline Scanlon, Jerry Douglas, John Cowan, Jon Randall, Darrell Scott, Ciaran Tourish, Sam Bush, Tim O'Brien, and more.

“I think the connections that exist in our musical and social circles are powerfully symbolic of a greater global unity,” says Zonn. “We are fortunate to count some of the finest musicians in Ireland , Scotland and America among our friends,” Cutliffe, from Buncrana, adds. “And our friends have friends. The bond of music ripples outward into the world, and we're calling on our friends to contribute their gifts to help those so desperately in need right now.”