About Selkie

Selkie is a quartet of Celtic multi-instrumentalists who bring formidable experience to the Michigan folk scene. Based in southwest Michigan, Selkie has performed at the Michigan Irish Festival, the Holland Celtic Festival, the Sparta Irish Festival, the Kalamazoo Irish Festival, the Thornapple Music Series, the Kalamazoo Scottish Festival, the Sunday Strings series at Frederik Meijer Gardens, the Hooley on the Grand, the Howard City Celebration of Music, and the Smiling Acres Music Festival, among others.  

Their music is strongly dance-based, tightly woven, and varied with unique arrangements of traditional and original music for fiddle, flute, banjo, accordion, bouzouki, guitar and harp. Songs sung in English, Gaelic and French round out their repertoire.  

At festivals and other celebrations, Selkie has collaborated with competitive dance companies including Scoil Rince Ní Bhraonáin and the Erin Quinn School of Irish Dance.

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Meet the Band

Cara Lieurance has a varied background in Celtic, classical, music theater and alternative rock groups. A former member of Whiskey Before Breakfast, An Dro, Fonn Mor, Merry Sisters of Fate and Blue Dahlia, she plays flute, accordion and Irish whistle with Selkie and sings in a variety of languages. She was awarded the Community Medal of Arts by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo in 2021.

Jim Spalink plays bouzouki, guitar, Irish harp and vocals with Selkie. In addition to that, he does solo shows and recordings in his home studio of original and traditional music with an old world feel. A luthier, he has made many harps and other instruments, including the ones he plays with the band. Jim has been a member of Puck Faire, Archive, and AnDro , among others. He has an extensive Youtube music channel, which includes his “Hieronymus Bosch Butt Music” which currently has had over 3.4 million views.

Michele Venegas is a charismatic lead fiddler and banjoist with an authentic style and improvisational chops. She previously played with Fonn Mor, An Dro, and the Merry Sisters of Fate. Beyond the stage, Michele is a certified sound healing practitioner and founder of Soul Song LLC, where she studies and applies therapeutic sound in community and care based settings. You can find out more about Michele's work at www.michigansoundhealing.com.

Noah Jacobs is an Uilleann piper, fiddler and whistle player based in Holland, MI. An early interest in the piano led to a stint studying organ performance at the Oberlin Conservatory, before he developed his interest in the uilleann pipes. He now builds pipes and whistles to order in his workshop.

Media

Stage Plot 89.2 KB
Press Release 3.77 MB
Selkie Poster PDF of poster with room to write venue/date info. 9.66 MB

Sample Tracks
“Selkie is an integral part of our festival... there are no other truly traditional, (with original music that sounds traditional,) Celtic bands that can stand up to "power bands" in a festival format like these talented musicians can! We are LUCKY to have this kind of talent in West Michigan! 💚 Thank you Selkie for another AMAZING set on Saturday Afternoon.” - Sparta Celtic Festival

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