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Traditional Irish fiddle player Kate Rose performs alongside world-class guitarist Armand Ramirez as Wild World Irish Fiddle -- a duo bending perceptions and putting their own spin on Irish fiddle music. As weekly performers at Charly's downtown, and throughout the city at community events, the duo upholds traditional Irish values while adding a worldly spin in their rhythms.

Rose said she grew up in New Hampshire in an Irish-American family, so the traditional Irish style of music had been around her throughout her upbringing. Whether she was attending contradances, or listening among family, she said, she was naturally drawn into playing in the traditional way.

Rose originally ventured to Ireland to study the traditional music style when she was 15 and returned to Ireland when she was 18 and 19, studying the authentic County Clare Irish music with a venture grant offered through Colorado College.

“I got my first grant to go and study the old folk music and storytelling traditions and the other ways of life of the folk in Ireland,� she said.

She had initially planned to spend that summer in Ireland, but she ended up staying for two years.

“I was lucky because this was the 1990s, so there was still a lot of players who were really old, but really from a different time where there was a different take on music, how we listen to music, how we approach it,� Rose said. “So, it was less focused on technique and more playing from the heart and just having kind of a raw, emotive, expressive tone. It was very characteristic of that region where I was.�

Rose said that drawing on the old ways of life, a lot of those rhythms reflected the agrarian life.

“Things that impress people now, like flashy technique, didn't have meaning to them, and they valued the listener tradition of the people who were able to listen deeply to the music,� she said.

According to Rose, playing exactly as a legendary traditional player would is less true to the tradition than innovating and being interested in what musicians from other traditions are doing.

“When those old players met, they were always like, 'Oh, play something from where you come from.' And there was a lot of space for individual expression,� she said.

That sentiment inspired the creation of Wild World Irish Fiddle.

Rose first began performing with Ramirez at Irish Nights at Mooney's Irish Pub. The two wanted a Flagstaff home-base for performances, however, eventually establishing weekly performances at Charly's Pub & Grill in the Weatherford Hotel.

Ramirez is a legendary guitarist, Rose explained.

“Really the best around,� she said. “He has a really vast musical background, and we realized, jamming together, that we could put these Latin rhythms on that Irish tune and do something really unique that no one else is doing, but it's very much in the spirit of the tradition.�

Rose said the Irish musical tradition is something that's alive rather than stagnant.

With Wild World Irish Fiddle's take on it, the musicians are continuing the Irish tradition of culturally innovating and putting one's own spin on the traditional style.

“[It's about] fusing traditions rather than juxtaposing them; it's kind of a melting pot rather than the salad bowl,� she said. “I think it is in the spirit of the tradition to innovate.�

“It's a subtle approach to encourage rhythmic and melodic variation,� Ramirez added. “I listen for places in tunes that are compatible with world rhythms such as Clave, Tresillo and other African-derived rhythms -- even a reggae rhythm.�

Ramirez explained how the blended approach is still very new to Wild World Irish Fiddle, so there is much more for the musicians to explore as they integrate world rhythms into traditional Irish music.

“There is a Turkish pattern in my mind these days,� Ramirez said.

Aside from weekly performances at Charly's on Thursdays from 7:30 to 9 p.m., Wild World Irish Fiddle hosts Wild Irish Community Dance on fourth Wednesdays at the Joe C. Montoya Center, as well as varying community events.

“I organized a concert to benefit the Literacy Center and particularly Northern Arizona Immigration Legal Services,� Rose said. “So, we had kind of an Irish-Latin concert and immigrant solidarity concert, because the Irish experience is so connected to immigration.�

Rose said the event felt meaningful and the Irish-Latin music got everyone dancing.

To further support struggling populations locally, Rose founded Wildstep, a nonprofit with the goal of connecting people across cultures and helping vulnerable people.

“My goal is to really bring the community together across things that often divide people,� she said. “We have people from all different backgrounds.�

If people want to get involved in Wildstep, Rose said one's own skills and expertise can be used to positively impact others. Interested participants can reach out via email at [email protected] or by contacting her at (928) 380-8489.

The community can support Wild World Irish Fiddle by attending local performances and also by checking out “Kate Rose, Wild World Irish Fiddle� online via YouTube or Facebook.