Jocie Nangle

Jocie grew up near the Atlantic Ocean.  In a small sailboat, she learned to navigate the rocks below and to keep an eye on the weather above.  Dogs, ponies and horses, and other animals filled her life, encouraging her to listen.  Hauling water by bucket in a barn in below-freezing winters made the seasons inescapable.  Her vegetable garden brought her close to soil and rock, planting and harvest.  With her love of land, sea, and creatures,  Jocie’s childhood was informed by the rhythms of nature... and music. 
 

She has been singing ever since she can remember.  Her parents’ love of music ensured a wide variety of music played on radio and records, including early country music and music of the American folk revival.  Her father, because of time spent with his first generation Irish-American grandparents on their farm, feels a strong connection to his Irish heritage, and he made sure Irish songs had a large presence in the household soundscape.  Jocie’s parents sang to her and her father learned how to play the guitar.  Singing and playing for his children, he brought to life the songs they’d heard on records and elsewhere. 


Jocie loved to sing along.  The songs, ranging from cowboy songs to spirituals to Irish songs, captured her imagination.  She, in turn, began learning the guitar.  Over time, as Jocie was moving toward contemporary folk music, her father was discovering that they could tune into WFUV and WSHU for Celtic music. 
 

In high school, Jocie started writing songs, became acquainted with the blues, and listened intently to singer-songwriters.  The music and lyrics spoke to her own experience.  Singing those songs gave direct voice to her emotions and intensified her singing from the heart.  Music became a calling for her, and through college, she performed every chance she got. 
 

This endeavor was interrupted by a long time of great difficulty and near silence.  Jocie participated in music by contra dancing and by being a listener.  She listened closely to independent radio on WRSI, and to Celtic and folk radio.  She was also unconsciously soaking up the swing, improvisation, and nuanced interpretations of musicians, particularly singers, while listening to jazz on WFCR.  Gradually, she came back to her own singing and playing, now with an interest in learning Irish, awakened by the many beautiful songs she was hearing in that language. 
 

She found her way to a friendly Irish traditional music session where she could play guitar and sing. In a new way, through learning the songs and tunes, she fell in love with their depth, beauty, and lilt.  She became known for her heartfelt delivery, and she immediately appreciated the way laments were balanced by up-tempo songs and tunes.  Jocie immersed herself in learning the music and its background.  She began to meet with an Irish language teacher and to adapt her guitar playing to the subtleties of Irish traditional music.  She also picked up the flute.  Friends led her to Irish traditional music festivals in the Catskill Mountains of New York, where she took the first of several workshops in sean-nós singing with Conamara Gaeltacht native Áine Meenaghan.  
 

Singing is at the heart of it all.  Jocie continues to return to the Catskills, where she received encouragement from her teachers that led her to travel to the source.  In Ireland, on foot, she experienced the landscape she sings about (and the weather!).  She has sought out areas, often remote, which are known for traditional music, especially singing, so she could meet the people and hear as much singing as possible.  She treasures the experiences she has had there.  
 

This journey, coming back to Irish traditional music, has been an amazing experience for her.  The encouragement and enthusiasm that Jocie has received both here and in Ireland for her own singing means the world to her.  It brings her great joy to sing the songs in the way that she does and to share this music with you.