Bill Black & Cats Melodeon
Bill Black's Cat's Melodeon brings the authentic sound of Irish traditional music — reels, jigs, and hornpipes — to The Auld Triangle every Saturday afternoon. The Falmouth-based ensemble is one of Cape Cod's most beloved trad outfits, known equally for spirited sessions and serious community heart.
Founded in 2005 by Falmouth's Bill Black — self-described "head buck cat" — Cat's Melodeon grew out of an earlier project called Cape Tradition and has since become a cornerstone of Cape Cod's Irish traditional music scene. Black plays banjo, guitar, and bouzouki and leads a rotating ensemble of up to fifteen musicians whose collective arsenal spans fiddle, uilleann pipes, flute, concertina, accordion, bodhrán, and more. The repertoire sticks close to the source: the reels, jigs, and hornpipes at the heart of the Irish instrumental tradition, played acoustic and without amplification. Since February 2024 the Cats have held a regular Saturday session at The Auld Triangle in Hyannis, a gig that doubles as a fundraising engine — the group has raised roughly $18,000 for local and regional charities including Cape Cod Veterans and Project Bread.
