New England’s Celtic Spirit

By Irish Boston Tourism Newsroom

The Celtic spirit is alive and well in New England, fortified over centuries by generations of immigrants arriving from Ireland, Scotland and Canada, and replenished today by a constant flow of authentic, high level Celtic culture embedded in the region.

That fine tradition continues in 2026, as scores of musicians, dancers, singers, authors, actors and athletes perform on hundreds of concert stages, festival grounds, pubs and cafes in New England.

Headlining touring bands passing through New England this season include The High Kings, Gaelic Storm, Celtic Thunder, Onóir, Gothard Sisters (pictured above), Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet, plus smaller instrumental ensembles such as Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy, Hanneke Cassel Trio and fiddler Alasdair Fraser.

They are joined by a talented slate of singers/songwriters/composers, including Judy Collins, Neil Byrne, Bernadette Morris, vocal trio Don Stiffe, Ger O’Donnell and Trevor Sexton, country artist Gareth (pictured below on the right alongside musician Bertie Newman), R&B star Martin Sexton, harpist Áine Minogue and vocal trio I’m With Her.

Popular singer/songwriter and guitar master Séamus ‘Slim’ Lagan of Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, is a regular performer at The Black Rose and Mr. Dooley’s in downtown Boston and has a new Spotify single called ‘Ocean of Memories.’

The Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival on July 18 features legendary Celtic groups such as Albannach, Seven Nations and Haggis X-1, while Rockport Celtic Festival on September 10-13 features multiinstrumentalist Séamus Egan, harpist Maeve Gilchrist, pictured below, flutist Nuala Kennedy, fiddler Oisín McAuley, plectrum player Alan Murray, singer Lindsay O’Donovan and uilleann piper Caoimhín Ó’Fearghail.

You’ll find amazing country music and mainstream artists performing at Fenway Park this summer, including Mumford and Sons; Rüfüs Du Sol with Maribou State; Noah Kahan with Gigi Perez; Tim McGraw with The Chicks, Lady A, 49 Winchester and Timothy Wayne; alternative rock band Phish; the Zack Brown Band and Old Crow Medicine; and Chris Stapleton with Zach Top and Allen Stone.

There’s plenty of informal traditional Irish music sessions all summer and year round. Check out the traditional Irish session at the Irish Cultural Centre’s Heritage Pub on Friday nights. The Boston chapter of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Irish Musicians Association) holds its monthly session on the first Sunday of the month at the Canadian-American Club in Watertown. Hibernian Hall in Worcester holds a session on the second Sunday of the month while the Irish Pastoral Centre holds a session the third Sunday of each month in Adams Village, Dorchester.

Many great pub sessions can be found around town at Scobie’s in Adams Village, the Druid in Inman Square and McCarthy’s in Porter Square, Cambridge, the Burren Pub in Davis Square, Somerville. Outside of the Boston area, there’s a good Monday night session at The Snug in Hingham, Wednesday night at Trinity Pub in West Springfield at the Irish Cultural Center. On Cape Cod, fiddle star Rose Clancy and Max Cohen run a session at the Red Nun Bar & Grill in Dennis Port. In Ludlow, VT, popular singer and multi-instrumentalist Claudine Langille leads a lovely session each Thursday night at the Killarney Pub.