IRISH TRAVEL & CULTURE GUIDE
SPRING 2013
March 2013
THE MUSIC MAKERS
Traditional music and dance has always been the soul of Ireland, stretching back centuries when singers, harpists, pipers and fiddlers roamed the countryside. Today that lineage of traveling musicians continues, except now they’re roaming the world, performing at concert halls, cultural venues and pubs, as part of the global celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
Boston – indeed all of New England - is fortunate to have always been a part of this music circuit, and we’ve had our share of great music coming through town. Fifty years ago, in March 1963, the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem were the headliners in Boston, along with singer Carmel Quinn. A century ago, in 1913, Boston presented “A Scene from a Donnybrook Fair,” featuring “singers, bagpipers, fiddlers and dancers, all of whom are native of the Emerald Isle,” noted the Boston Globe. And Lady Gregory brought her Irish Players from the Abbey Theatre to Boston that March.
This year we have an equally impressive line-up of great musicians coming to town, spanning the spectrum of traditional music but also interesting variations of Irish rock, Irish punk and big stage Irish revues.
Solas, considered one of the best Irish traditional bands of this generation, has an exciting new show called Shamrock City, a family story of immigration, mining and murder centered in Butte, MT. The live show includes an interactive, multi-media stage show that features stories and images of Butte.
Solas comes to the Rogers Center at Merrimack College on Friday, March 15, 2013, featuring Seamus Egan, Winifred Horan, Mick McAuley, Eamon McElholm and Niamh Varian-Barry.
A terrific traditional duo featuring fiddler Matt Cranitch and accordionist Jackie Daly is making the rounds, performing at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton on March 13, and then at the Gaelic Roots program at Boston College on March 14. Cranitch founded the influential trio Na Fili, while Daly is a renowned soloist in addition to his work with De Dannan and Patrick Street.
Legendary fiddler Kevin Burke is performing in concert at Club Passim in Harvard Square on March 24. Burke was already an established soloist when he joined the Bothy Band, one of the seminal bands to come out of Ireland, and he continued that standard with Patrick Street and other bands.
Another great fiddler – Natalie MacMaster is performing at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, on March 22. Born and raised on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, MacMaster brings an exquisite melodic sensibility and amazing technique to her craft.
Speaking of legendary fiddlers, the late Larry Reynolds is being honored at this year’s Reagle Theatre Company’s production of ‘A Little Bit of Ireland,’ running March 15-17 at the Robinson Theatre in Waltham. Reynolds, who cofounded the local chapter of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann in 1976, was a ubiquitous presence on Boston’s music scene for 50 years. His sons are now carrying on the tradition by performing with Comhaltas at this show.
One of the best-selling new groups from Ireland, Celtic Woman, is performing in concert at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH on Sunday, March 17. The all woman ensemble features a dazzling stage show that accentuates their singing, and backed by a top notch traditional band and scenic backdrops of Ireland.
Pendragon, the Celtic music band that has been entertaining New Englanders for thirty years, is performing a St. Patrick’s Day concert on March 17 at the Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland, RI.
In addition, you’ll find plenty of Irish music sessions at the Worcester Hibernian Center: the Gerry Murphy Band, Jolly Beggars and Arnie Hamm perform on March 17, and there are regular sessions throughout the month.
On the Irish rock front, check out Joshua Band, a top U2 cover band, performing at the Irish Cultural Centre on March 15, followed by the Saw Doctors from Tuam, County Galway, who play at the House of Blues in Boston on March 16.
Rounding out the music scene is a host of live performances taking place at the Black Rose in Faneuil Hall, the Skellig in Waltham, Fiddlers Green in Worcester and the Irish Pub at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton.
Irishmassachusetts.com/march.php