Celtic Classic Returns to Bethlehem, PA in Late September

Throngs of people are expected to converge on Historic Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Sept. 26-28, for the 21st annual Celtic Classic. The Tannahill Weavers (Scotland) Presented by the nonprofit Celtic Cultural Alliance, the free event is a celebration of the Irish, Scottish and Welsh cultures and heritage.  Its six stages of continuous entertainment will feature performances by The Tannahill Weavers, Teada, The Elders, Bodega, Seamus Kennedy,  Charlie Zahm, Clandestine, Malinky, Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers, Cantrip, Prydein,  Slide, The Town Pants, button accordionists David Munnelly and John Whelan and their bands, as well as Irish and Highland dancers.

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Ronnie Drew, Founding Member of The Dubliners, 1934-2008

One of the most recognizable voices in Irish folk music has been quieted. Ronnie Drew, a founding member of The Dubliners, died in a Dublin hospital on August 16, just one month shy of his 74th birthday. The gravelly-voiced folk singer had suffered a long bout with throat cancer. Drew was a pioneering and much revered and loved figure in Irish folk music since helping to form The Dubliners, in 1962. “Ronnie Drew was an iconic figure in Irish music over the last five decades,” said Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in a prepared statement. “Whether as part of The Dubliners or during his solo career, Ronnie will also be remembered for his promotion of Irish music both at home and around the world.” [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Irish Festivals Springing Up Across the Northeast, Midwest

Several Irish festivals will be taking place in the Northeast and Midwest over the next few weeks. These include the 31st Annual East Durham Irish Festival in New York's Catskill Mountains, May 24-25; the 22nd Annual Gaelic Park Irish Fest outside Chicago, May 23-26; and both the Fairfield County Irish Festival in Trumbull, Connecticut and the 15th Annual Riverfront Irish Festival in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, June 13-15. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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‘Absolutely Irish’ Concert Film Airs on Public TV Stations

With the St. Patrick's Day season upon us, public television stations across the U.S. are airing Absolutely Irish this month. The 90-minute concert film and documentary features some of the world's leading traditional Irish musicians. Filmed live last April during a concert at the Irish Arts Center in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood by Academy and Emmy Award-winning director Paul Wagner, Absolutely Irish is replete with jigs, reels, airs, ballads, contemporary versions of familiar old tunes, and instrumental jams featuring some fine players -- young and old alike. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

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Celtic Festivals On Tap in Pennsylvania This Winter

Pennsylvania can be pretty cold during the wintertime. But there will be plenty of Celtic music to warm your souls. The 16th Annual Greater Philadelphia Mid-Winter Scottish and Irish Music Festival takes place at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, Friday, Feb. 15 through Sunday, Feb. 17; while the 2nd Annual Winter Classic: a Gathering of the Celts is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2 at Lehigh University's Rauch Field House in Bethlehem. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

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World Folk Music Association to Pay Tribute to Tommy Makem

The World Folk Music Association’s 23rd annual benefit concert is slated for Jan. 19, 2008 at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center on Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus. Benefit tickets are priced at $40-$90. Performers will include Liam Clancy, Danny Doyle, Hot Soup!, The Makem & Spain Brothers, Modern Man, Schooner Fare, The Shaw Brothers, Side by Side, Jack Williams, Bethany Yarrow & Rufus Cappadocia, among others. Special tribute will be paid to Tommy Makem, the singer-songwriter widely regarded as the godfather of Irish folk music, who passed away earlier this year. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

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Boston Area Hosts Annual “Cool” Celtic Fest

BCMFest, Boston, Massachusetts’ annual grassroots, musician-run, winter Celtic music festival marks its fifth birthday on Jan. 11-12, 2008 with an array of Irish, Scottish and Cape Breton music and dance. More than 100 performers, a mix of established artists and new or emerging acts – including fiddlers, flutists, accordionists, guitarists, singers and other musicians, as well as dancers -- who reside in the Boston area or are active in its Celtic music community will be featured. A tribute to the 1976 release by Paul Brady and Andy Irvine, regarded as one of the landmark albums of the Celtic music revival, and an “Open Stage” for both individuals and bands also are on the docket. A month earlier, a festival sneak preview is slated for Monday night, Dec. 10 at Club Passim in Harvard Square, across the Charles River, in Cambridge. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

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Austin Celtic Festival on Tap, Nov. 3-4

Long regarded by many as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” Austin, Texas plays host to some leading Irish and Scottish musicians next month. The Austin Celtic Festival, billed as “the largest gathering of Celts in central Texas,” takes place at Fiesta Gardens on the shores of Town Lake (recently renamed Lady Bird Lake) on Nov. 3 and 4. The rain or shine festival runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with performances under four covered stages. Among the artists scheduled to perform are Irish music legend Joe Burke, trad. Irish music supergroup Patrick Street (featuring Kevin Burke, Andy Irvine, John Carty and Ged Foley), Irish rock ‘n’ reelers Seven Nations, Jim Malcolm (former lead singer of Scotland’s Old Blind Dogs), and Gregory Grene (leader of New York-based jig-rockers The Prodigals) with Darren Maloney, Ed Kollar and Andrew Harkins. Regional performers include such touring notables as David Llewellyn and Ed Miller. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

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Fiddler’s Green Festival Performances Stream Online on BBC Radio Ulster’s ‘Folk Club’ with Colum Sands

For eight days and seven nights in late July, Rostrevor, a scenic village in the foothills of the Mourne Mountains overlooking Carlingford Lough on Northern Ireland’s County Down Coast, was home to the 21st Annual Fiddler’s Green International Festival... Upcoming editions of “Folk Club,” a weekly program on BBC Radio Ulster hosted by Colum Sands, will feature recorded performances from the festival. These include singer Cara Dillon and her band (August 11), former DeDanann fiddler Frankie Gavin and Hibernian Rhapsody (August 18), and Belfast-born singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy (August 25). Streaming on the Web at www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/radioulster/folk_club, each of the shows will be archived for seven days following the initial broadcast and can be accessed using the BBC Radio Player. Also archived is a performance by The Sands Family, featuring Colum’s brother Tommy, from last year’s festival. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

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Tommy Makem, 1932-2007

Tommy Makem, a singer-songwriter and storyteller who played a major role in popularizing Irish folk music in America, as well as in his native Ireland, died of lung cancer Wednesday at his Dover, New Hampshire home. Widely regarded as the godfather of Irish music, Makem, 74, regaled audiences with traditional Irish songs and stories for more than half a century, as well as his own ballads like “Four Green Fields” and “Gentle Annie,” sung in his rich baritone, while accompanying himself on the banjo and tin whistle. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

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Irish Festivals Abound Across the U.S. This Summer

The sounds of Celtic harps, fiddles, Irish balladeers, pipe bands, step dancers and Celtic rockers abound during the summer festival season. And you won’t have to shell out much green to attend most of the festivals, featuring traditional and contemporary music from and inspired by the Emerald Isle, that are mentioned here. The Colorado Irish Festival, Cleveland’s Irish Cultural Festival, the Adams County Irish Festival in Gettysburg (PA), and Utica, NY’s Great American Irish Festival are slated in July. Milwaukee’s nationally acclaimed Irish Fest takes place in August, as do two festivals in upstate New York, while the fifth annual Kansas City Irish Festival is set for Labor Day Weekend. [For short descriptions of -- and performer listings for -- each of these festivals, along with websites to visit for further information, click on the headline].

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Celtic Music Festivals Springing Up

Two Irish and Celtic festivals are slated to take place over the Memorial Day Weekend, while several others are happening in June. These include Chicago Gaelic Park's Irish Fest 2007 in Oak Forest, IL (May 25-28), Poconos Celtic Music Festival in Blakeslee, PA (May 26-27), Riverfront Irish Festival in Cuyahoga Park, Ohio (June 8-10), Irish Fest Louisville in Louisville, KY (June 9-10), Potomac Celtic Festival in Leesburg, VA (June 9), and Fairfield County Irish Festival in Trumbull, CT (June 15-17). [To see the entire article, click on the title in red].

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