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.]

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].

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].

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].