Entertainment
We are pleased to announce our acts that will perform at this year's 2010 Celtic Classic Festival. The line-up includes the following:
Blackwater
www.blackwatermusic.com
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Formed in 1996, Blackwater takes audiences on a musical journey through all Celtic lands and styles. The band is equally at home with an achingly beautiful aire, a light and comical ballad or a blistering reel. The performers who comprise this five piece band are no strangers to the Celtic music scene, particularly in the Lehigh Valley. Dynamic Vocal harmonies, fiddle, Irish flute and whistle, button accordion, guitars, mandolin, bouzouki, piano, and bodhran lend the group its unmistakably traditional sound. Original compositions and innovative arrangements freshen the mix for a show that has been described as “sheer ceili aerobics!” Blackwater is: Sean Hennesssy, Allison Gillespie, Fionna Hennessy, Tom Gillespie, and Al Keller.
Brian McNeill
www.brianmcneill.co.uk/
This year Brian McNelil celebrates the 40th year of a career that has established him as one of the most acclaimed forces in Scottish music. Brian has been described as ‘Scotland’s most meaningful contemporary songwriter’ (The Scotsman); add to that his work and influence as performer, composer, producer, teacher, musical director, band leader, novelist and interpreter of Scotland’s past, present and future and you have a man who has never stood still. He has performed around the globe, both as a soloist and with some of the era’s most influential bands, including Battlefield Band, which he founded in 1969, and Clan Alba. Brian plays fiddle, octave fiddle, guitar, mandocello, bouzouki,viola, mandolin, cittern, concertina, bass and hurdy gurdy. The importance of his songwriting, mostly about Scotland's past and future, has long been recognised. Songs including The Yew Tree, The Lads O' The Fair, The Snows of France and Holland, Strong Women Rule Us All With Their Tears, Any Mick'll Do and No Gods and Precious Few Heroes have established him as one of Scotland's leading songwriters.
Burning Bridget Cleary
www.burningbridgetcleary.com
“Listening to their lively Celtic reels and jigs had my foot and heart tapping. Their on-stage energy is infectious and their mastery of the fiddle borders on brilliant…”
-Larry Roeder -The Hearthstone Town and Country
Burning Bridget Cleary took form in 2006, when Genevieve Gillespie, 15, joined forces with the father-daughter duo, Lou and Rose Baldino, 16. Rose and Genna met at the Granny McCarthy’s Irish music sessions in Bethlehem, PA, and their combination sparked a blaze of Celtic sound that is perceived way beyond the sum of its parts! The girls front the band with their fiery fiddles, bringing a lively flair of youthful intensity and exuberance to traditional tunes. Lou‘s guitar bestows a dynamic rhythm and bass end, tastefully embellished with distinctive chording. Weaving in a few vocal numbers and building the energy with some spirited step-dancing, Burning Bridget Cleary wowed audiences at the Scottish-Irish Festival in Green Lane, and at the 2006 Celtic Classic. Their new CD, Everything is Alright , received Album of the Year from Celtic Radio!
Enter The Haggis
http://www.enterthehaggis.com/home.cfm
There aren’t many groups in North America who could lay claim to possibly 18 different genres of music, but Toronto’s Enter The Haggis is one of them. To engage this quintet is to indulge rock, fusion, bluegrass, traditional Celtic fare, agitpop, folk, even Latin flavors. Sounds awfully confused, right? Wrong. ETH is one of those rare jewels that actually pulls it all off as if to own everything.
Back in the mid-nineties, the band was but a glimmer in the eye of piper Craig Downie. Busking on the streets of Toronto, Craig was listening to a few things that had hinted at the fusion of rock and Celtic music. He saw the future. By the end of the decade, the formative Enter The Haggis lineup was in full effect and by the release of Enter The Haggis Live! in 2002, the band would become quite a larger animal, amassing fans from coast to coast.
The Celtic influence remains palpably intact, which is likely the reason why core fans have stayed so loyal over the past decade. Still, Enter The Haggis continues to break new ground with every offering. ETH’s live show is a musical feast- viscerally dynamic, emotionally uplifting and intellectually stimulating. The band’s oeuvre darts effortlessly from the trad strains of, say, The Chieftains and the Pogues to the frenetic pop of early Elvis Costello and even to the Latin-tinged spirit of the Buena Vista Social Club and beyond, complete with Lewington’s deftly guitar playing, the reeling of Brian Buchanan’s flawless fiddle, the diverse rhythmic machinations of bassist Mark Abraham and drummer James Campbell, and Downie’s transporting pipes, not to mention the near-perfect vocal harmonies.
Bua
http://www.buamusic.com/
A quintet comprised of some of America’s most talented, young musicians, Bua have been described by Irish Music Magazine as “the essence of a superb band,” their sound “a throwback to the playing of the 1960s and 1970s, keeping the music down the path of tradition” and their 2006 release, Live at Martyrs’, “a work without gimmicks, where the musicianship is of the highest quality.” It is no surprise then that Bua, lending to its Irish Gaelic meaning of ‘innate gift,’ have quickly risen to the status of America’s premier traditional Irish music ensemble.
As a band, Bua have performed at numerous festivals including Boston’s prestigious Irish Connections Festival, The Milwaukee Irish Festival, Cleveland’s Irish Cultural Festival, Celtic Fest Chicago and The Saline Celtic Festival. As individuals they’ve shared the stage with a host of top Irish musicians including Martin Hayes, David Munnelly, Liz Carroll, Larry Nugent, Paddy Keenan, Aoife Clancy, Pat Broaders, Dennis Cahill, John Williams and more!
Barleyjuice
www.barleyjuice.com/
Barleyjuice was born out of Rock and Roll, reared on British Invasion, Country Western and Progressive Rock, and landed somewhere in the North Channel with a penchant for all things Celtic. Kyf Brewer, Keith "Swanny" Swanson, Billy Dominick, Jimmy "Carbomb" Parkinson, Eric Worthington, and Gregor Schroeder welcome you to their playground of musical misbehavior. Kilts may be the preferred dress, but bagpipes, fiddle, accordion, mandolin, bouzouki, whistle, piano, harmonica, bass and drums cover them nicely even when they turn up naked.
Glengarry Bhoys
http://www.glengarrybhoys.com/
A passion inspired by their respective musical backgrounds; skills honed in the Glengarry melting pot music scene; an against-the-trend-pig-minded-approach to playing their self-penned songs in the battle-scarred pubs of Eastern Ontario, were the necessary ingredients that spawned what is now an internationally acclaimed alternative-roots band: the Glengarry Bhoys.
Described as bold, unorthodox, vibrant, and evocative, the Glengarry Bhoys hybrid of Canadian Highland Scots an French Canadian musical idioms has evolved into a sound that is weighty, authoritative, and extremely entertaining. A Glengarry Bhoys show is both a musical and visual experience. Blending old and new their music is stirring and unerringly nuanced – always within earshot of the melodic Scottish tradition!
The Jameson Sisters
www.jamesonsisters.com
Terry Kane and Ellen Tepper began their collaboration in January of 2009 as “Jameson Sisters” and have been delighting audiences since with their energetic music. They have a vast repertoire that includes all styles of Irish music from the most traditional Irish solo music composed in Gaelic to music of other Celtic lands and Irish-American songs, which they have performed from Cape May and Philadelphia to New York. With Terry’s lilting voice and Ellen’s sweet melodic strains and lush accompaniment, one forgets that the performance was also technically stellar.
John Doyle & Karan Casey
Special Concert Series Thursday and Friday at 8 pm at Foy Hall Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA 18018
Irish vocalist Karan Casey and guitar virtuoso John Doyle were founding members of traditional supergroup Solas, a band known for rousing, furious tunes and striking renditions of traditional songs. In Exile's Return, the two former bandmates reunite to create a stripped-down CD that showcases the power of those songs. Since Solas, each has carved out a unique and acclaimed place in contemporary Irish and folk music.
Karan Casey has recorded five solo albums, has won Best Irish Female Vocalist twice, Best Irish Folk album and a GRAMMY for her collaboration with Paul Winter. She has been nominated for the BBC Folk Awards and has performed with Peggy Seeger, Liam Clancy, James Taylor, and Tim O'Brien. On her 2008 CD Ships in the Forest, Casey's evocative, haunting, and often imitated voice was accompanied by piano and cello. USA Today has called her work "shiver-enduringly excellent”.
John Doyle's rhythmic guitar chops and effortless harmonies make him much in demand as a musical partner. He currently tours with Joan Baez as her musical director, and with virtuoso fiddler Liz Carroll. Doyle and Carroll played for President Obama in March 2009, and their CD Double Play received a 2010 GRAMMY nomination. Doyle also received a nomination for the 2009 "Tommy Makem Award" by the Irish Music Association. He's played with Kate Rusby, Alison Brown, Mick Moloney and Linda Thompson, among others, and worked as a producer for Billy McComiskey. Irish Edition calls him a "dream guitarist." Tickets available online Now!
Makem & Spain Brothers
www.makem.com
Every generation has a few acts that define where a musical genre is going, performers so confident in their chosen field that they are able to completely embrace the genre and yet introduce something new to it. In Irish folk music today, that act is the Makem and Spain Brothers.
Not in the past 30 years has a group taken the international stage with such vocal power and stage presence, capturing the essence of their genre, while standing out as something truly unique. A host of various instruments and five male vocals, using precise three-part harmonies blend perfectly for what many have described as a wall of sound. The Makem and Spain Brothers are at their best onstage where their talent and enthusiasm draw in fans who have never experienced the joy of folk music.
McPeake
www.mcpeakemusic.com/
‘McPeake’ began life as nothing more than a group of musicians who came together for special gigs and occasions. Francis McPeake first brought the band together for a stage show that he co-wrote based on the Titanic in 2003. Since then they have worked with many prominent Irish artists, including Brian Kennedy, Finbar Furey, Kieran Goss, Juliet Turner, Ralph McTell etc.
O’Grady-Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance
www.ogradyquinlan.com
The O’Grady-Quinlan Academy, founded in January 2005, represents an exciting merger between the Lehigh Valley’s two established and successful Irish dance schools: The Maureen O’Grady School of Irish Dance and the Quinlan Academy of Irish Dance. The former opened its doors in 1992 and the latter in 2000, infusing the new venture with almost two decades of combined teaching and business experience in the profession.
TCRGs Maureen O’Grady and Colleen Schroeder share a common vision –to help young people reach their full potential as Irish step dancers, through a teaching environment that strives for competitive excellence while affirming the importance of positive life values and fun in the process. Opportunities for performance and community involvement are considered valuable tools in the overall development of the child as a dancer and as a young adult.
The Red Hot Chilli Pipers
http://www.redhotchillipipers.co.uk/
Our Closing Act! Winners of the Prime Time BBC One show 'When Will I Be Famous' with a blistering set Rock Bagpipes that astounded the viewers and critics! Featuring the classic Red Hot Chilli Pipers sound - a fusion of traditional pipe tunes and contemporary anthems - 'Bagrock' includes the likes of 'Clocks' by Coldplay, Queen's 'We Will Rock You' and a rock medley of Deep Purple's 'Smoke On The Water' and AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck'. 'Flower of Scotland' and 'The Hills of Argyll' get a look in too, Chilli style of course!
Responsible for the phenomenon of bag rock are the Chilli's founding member and musical director Stuart Cassells, who as well as rocking all over the world in recent years, was the recipient of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2005 and the first person to gain a degree in bagpipes from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Robert Watt/Lee Lawson/Mark Wilson
Robert, from Maghera in Northern Ireland, began to play his first instrument, the great highland bagpipe at the age of seven in his local pipe band, Tamlaght O'Crilly. He was involved in competing and public performance from the beginning as the band progressed through the competition grades winning most of the prizes available on the way including several Ulster and All-Ireland titles and the World Championships. In 1998 he joined the world famous Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band and spent three years there performing and competing at the highest level at the top of grade one. It was around this time that Robert took a keen interest in solo performing and competition and he is now regarded as one of the world's leading solo pipers.
Seamus Kennedy
www.mcnote.com/seamus
"Seamus Kennedy's music is a gleefully mixed bag of styles and traditions....An enjoyably eclectic and often surprising collection."
~ Richard Middleton, Sing Out!
Seamus Kennedy, originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been entertaining audiences all over the United States for the past 32 years. With a ready wit and a vast store of songs, he travels from Alaska to Florida, Maryland to California, performing for audiences that range from Popes and presidents to bartenders and bricklayers, from college students to kindergartners.
Timlin & Kane
When Pennsylvania folks think of traditional music, perhaps the first name that comes to mind is Irish folksinger, musician, and entertainer, Gerry Timlin.
A great favorite in the USA and Canada, the Pennsylvania based singer has enjoyed success all over the world. Gerry was born in Ireland where he developed an early interest in traditional Irish music and, from a young age, he displayed a natural musical talent. Over the years, Gerry's love of music expanded to include Scottish, American, Canadian, and Australian folk music as well. He moved to the USA in the early seventies, where he has been delighting audiences with his rich baritone vocals, instrumental talent, and his irreverent humor ever since. He has been playing his special brand of folk music before adoring audiences for more than four decades in Ireland and the British Isles, the United States and Canada.
It was during an American tour in 1972 that Gerry decided to stay in the USA to pursue a career as a folk singer. Now, in 2010, as both a soloist and the lead vocalist of Timlin & Kane, Gerry is as well known for his mastery of Canadian, American and Australian folk music as he is for the music of his birthplace of Ireland.
The Outside Track
www.theoutsidetrack.com/
A stunning synthesis of virtuosity and energy, The Outside Track's marriage of Canadian, Scottish and Irish music and song has been rapturously received around the world. Hailing from Scotland, Ireland, Cape Breton and Vancouver, its five members are united by a love of traditional music and a commitment to creating new music on its foundation. Using fiddle, accordion, harp, guitar, flute, step-dance and vocals these five virtuosos blend boundless energy with unmistakable joie de vivre
Massed Bands
All the glorious color, sound, and spectacle of the pipe bands combined. Powerful waves of music spreading out from Highland Field. It's one of the highlights of the festival—the Massed Pipe Bands! Every band competing at the games playing together, under the leadership of all the drum majors. It's a sight not to be missed, and we do it for you four times at Celtic Classic. Here's where you'll hear all your favorite tunes—Scotland the Brave, Amazing Grace, and more—as only the massed bands of Celtic Classic can do them!
Celtic Crossroads
A new exciting venue awaits you at this year's Celtic Classic...Celtic Crossroads. Celtic Crossroads is sponsored by the Eastern Pennsylivania Arts Alliance (EPaAA) and brings family fun entertainment to this year's festival. Through the use of theatre, dance, painting and film festival goers will experience the celtic world in a whole new way.
Celtic Crossroads is located inside and outside of Moravian College's Foy Hall. Its open Saturday Sept 25th and Sunday Sept 26th starting at noon. Come out and enjoy works from Southside Film Institute, PA Youth Theatre, PA Playhouse, Associated Mess Troupe, Selkie Theatre and even capture your image in an oil painting portrait.
We look forward to meeting you at The Crossroads.
Jasango Theatre
Jasango Theatre wowed audiences last year with the Irish Premiere of BOMBSHELLS, a wild and passionate comedy by Joanna Murray-Smith, featuring Angela Ryan and Jasmin Finn and directed in Ireland by George B. Miller. Following a successful run at Galway’s Bank Of Ireland Theatre “Bombshells” went on to be one of the highlights of the Theatre Stage Mindfield programme at Electric Picnic 2009.
Such was the enthusiastic response to this sharp script, that it seemed only fitting to undertake a national Irish tour, which has been quite the success. Selkie Theatre is proud to bring Jasango Theatre and “Bombshells” to the US.
“A rare combination of comedy, truth and rapture”-- The Times
“Jaw-droppingly good” -- Sunday Times
“Beautifully judged in their mixture of comedy and depression” -- The Guardian
The performances are free and open to the public. Come out and join in the family fun. Celtic Crossroads is located inside and outside of Moravian College's Foy Hall.
The first Celtic immigrants came to the Lehigh Valley around 1720. Today Scottish, Irish, Welsh and Cornish heritage is represented in nearly 30% of the Lehigh Valley population. The Celtic Cultural Alliance strongly believes in our mission to preserve and promote Celtic culture through education, musical presentations, and traditional competitions.
Kids Craft Tent
Dedicated to our "wee" visitors and their "not so wee" family members. The individual crafts celebrate culture of the Celtic nations. Crafts will be:
- Sheep Magnets
- St. Bridget’s Crosses
- Friendship Bracelets
- Aluminum etchings
- Stained Glass pictures
- Celtic Themed Coloring book.
While the little ones make their crafts, they will learn the stories of the immigrants, who were of Scottish and Irish descent.
Their hand made treasures can be taken home to enjoy.
The Celtic Series
Building enrichment for the entire community, The Celtic Cultural Alliance will unveil a six month program of events to learn more about Celtic culture., Lectures, demonstrations, concerts, film screenings and special events will be offered for everyone to explore Celtic heritage from a variety of delights. Monthly activities under consideration:
- October - Samhuin
- November - Cooking Demonstration with Chef Kelly Thos. Shay, chef and manager of McCarthy's Tea Room.
- December - Music of the Solstice
- January - Book Discussion, "The Paperboy" by Tony Macaulay
- Feburary - Ceili Dancing
- March - St. Patrick's Day Dinner and a Concert.
Activities may be added as partnerships with other local arts and cultural organizations develop.
Entertainers looking to be considered for the 2011 festival need to send press kits w/ music sample to: (must be received by 04/02):
CCA
Entertainment Committee
532 Main St.
Bethlehem, PA 18018