The best way to be Irish this weekend is to head over to the Irish Center on Saturday night to hear a quartet of talented musicians bring to life the music of Traditional Music Hall of Famer Ed Reavy. If you’ve ever been to a session—that’s an informal gathering of musicians—you’ve probably heard a Reavy tune or two. (For more info, read Part 1 and Part 2 of our story on Reavy.) Since most of his famous pieces are hornpipes, you probably tapped your feet or drummed your table too. Maybe you even got up and danced.
Well, you can get up and dance on Saturday night too. You’ll certainly be joined by Reavy’s son, Ed Jr., who, with his wife, Mary, is as smooth as butter on the dance floor. (He’s been a dance teacher for decades, since before the resurgence of interest in Irish dancing. “I started teaching so I could find a partner,” he told us recently.)
The Reavy concert, which will feature fiddler Jim Eagan, bodhran player Myron Bretholz, banjo player Peter Fitzgerald, and guitarist Andy Thurston, is also your chance to relive a little Philadelphia history, to go back to a time when this music was played in a parlor, cleared of furniture so the dancers would have a place to twirl.
If you’re in Delaware, Green Willow is presenting an inventive program of fiddling featuring five masters of Scottish, Irish, and Appalachian styles, also on Saturday night.
