Matt Cranitch and Jacky Daly. Photo by Con Kelleher
We’re winding down St. Patrick’s Month—as it’s known in Philadelphia—but this is such an Irish region, there’s still plenty to do if you haven’t Irished yourself out.
This weekend, one of my favorite Celtic groups, RUNA, debuts its new CD, “Stretched in Your Grave” and its newest band member, Tomoko Omura, a native of Japan, a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, and a jazz violinist in New York. Omura a perfect addition to a band that is one of the more successful at creating a fusion of Irish trad and any other style their little hearts desire. The CD release party is Saturday at Philadelphia’s Irish Center, 6815 Emlen Street, in the Mt. Airy section of the city. The band recently won nine awards at the Montgomery-Bucks Music Awards. Members—Shannon Lambert-Ryan, Fionan de Barra, and Cheryl Prashker–have variously played with some of the best–Solas, Clannad, Moya Brennan, Eileen Ivers, and our own local Full Frontal Folk.
At ACT II Playhouse in Ambler, catch the The Pride of Parnall Street by Sebastian Barry, the latest entry in the Philadelphia Irish Theater Festival.
At St. Paul’s Church in Chestnut Hill, father and son musicians Mark and Tim Carroll will play Irish and Scots music in a benefit for peace activist Roy Bourgeois on Saturday night..
And a real treat—button accordian player Jackie Daly and fiddler Matt Cranitch will take you back to old Ireland at the Coatseville Cultural Society on Sunday night. Daly was born in the Sliabh Luachra region between Cork and Kerry. The area is known for its lively—some say wild—musical style filled with polkas and jigs that will wear your legs off. Expect some aching thighs after the concert. He’s joined by Cranitch, a multiple all-Ireland fiddler whose doctoral thesis at the University of Cork was about the Sliabh Luachra fiddle tradition.
Speaking of treats, one of Ireland’s other premier fiddlers, Kevin Burke, along with multi-instrumentalist Cal Scott, will be at West Chester University twice this week. On Wednesday, they’re conducting workshops as a lead-in to their Thursday concert at the Madeline Wing Adler Theatre on the West Chester campus.
If you’re a trad music fan, this is what is known as an embarrassment of riches.
We welcome April on Friday with singer-songwriter Seamus Kelleher (late of Blackthorn) at the School of Rock in Doylestown, part of its Guest Professor Program.
And next Saturday, head to the Springfield Country Club for the 10th annual Philadelphia Rose of Tralee Selection Night Gala where judges will pick the 2011 Philadelphia Rose. I was a judge last year and it’s always a lovely event.
As always, check the calendar for details on these events. And keep checking back. Procrastinators are always adding more.
