Blackwater is one of the Celtic groups appearing at Musikfest
It’s all Gaelic sports all the time this weekend in Malvern, as the Continental Youth Championships continue (play started Thursday). There are 2,000 boys and girls from all over the country showing their stuff at the Greater Chester Valley Soccer Association fields, a massive undertaking hosted by Philadelphia’s Youth GAA or, as they’re known, the all-volunteer army. This would be a great time to get your kids interested in Gaelic sports. (And hey, adults play too, so maybe. . . .)
On Saturday, The John Byrne Band is playing at the 40th anniversary party of the Colonial Plantation in Newtown Square, where you can see re-enactors turn back time to the 18th century. History lovers will enjoy seeing the beautiful stone farm house and outbuildings that have been authentically restored. There will be food for sale, and the concert is in the evening (BYO lawn chair).
On Sunday, catch the Shantys at Paddy Whacks.
Carlos Nunez, the Spanish bagpiper who is an honorary member of The Chieftains, will be performing on Tuesday at World Café Live, then on Friday at Musikfest in Bethlehem.
There are fewer Celtic acts at Musikfest than in previous years, but there’s also an opportunity to catch some performers you may never have heard of, like the Red Sea Pedestrians, a fusion band (with Celtic in the mix, August 7 and 8); Emily Mure, a New York singer-songwriter who got her chops busking in Galway and will perform on August 3; and Blackwater, a modern Celtic band from the Lehigh Valley (August 9) but with links to the old country; and OCEAN Celtic, an orchestral band that does folk and original material (August 3 and 4). You can also hear Burning Bridget Cleary (August 4), the Mickey Finns (August 6), Enter the Haggis (August 9).
Most of Musikfest’s concerts are free and the atmosphere is street fair and fun. You have to pay for the headliners though. They include Ke$ha, Styx/Foreigner, George Thorogood, OneRepublic, Skillet, KC & the Sunshine Band, Darius Rucker, and Carly Rae Jepsen (“Call Me Maybe,” best candidate for earworm this year). There are loads of vendors and plenty of food and drink. Bethlehem has been doing this festival for decades so they have the traffic flow and parking thing down. It’s almost effortless.
We posted the Celtic acts on our calendar, but go to the full Musikfest website for non-Celtic performers.
