Last Friday, the Philadelphia Ceili Group brought multi-instrumentalist and award-winning folk singer Jarlath Henderson to a very appreciative Delaware Valley audience (with some driving from as far away as Reading in rush hour traffic to attend). And with a crowd of nearly 50 people in attendance at the Fireside Room of the Commodore John Barry Arts & Cultural Center (AKA The Irish Center) in Mount Airy, the evening was one of brilliant tunes and songs, with Jarlath stunning on pipes (both uilleann and vocal) and accompanied by the talented Glasgow-born Innes Watson on guitar (one audience member was overheard exclaiming “He makes that guitar talk!”). To check out where you can see them perform as they continue their U.S. tour, and to order their CDs, check out Jarlath’s website.
This is just the kick-off to a number of upcoming concerts the Ceili Group is sponsoring, several as a co-production with the Irish Center. First up is next Thursday, May 16, when they bring Beoga to town. In case you haven’t heard, the self-described “new-wave trad” super-group recently shot into the stratosphere when they performed on two Ed Sheeran songs: “Galway Girl” and “Nancy Mulligan.”
Then, on Sunday, June 9, they will be presenting David Curley in concert. Dave is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, mandolin, banjo and bodhran, sings and does some Irish dancing as well. He is part of the band RUNA, as well as being a member of SLIDE.
And, looking ahead to future Ceili Group concerts, the Winnie Horan Trio is already booked for Friday, October 25. But don’t forget to mark the weekend of September 12 to the 14th on your calendar for the 45th Annual Festival (and by weekend we mean Thursday, September 12 is Singer’s Night; Friday, September 13 is an evening of music and Saturday, September 14 is a daylong extravaganza of music, workshops and a celebration of all things culturally Irish). For all of the events sponsored by the Ceili Group, including Thursday Singers Sessions, Friday Traditional Music Session and the 4th Friday Ceili Dance, check out their website here.
And for those of you who missed out on Jarlath and Innes, we have a few videos for you. But you want to be sure and catch the other upcoming events in person, because they are not to be missed!
