This is an easy one. There’s plenty of music to remind you that you couldn’t afford to go back to Ireland this year (there’s always next year).
Stoke that homesickness starting on Thursday, July 26, when the Irish group, Anuna (think choirs of heavenly angels, think Riverdance, think, wow, how do they hit those notes and where did they find that many good-looking people who can do that?), appears at two area Borders to perform (for free) and sign copies of their new CD, “Sensations.” They’ll be accompanied by reps from WHYY which will air an Anuna special in September. At 12:30 PM, you can catch a glimpse, take a listen, buy a CD, and get it signed at Borders at 1 Broad Street, Avenue of the Arts, in Philadelphia. At 7:30 PM, they’ll be at the Borders in the Springfield Square Shopping Center, 1001 Baltimore Pike, Springfield, PA, in Delaware County.
On Saturday, July 28, you can catch the equally lovely and talented Kane Sisters (Liz and Yvonne), fiddlers extraordinaire from Galway (originally from Letterfrack, Connemara) who will be performing at 8 PM at The Irish Center, Commodore Barry Club, 6815 Emlen Street, Philadelphia, PA 19119. The Kanes recently released their second album, “Under the Diamond,” on the heels of their first, The Well-Tempered Bow,” chosen one of the top traditional albums of 2003 by the Irish Echo newspaper. For more information, go to www.philadelphiaceiligroup.org.
If you haven’t sated your appetite for a slip jig or chantey, on Sunday you can hear the sibling group, the Barra MacNeils, at the Sellersville Theater, Main and Temple Streets, Sellersville, PA 18960, starting at 7:30 PM. Called “Canada’s Celtic ambassadors,” the Barra MacNeils grew up in Sydney Mines on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia (a hotbed of Celtic music) and have been featured on NPR and PBS. For tickets, call 215-257-5808 or go to www.st94.com
