Everyone had fun at the festival. Photo by Gwyneth MacArthur.
The seats were all taken for all the concerts, there was hustle and bustle in the vendor’s area, and dozens of people learned to sean nos dance, play the bodhran, and write like the Book of Kells monks at the workshops at the 39th annual Philadelphia Ceili Festival of Irish Music and Dance last weekend.
Acclaimed Sligo-style fiddler Tony DeMarco was the final concert headliner with his new group, Atlantic Wave, featuring singer Donie Carroll, All-Ireland fiddler Martin O’Connell and guitarist Sean Earnest, all of whom gave workshops on Saturday. Cherish the Ladies’s Joanie Madden along with Gabriel Donohue hosted the Friday night Rambling House featuring half a dozen local talents, including Matt Ward, Teresa Kane, Ellen Tepper, and Rosaleen McGill (who, along with Madden and Donohue, sang “The Rocks of Bawn,” with her father, Jim McGill, one of the founders of the annual traditional music festival). Popular musician, singer, and comic Gerry Timlin in his second year of hosting Singers Night, kept the packed audience laughing and tapping their feet.
We could tell you more, but we have more than 100 photos, and over 20 videos, that speak 1,000 words.
Check out Singers Night and the Rambling House.
Check out some of the workshops and kids’ activities from Saturday in this set by photographer Gwyneth MacArthur.
