How to Be Irish in Philly

Get a little festival practice this weekend in West Windsor NJ—it’s the Mercer Irish Fest, with rides, food, vendors and music—nine different bands over the two day event. Bring the kiddies—under 12s are free.

Jamison is at the Sugarhouse Casino on Delaware Avenue in Philly on Saturday, the last night of the casino’s outdoor summer concert series. Slainte—which is Frank Daly and CJ Mills of Jamison—will be back at Sugarhouse on Thursday, September 12, for a Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade fundraiser with the Celtic Flame Adult Step Dancers.

On Monday, you can get a fab lunch with some great company at the monthly senior lunch at The Irish Center.

And on Tuesday, head back over for some free—yes, free–fiddle lessons from noted local fiddler and teacher Hollis Payer, whose classes will be starting up again on Tuesday, September 17.

Also on Tuesday, Dublin-born singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey will be performing at the World Café Live on Walnut Street in Philadelphia.

After that, get some sleep because Thursday is the first evening of the three-day Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival of Irish Music and Dance at The Irish Center. Tyrone-born musician Gerry Timlin (Timlin & Kane) will be host for the Singers Night, dedicated to the memory of longtime festival organizer Frank Malley, himself a singer.
On Friday, the McGillians and Friends will play for the annual ceili dance in the ballroom, while in the Fireside Room, musician Gabriel Donohue will host a “Rambling House,” a Clare tradition in which anyone is invited to trot out their “party piece,” whether it’s a tune, a song, or a story. Special guest: Cherish the Ladies’ Joannie Madden.

The festival continues on Saturday with free workshops for various instruments, Irish language, St. Brigid’s cross making, genealogy, and more, plus live music, dancers, Irish fairy tale telling, face painting and other kids’ activities. Saturday’s closing concert features the Philadelphia premier of fiddler Tony DeMarco’s Atlantic Wave, including DeMarco, Martin O’Connell, Donie Carroll, Sean Ernest, and Siobhan Butler, along with Nuala Kennedy with Eamon Leary. This is the real thing, folks—craic with a capital C.

Believe it or not, there’s even more going on. On Thurday, Oliver McElhone will be appearing at Jack McShea’s in Ardmore, join McDermott’s Handy at the Gloucester City Marina and Proprietors Park in Gloucetser City, NJ, for an Irish trad night along the Delaware, or check out the Broken Shillelaghs at the Dubh Linn Square Pub in Cherry Hill.

And on Saturday, September 14, it’s another festival—the 7th annual Gloucester City Shamrock Festival with Clancy’s Pistol, the Misty Dew’rs, and the Broken Shillelaghs, along with food, crafts, a beer garden and children’s activities, all along the Delaware River.

If you choose to, you can wave to them from the deck of the A J Meewald, a 120-foot sailboat leaving from Penns Landing on Saturday, with the Friends of Eric onboard playing Irish tunes.

If you think this is an overdose of Irish, just wait. Bethlehem’s Celtic Fest and the AOH Fall Irish Weekend are coming up. Word to the wise: pace yourself.

Check out all the fun from last year’s Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival here and here.

In the rest of the world, March is the time for all things Irish. Not in Philadelphia! September is our big Irish month and we’re kicking it off big time this year with the Young Dubliners and our own John Byrne Band on Thursday night at World Café Live.

And at Delaware’s version of World Café on Friday: Why, it’s The Young Dubliners with the John Byrne Band again, but this time with Black 47, and Mythica with Melissa Cox. WCL is at The Queen at 500 N. Market Street in Wilmington, DE. They’re billing it as the Delaware Irish Fest.

But before that—this Saturday, in fact–whet your appetite for Irish music at LaCosta Spa in Sea Isle, where Blackthorn is performing. Catch them Sunday at the Club at Diamond Beach in Wildwood. Also on Sunday,  Michaelangelo Café in Philly will get its Irish on with McHugh and Company, featuring Tom McHugh, Fintan Malone, and Parker O’Neil. Paddy Whacks Pub on Roosevelt Blvd. also has Irish music in the afternoon.

Then, on Saturday, September 7, head over to West Windsor, NJ, for the first of many annual Irish festivals this month. Galway Guild, the Broken Shillelaghs, Birmingham Six, The Shantys, Gaelic Mishap, Ballycastle, Celtic Martins, Bantry Boys and Nog Bhoys will be performing at the two-day event, now in its third year.

After that, we have the Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival (September 12-14), featuring local talent (like Gerry Timlin, Gabriel Donohue, Marian Makins, Terry Kane, Ellen Tepper, Matt Ward. . .we could go on) along with one of the best fiddlers ever (IMHO), Ton DeMarco, tin whistle/flute (and Irish comedy) champ Joannie Madden of Cherish the Ladies, along with Nuala Kennedy, remarkable Irish singer and flute player; singer Donie Carroll and more.

Later in the month: the AOH Irish Fall Weekend in North Wildwood (September 19-22) and Celtic Fest 2013 in Bethlehem (September 27-29). Check our calendar for all the talent appearing at both those events.

A fairly quiet week in Irish Philadelphia—we think most people are at the shore. And if you are and happen to be anywhere near Sea Isle or North Wildwood, you can catch Jamison Celtic Rock and parts thereof at several locations this weekend.

They’ll be at Keenan’s in North Wildwood on Saturday night starting at 5 PM (they’ll be back there again the following Saturday), then Frank Daly and CJ Mills, who appear as Slainte, will be at The Anglesea in Wildwood starting at 10 PM.

Jamison will be at Shenanigans in Sea Isle on Sunday night. Then you can see Frank Daly solo next Thursday at Con Murphy’s, the Irish pub on the Parkway.

On Wednesday, Irish Thunder Pipes and Drums will be performing at Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge National Park, right after the 7:30 PM carillon concert. BYO chairs and get there early for a good spot.

Local Irish musician Theresa Murtagh and her husband, Paul, are holding a benefit at their home in Media on Thursday for Cityteam, a Christian nonprofit that serves the poor and homeless in Chester, PA, and other locations on the West Coast. You can find out more about it here.

Next week, look for Barleyjuice at the World Café Live (August 17) and concertina player Edel Fox with fiddler Neill Byrne at the Coatesville Cultural Society (August 18).

On Monday, August 19, tune into www.rte.ie to see 31 Roses from around the world, including Philadelphia Rose of Tralee Brittany Killion, compete to become the International Rose.

There’s more information on these events on our calendar, which is not going with me to Ireland next week. It will be here, as will How to Be Irish in Philly, but under temporary new management. See you in a couple!

Some real treats this week, including a house concert with one of the Hothouse Flowers and a visit from musician-storyteller Sean Tyrell, plus some Celtic-flavored acts at Bethlehem’s Musikfest. The Gaelic sports season is also winding down and there are games all Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Dougherty field.

Here’s how we jig:

Saturday
At Musikfest: Emily Mure, a New York-born singer-songwriter who studied traditional Irish music at the University of Limerick and earned her chops busking on the streets of Galway after graduation.

At Musikfest: OCEAN, a multi-piece orchestra that plays Celtic and original tunes.

Down the shore: Jamison Celtic Rock at Casey’s in North Wildwood. We hear it’s fiddler C J Mills’ birthday—wish him a good one for us.

Sunday
Lazy Lanigan’s Publick House in Sewell, NJ, is hosting a fundraiser to help send two young remarkable local musicians, Emily Safko and Haley Richardson, to the Fleadh Cheoil in Derry this month. Festivites start at 1 PM.

At Musikfest: The Irish Stars Parker School of Irish Dance will be performing, and OCEAN will make a return visit.

At Musikfest: Burning Bridget Cleary, a popular local band, will be on stage at 3 PM.

The Theresa Flanagan Irish Band will be working the dancers into a frenzy at JD McGillicuddy’s in Kirklyn, starting at 4 PM.

The Tartan Terrors will offer their blend of music, dance and comedy at the Sellersville Theater at 7:30 PM.

Down the shore: Jamison will be at Shenanigan’s in Sea Isle City. CJ Mills will be one year and one day older.

Tuesday
At Musikfest: The Mickey Finns, a Celtic rock band with roots in trad and jig punk, will be on stage at 7 PM

Irish screenwriter and director Alan Brown will be bringing his award-winning film, The Minnitts of Anabeg, to The Irish Center on Tuesday night. The movie looks at the life of an English justice of the peace during the Irish potato famine. The film won the Best screenwriting Award at the Irish International Film Festival (2012). Brown will be on hand for a Q&A after the showing. Tea, coffee, and scones will be served. Admission is $10.

Wednesday
There are still a few tickets left for Liam O Maonlai, the All-Ireland bodhran winner and co-founder of the group, the Hothouse Flowers, who will be doing a house concert in center city. O’Maonlai is a fluent Irish speaker who also sings in Irish, so if you need some practice, here’s a way to get it. Email barnstarconcerts@gmail.com.

At Musikfest: Red Sea Pedestrians, a fusion band that includes Celtic goes on at 5 PM.

Thursday
The legendary Sean Tyrell, singer and storyteller, will be doing both at St. Stephen’s Green in Philadelphia on Thursday night. He’s mesmerizing. Sean goes on at 8 PM.

At Musikfest: Red Sea Pedestrians redux at 3:30 PM.

Friday
Major goings on:
Cherish the Ladies will be at the Sellersville Theatre. If you haven’t seen Joanie Madden and her gang before, you’re in for a treat. It’s a high-energy show with beaucoup talent on stage.

At Musikfest: Blackwater, a group from the Lehigh Valley that combines strong instrumentals with equally strong vocals, will be on stage at 7:30 PM.

At Musikfest: Enter the Haggis will be on stage starting at 9:30 PM

Jamison is going down the shore this weekend, but on Friday, they’ll be at Curran’s in Tacony.

Check the calendar for all the details.

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.

Big Irish weekend in Horsham. It’s the annual Graeme Park Celtic Weekend featuring the Glengarry Bhoys, Seamus Kennedy, Blackwater and a host of other musical acts. Plus there’s border collies! Yay border collies! They’re supposed to be the smartest dogs in the entire canine world. Count on them to stay in the shade. It’s gonna be a hot one.

You can catch the Glengarry Bhoys again on Sunday at the Sellersville Theatre where they’re pairing with Barleyjuice to raise money for the Celtic Cultural Alliance, the nonprofit that runs Celtic Fest in Bethlehem every year.

A couple of thousand kids from all over the country who play Gaelic sports will descend on the area this week for the Continental Youth Championships, being held at the Greater Chester Valley Soccer Association fields in Malvern. This is the largest tournament of Gaelic sports outside of Ireland.

On Wednesday afternoon, before the games begin, the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, along with the Irish Consulate General, the Gaelic Athletic Association, Irish Network Philadelphia, and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick is sponsoring a business and networking forum at the Chester County Historical Society in West Chester. The topic: The business of sport. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi will moderate a panel consisting of Liam O’Neill, president of the Gaelic Athletic Association; John Nash, general manager of the National Basketball Association, and Michael Hickey, former GAA player and senior vice president of Delta Point, Inc. of Malvern. The event is free, but reservations are required. Contact alanna@iabcn.org.

Do you play the bodhran? If you have to ask what that is, you don’t. But if you do play or would like to, bodhran maker and player Albert Alfonso will be at the Water Gallery in Lansdale on Wednesday night where he’ll give complimentary mini lessons and will have an assortment of tippers and drums for sale.

If you’re used to seeing John O’Callaghan with his group, Jamison Celtic Rock, you can catch him alone—when gigging, it’s known as solo—at AOH Div. 61 Clubhouse at Rhawn and Frankford in Philadelphia from 7-10 PM on Wednesday.

Derry Brigade will be playing on Thursday event at the North Penn VFW on Jenkintown Road in Glenside.

And on Friday, a real treat: Danny Quinn, Gabriel Donohue, and Gerry TImlin will be playing at Catherine Rooney’s in Wilmington. That’s a lot of Irish talent on one stage.

Next Saturday, there’s an Irish Music Weekend Camp scheduled in West Chester. It’s the second year in a row for the camp, open to all players. Alex Boatright, an All Ireland Harp Champion who has medaled in the North American Fleadhanna in concertina and fiddle, and her husband, Duncan, a percussionist and award-winning composer and steel pan player, will be the instructors. The weekend will end with a session at Molly Maguire’s in Phoenixville. For more information, email kballweir@gmail.com.

There are only a few spots left for an August 7 house concert featuring Liam O’Maonlai of the Hothouse Flowers in Philadelphia that was posted on our Facebook page this week. Email barnstarconcerts@gmail.com. And check out our Facebook page, which is the latest incarnation of Ballyphilly, our late lamented Irish Philly social network site. There’s a lot going on there.

Also, if you sign up for our weekly e-letter, Mickmail, by July 26, you’re entered into a contest to win tickets to see Carlos Nunez, the bagpiper who plays with The Chieftains, at World Café Live in Philadelphia on July 30. You’ll also get a free copy of our homemade CD, Ceili Drive, which features the musicians of Irish Philadelphia, as well as a t-shirt and pint glass. You can sign up right here. And fear not!
Your address is safe with us. We don’t sell or share and Mickmail comes only once a week so we won’t be clogging up your inbox.