Where Irish meets Scottish … Terry Kane and Don Simon
The famed Scottish bard Robert Burns has a birthday on January 25. At least he would have had, if he hadn’t expired more than 250 years ago.
No matter. Last Sunday, the Abington Library celebrated early.
And as the centerpiece of that celebration: a great little group featuring four well-known local Celtic musicians. Two of them are best known for their performance of Irish tunes. That would be harper Ellen Tepper and singer-mandolin player Terry Kane, collectively known as the Jameson Sisters.
Joining them in the cozy downstairs auditorium were the kilted, sporran-sporting, ghillie brogues-wearing singer-guitarist Don Simon and his wife Susan on the small pipes. If you’ve never heard small pipes before, suffice to say they’re the baby brother of the bagpipes you’re used to hearing, and they’re really quite lovely.
Scottish culture, of the course, was the order of the day, featuring mildly baudy Burns anecdotes to Robbie’s original version of “Auld Lang Syne—somewhat different from the Guy Lombardo version. Don Simon faithfully recited the lines with a decided burr:
We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu’d the gowans fine,
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary foot
Sin’ auld lang syne.
And yes, we know Burns is Scottish, not Irish, but he’s a Celt, and that’s close enough.
We have photos of the performance. Check ‘em out.