Kevin Conneff

The Chieftains, one of the most revered of all Irish traditional music groups, will be in town for a concert at the Kimmel Center on Friday, March 9.

It seemed like a good excuse to resurrect two interviews with members of the band.

We chatted with band leader and uilleann piper Paddy Moloney just before the band's 2008 Kimmel show. (The Chieftains Go Caledonian.) That year, the band was highlighting the music of Scotland, and Moloney talked a good deal about that. He was the first non-Scot inducted into the Scots Traditional Musi

c Hall of Fame. But Moloney also talked about how he rose to prominence as an Irish musician—and how the Chieftains became the Chieftains.

A year later, Kevin Conneff took time to share his own story. (A Chat With the Chieftains' Kevin Conneff.) Conneff, who sings and plays bodhran for the band, joined the already well-known Chieftains in 1976. He planned on playing with the band for a year or two and then returning to work in a print shop. He'll be on stage on Friday, so you can see for yourself how that plan worked out.

We also want to remind you that Friday (March 2) is the last day of our Chieftains ticket contest. We have a pair of Kimmel show tickets to give away. All you have to do is:

Subscribe to our Mickmail weekly e-newsletter. (The signup box is in the right column.)

Or

If you already are a subscriber, forward Mickmail to a friend.

We'll pick the winner Saturday, March 3.

Click on the links below to read the interviews!