The duos of Matt & Shannon Heaton and Katie McNally & Neil Pearlman – both long-time favorites of Celtic music fans in Greater Boston and elsewhere – will be among the featured acts at the 11th annual Summer BCMFest, which takes place on July 6 at Club Passim in Harvard Square. 

Also appearing at Summer BCMFest will be the Adam Hendey Band, the Clare Fraser Trio and the quartet Forsyth, all of them active contributors to the Boston area’s Celtic music scene.  

Summer BCMFest is the warm-weather version of the Boston Celtic Music Fest (BCMFest), a multi-day festival held in the winter to celebrate the richness and diversity of Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and other Celtic music and dance in the Greater Boston area. BCMFest is a program of Cambridge-based non-profit Passim, which supports a vibrant music community through Club Passim, a music school, artist grants, and outreach initiatives. 

UPDATE: Due to expected weather conditions as well as construction in the area, the afternoon concert will now take place inside Club Passim from 2-4 p.m., but will still be free admission. There also will be a free livestream link for the afternoon performance; details will be available at passim.org/summer-bcmfest. 

A closer look at the Summer BCMFest performers:

•Clare Fraser Trio—Fraser, a traditional Irish fiddler, is joined by multi-instrumentalists Elias Cardoso and Simon Lace. They are among the vanguard of young musicians that in recent years has brought fresh energy and whopping good music to the area’s Celtic scene, especially the ever-popular sessions in places like The Burren, The Druid, Emmets, The Bebop, The Sea Hag, The Brendan Behan and, more recently, McCarthy’s Tavern. In addition to her local appearances, Fraser has been part of the US and international touring stage production “A Taste of Ireland.” The trio performed at the winter BCMFest this past January. 

•Forsyth—The band of Erin Hogan, Kate Knudsvig, Helen Kuhar and Kate Wallace. which debuted at the most recent BCMFest, is a fascinating union – or, as they put it, “a democratic collective” – of wide-ranging musical talents, interests and experiences (ranging from Americana-styled songwriting to contra dance to classical to pure-drop traditional Irish) that join together to present songs from Celtic music traditions. Forsyth’s focus is on their voices, whether solo, in unison or harmony, with little or no instrumental accompaniment, putting words and melodies squarely in the spotlight; they point to groups like Ye Vagabonds and Lankum as inspiration. The four also are part of a recent surge of local interest in community singing, already a strong component in Boston’s folk and acoustic music scene. 

•Adam Hendey Band—Since first arriving in Boston almost seven years ago (his stay interrupted by a one-year residency in Los Angeles), Hendey has become a ubiquitous figure in the local Celtic territory, known in particular for his mastery of the DADGAD guitar style – he also plays whistle and bouzouki – and as a singer of songs from traditional and contemporary sources, all delivered in a warm, intimate fashion. Accompanying him will be Erin Hogan (also appearing with Forsyth) and Elias Cardoso, part of the Clare Fraser Trio.

•Katie McNally & Neil Pearlman—They’ve been playing together for well on 15 years now (if not more), whether as a duo or as part of larger ensembles, notably Fàrsan and more recently, Pine Tree Flyers, as well as a trio with violist Shauncey Ali. But the McNally-Pearlman combo on its own is something behold: Her exuberant, passionate fiddling and his dynamic piano-playing – mixing elements of jazz, Latin, and other musical forms – make for a fascinating modern outlook on Scottish and Cape Breton music while maintaining a healthy respect for those traditions. What’s more, both have done their part to directly encourage others to take up the music: McNally founded the Boston States Fiddle Camp, which will take place this October for the fourth year, while Pearlman (who also runs the Trad Café podcast) is musical director for the Boston Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, the performance group of the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club that his father Ed co-founded in the 1980s.

•Matt & Shannon Heaton—The Heatons’ relocation to Boston in 2001 has proven to be one of the more significant, and positive, milestones of the 21st century where local Celtic music is concerned. For one thing, Shannon famously co-founded BCMFest a few years after their arrival, and she and Matt have been part of numerous other high-profile area music events and projects, from the “Celtic Sojourn” stage shows to the ICONS Festival of the late 2000s. There’s a good reason for that: their personable, enthralling presentation of updated and traditional Irish music, through Shannon’s mastery of flute (she also plays whistle and accordion) on pulsating, up-tempo jigs or reels and on slower, more emotive instrumentals – traditional, contemporary or original – combined with Matt’s astute multi-faceted accompaniment on guitar and bouzouki. Oh, and they sing, too : centuries-old ballads and more recent works, including their own. The Heatons also have emphasized engagement with their community, such as through their Virtual Guided Session on YouTube and Shannon’s Irish Music Stories podcast.  

For Summer BCMFest 2025 ticket information and updates, see passim.org/summerbcmfest