November gets off to a fast, immediate start in Greater Boston and vicinity, Celtic music-wise.

•The Canadian American Club in Watertown will hold its annual gala fundraiser on November 1, from 1-7 p.m. The club is a vital center of activity for Greater Boston’s Cape Breton, Scottish and Irish communities, which will be well represented at the event: There’ll be performances by Cape Breton multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer and dancer Troy MacGillivray, the Boston Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, the Jackie O’Riley Irish Dancers, and others still to be announced. Also on the schedule are square sets and step dancing, arts and crafts for the young, and a raffle. 

The club’s website is canadianamericanclub.com

•Also on November 1, the Burren’s Brian O’Donovan Legacy Series hosts Scottish fiddler (and one-time Boston resident) Louise Bichan, who is celebrating All Hallow’s Eve while also releasing her third solo album, “Binnorie,” which explores Samhain traditions, folk tales, and songs of trowies, sea serpents, and selkies. A native of Orkney, Bichan has vivid childhood memories of All Hallow’s Eve and the folk tales and supernatural stories associated with it. She’ll be joined by guitarist Conor Hearn, mandolinist Ethan Setiawan, and cellist Brendan Hearn, as well as some special guests. Bichan also is inviting attendees to come in their best costumes so as “to fool the evil spirits” and bring a “frighteningly carved” neep (turnip) or pumpkin to win a prize. Children are welcome, she says, but be advised that some of the songs will include dark themes, such as murder ballads.

Dervish

•Dervish – which has just released the second volume of their 2019 release “The Great Irish Songbook” – will be in the area for a pair of shows this month: the Groton Hill Music Center (November 1) and The Burren’s Brian O'Donovan Legacy Series (November 4, two shows). Cathy Jordan (vocals, bodhran, bones), Shane Mitchell (accordion), Liam Kelly (flute, whistle), Brian McDonagh (mandola, mandolin), Michael Holmes (bouzouki), and Tom Morrow (fiddle) have built a compelling sound around the instrumental and song traditions of Sligo, Leitrim, and North Roscommon – yet they also have had no hesitation about exploring other music. The second “Great Irish Songbook” volume features the band in collaboration with, among others, Aoife O’Donovan, Moya Brennan, Iron & Wine, Glen Hansard, Sarah Jarosz, Indigo Girls and The Del McCoury Band.

Addendum about the Groton Hill show: Opening for Dervish will be local vocal harmony quartet Forsyth (Kate Knudsvig, Kat Wallace, Helen Kohar and Erin Hogan), which performs songs from Celtic and other music traditions. They’ve got an album coming out early next year, so expect a preview. For more, go to grotonhill.org/concerts/dervish

On November 15, the Brian O’Donovan Legacy Series will welcome three bona fide legends of Ireland’s singer-songwriter domain for “Voices of Ireland,” with Don Stiffe, Ger O’Donnell and Trevor Sexton. Stiffe, who lived in Boston during the 1990s, is known for compositions like “Missing Galway” and “Grosse Isle” – and particularly “You’ll Always Be My Mother,” inspired by his search for his birth mother – and interpretations of other contemporary songs. He has toured and recorded with Cherish the Ladies (his cover of Dermot Henry’s “Shadow of a Singer and His Song” appears on the band’s “Heart of the Home” album). O’Donnell and Sexton have often appeared as a duo, playing traditional and original material with compelling vocals and multi-instrumental accompaniment: Their album, “The Alchemist’s Stone,” includes their own compositions and a cover of “Bright Blue Rose” by Cork’s Jimmy MacCarthy (author of “Ride On,” “Missing You” and “No Frontiers”) along with renditions of traditional songs like “Dainty Davey,” “Black Is the Colour,” and “The Parting Glass.” Sexton counts Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and Pete Seeger among his influences, and leans on a storyteller’s style in creating his songs. A music educator, arranger, and composer, O’Donnell started out on classical flute and fife before finding his calling as a crafter of songs – his singles “Turquoise Ink” and “Talk About Heroes” both reached No. 1 in the Irish charts. Sexton and O’Donnell were featured by TG4 in its broadcast of the 2023 Fleadh Cheoil and also have appeared in concert with Cherish the Ladies.

Speaking of splendid singers, local favorite David Coffin returns on November 18 for another of his classic “Revels Chantey Sing” sessions. There will be plenty of sea chanteys and maritime songs, but the subjects of work, love and general recreation and fun are likely to be well represented, too. Sure, you can just sit and listen, but that’s like going to the beach on a broiling hot day and sitting on your towel the whole time.

 Finishing off the Legacy Series for the month will be fiddle virtuoso Frankie Gavin on November 24, who is (quite rightly) celebrating 50 years as a performer of traditional Irish music. Gavin was a co-founder of the renowned band De Dannan, which is still going strong, and he’s played and recorded with Stéphane Grappelli, Andy Irvine, Yehudi Menuhin, and even the Rolling Stones and Elvis Costello, to name a few. He's also known for his great respect for, and interest in, the Irish/Irish-American styles of James Morrison and Michael Coleman, as well as the different routes Irish traditional music has taken down through time, notably in 1920s America. Earlier this year, Gavin kicked off his golden anniversary as a performer by including a tribute for singer Dolores Keane, his one-time De Dannan bandmate who died in March.

For Burren events, see burren.com/music.html

•Club Passim in Harvard Square will present Boston-area fiddler Jenna Moynihan and guitarist/bouzoukist Owen Marshall on November 15. Moynihan’s versatile fiddling, which incorporates Scottish, Appalachian, Irish and Scandinavian styles, has served her well in numerous collaborations, including Solas co-founder Seamus Egan, Scottish harpist Màiri Chaimbeul, Scottish quintet Breabach and the Hanneke Cassel Band (she’ll be playing with them at Groton Hill Music Center November 22; see below), among others. She’s also released two solo albums and appeared on copious other recordings, including “Throughline” by Marshall, who has been quite active himself where musical partnerships are concerned — he’s a member of Boston-based trio Copley Street (appearing at Boston College’s Gaelic Roots series November 12; see below) and was part of such bands as Pine Street Flyers, The Press Gang and the Seamus Egan Project.  

Passim is taking the show on the road – to Somerville – on November 20 with The Boston Fiddle Funk Folk Festival at the Armory of the Arts, featuring Boston’s own fiddles-and-cello (with occasional piano) quintet Scottish Fish and Neil Pearlman & The Wallbreakers, another intriguing project for the versatile keyboardist. With their multifaceted and elaborate yet faithfully traditional Scottish, Cape Breton, and Irish sound, the Fish (Giulia Haible, Ava Montesi, Caroline Dressler, Maggie MacPhail and Julia Homa) have had an eventful past couple of years, which has included the release of their third full-length album “Currently,” a live appearance at TD Garden at halftime of a Boston Celtics game, a pair of European tours, and a performance at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, plus being named the Brian O’Donovan Legacy Artist for the 2026 Boston Celtic Music Fest. Maine native Pearlman has merged the piano styles of Atlantic Canadian, New England and Scottish traditions with jazz, funk and international sounds, creating a “world music” in every sense. This iteration of the Wallbreakers – which has an ever-shifting cast – includes Noah Fishman (guitar, bass, mandolin), Emma Stanley (trumpet), multi-instrumentalist Jamie Oshima and Eddie Barbash (saxophone). 

Tickets, information passim.org

•To return to the Groton Hill Music Center: As mentioned above, local fiddler Hanneke Cassel will perform on November 22, accompanied by fiddler Jenna Moynihan and guitarist Keith Murphy. Cassel brings together the elegant, sometimes flamboyant grace associated with classic Scottish fiddle – especially that from the Isle of Skye – and invests it with rhythmic briskness and bluegrass, even jazz-inspired improvisational runs, whether playing traditional tunes or the many she has composed, all with a joie de vivre spirituality. Mainly, Cassel has a lot of fun, and it’s rather difficult for her audience not to as well.  

More at grotonhill.org/concerts/the-hanneke-cassel-band

•Boston’s own Copley Street will be at the Boston College Gaelic Roots series on November 12. Joey Abarta (uilleann pipes), Nathan Gourley (fiddle) and Owen Marshall (bouzouki, guitar) all have highly impressive resumés on their own; together, they produce a sound that reflects a whole-hearted dedication to and love for Irish music and the tradition from whence it came. With a presentation that is straightforward yet full of ample creativity as well, the trio shows a willingness to experiment with repertoire and arrangements. The “Copley Street” name also has special significance, referring not only to the street in Roxbury where Abarta and Gourley formerly lived but a local record label that featured many prominent Irish musicians in Boston.

For details on Gaelic Roots events, see events.bc.edu/group/gaelic­_roots_series.

•Not so much a band as an occasional live collective with various guests/collaborators, The Olllam – mixing Celtic music and what’s described as psychedelic post-rock energy (low whistle over lush electronic keyboards with funky bass guitar) – will be at The Sinclair in Harvard Square on November 10. Trad aficionados might recognize at least two of the collective: uilleann piper and whistle player John McSherry, a founding member of Lunasa and the late Donal Lunny’s innovative Coolfin whose work has been featured on numerous TV and movie soundtracks; and Scotland’s Ross Ainslie, who plays whistle and pipes and has performed/teamed with the likes of Flook, Kate Rusby, Treacherous Orchestra, Shooglenifty and Dougie Maclean, among many others. The word “ollam” (with two of the letter “l”), incidentally, derives from the old Irish word for a master of the highest rank in a particular skill or a grand master bard of the ancient Irish kings. 

  For tickets, go to www.bandsintown.com/e/108760519

•Quebecois quintet Le Vent du Nord will be at the Somerville Theater on November 7, sponsored by Global Arts Live. Closing in on their 25th year, the band – which was the headline act at the 2024 Boston Celtic Music Fest – is a force within the progressive francophone folk movement, with a repertoire drawn from traditional sources and original compositions and infused by a broad range of global influences. Their most recent album “Voisinages” (2025) celebrates the music traditions that have enriched the Quebec repertoire – Irish, Scottish, Acadian and American.

For tickets, go to globalartslive.org  

Áine Minogue

•Tipperary native Áine Minogue, in addition to being a singularly talented harpist and singer, is attuned to the many Celtic customs, traditions and rituals throughout the year; she is well known for her annual performances commemorating the winter solstice and holiday season. On November 9 and 10, she’ll be celebrating harvest time with performances at the Peabody Institute Library. Minogue’s is a serene, meditative sound, blending elements of new age and world music with those of Irish and other Celtic traditions, evoking the spirituality and mythology found in the ancient Celtic world.

Register here peabodylibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/fall-2026-concert-series-ine-minogue/

•Boston’s branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society holds its fall concert and ceilidh, titled “The Old World Meets the New,” on November 8 at the Regent Theater in Arlington, highlighted by a concert with Alasdair White and Eric McDonald, who in addition to being one-half of the quartet Cantrip have a duo of their own. Also on the program is bagpiper Stephen Thomforde, Highland Dance Boston, and the Boston Scottish Country Dancers. Tickets and further information at www.rscdsboston.org/event-fall-concert.html.

•In the better-late-than-never category, the album release/dance party for “The High Drive” – postponed from September because of severe weather – is now on November 21 at 7:45 p.m. in the Canadian American Club of Watertown. Four mainstays of the area Scottish music scene, Susie Petrov, Catherine Miller, Elizabeth Howe and Ben Anderson, arranged and recorded 14 sets of tunes for Scottish country dancing, and it’s quite the achievement. There’ll be more to come on this, promise.