Arts and Entertainment
THE BIR’S ARTS CALENDAR OF IRISH/CELTIC EVENTS
January 2018
The BCMFest Nightcap concert, “From Spark to Flame,” will be devoted to the stories that define the lives of musicians and singers, according to festival organizers. The concert, which takes... Read more
By Sean Smith
Special to the BIR
It’s hard to say if Boston-area native Jeremy Carter-Gordon chose folk music, or if it chose him. But, ultimately, that doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that Carter-Gordon has made folk music an integral part of... Read more
By Sean Smith
Special to the BIR
It’s hard to say if Boston-area native Jeremy Carter-Gordon chose folk music, or if it chose him. But, ultimately, that doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that Carter-Gordon has made folk music an integral part of... Read more
Naturally enough, holiday-themed events – like “A Christmas Celtic Sojourn” (see story elsewhere in this issue) – are plentiful in this month’s Irish/Celtic calendar.
• At Club Passim in Harvard Square, festivities include “A Fine Winter’s Night” on Dec.... Read more
John and Maggie Carty, “Settle Out of Court” • There’s no guarantee, you know, that traditional music gets passed down to the next generation, no matter how strong the legacy in a family. Maybe the younger ones just don’t take to it – or even if they do,... Read more
It’ll be 15 years – and the start of a new era – for “A Christmas Celtic Sojourn” when the curtain for the annual holiday show goes up on Dec. 12 at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport.
“Sojourn” makes its customary stop at the Cutler Majestic... Read more
Boston Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” stands as a “must see” family-friendly holiday tradition. And in the midst of glistening snowflakes, dancing mice, and battling tin soldiers stands principal dancer Kathleen Breen Combes.
In artistic director Mikko... Read more
A look at Irish/Celtic music events this month in Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts:
• Boston-based fiddle ensemble Childsplay has announced its 2017 fall tour schedule, which includes a stop in Somerville Theater on Nov. 19, where they will play... Read more
Paul Brady, “Unfinished Business” • What kind of lens should you use in scrutinizing Paul Brady? Do you take the long-distance view, back to his early Irish folk revival days with The Johnstons and, of course, his seminal work in the 1970s with Planxty... Read more
If you foresee disaster looming in a friend’s romantic relationship, is it fair game to speak up? And if you do speak up, will your criticism ruin your own relationship with that friend?
Those are the challenges faced in “Robyn is Happy,” kicking off the... Read more
There’s nothing in the Musician’s Universal Handbook that says you have to be friends with your bandmates: creative differences, artistic temperament, hours of rehearsal, schlepping to and from gigs – all that can be pretty demanding on a relationship.... Read more
For a dozen years now, fiddlers from Greater Boston and elsewhere have gone to their own special hell – and they couldn’t be happier about it.
Massachusetts Fiddle Hell, which takes place Nov. 3-5 in Westford, is an annual gathering that brings together... Read more
Kevin Crawford, Dylan Foley and Patrick Doocey, “The Drunken Gaugers” • Two-thirds of Lúnasa (Crawford and Doocey) meet one-third of The Yanks (Foley), but of course, there’s more to it than that. All three are supremely accomplished musicians who are... Read more
Newton native Colin Kadis may look like your average, happy-go-lucky, unassuming college freshman. As his friends will tell you, however, he’s about as serious an Irish musician as there is: Someone who doesn’t just play the notes but who is a dedicated... Read more
Evan O’Brien is a man steeped in history. As creative director of the award-winning Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, he manages the creation and maintenance of all exhibits, programming, tour scripting and special events for the museum. He also... Read more
Usher’s Island, “Usher’s Island” • Sports analogies can be pernicious yet so tantalizing. So when you hear of a band with an “all-star line-up,” it’s tempting sometimes to think of a team loaded with Most Valuable Player candidates, seemingly destined... Read more
A family story can be a precious heirloom, passed among relatives and across generations. But sometimes, the story is so inspiring, so compelling, it has to be shared with the wider world.
Such is the case for Brighton resident Louise Bichan, a fiddler... Read more
Ten men, in four boats, coursing through The Grand Canyon. This is “Men On Boats,” the fearless, comic adventures of an actual 1869 expedition by ten volunteer explorers who set out to chart The Colorado River.
SpeakEasy Stage Company is presenting the... Read more
Yes, they’re called “Makem and Clancy,” but they’re not that Makem and Clancy. Not exactly, anyway. Rory Makem and Donal Clancy – the sons of, respectively, Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy – are justifiably proud of their families’ storied place in Irish... Read more
Sharon Shannon, “Sacred Earth” • There aren’t many people who can pull off making an accordion-centric album featuring a waltz from a 1905 operetta; Shetland fiddlers playing a New England-style reel; an innovative, Berklee-educated cellist; African... Read more
