Arts and Entertainment
Modern Irish cinema will tackle weighty social conundrums while also prompting a few more belly laughs than usual at this month’s Irish Film Festival in Somerville, the annual movie-lovers’ celebration of a changing Ireland.
The four-day event, the 17th... Read more
“A Little Bit of Ireland,” Reagle Music Theatre’s annual musical celebration of all things Irish, returns to the Robinson Theatre in Waltham for three performances only on March 11 and 12.
Conceived and directed by Reagle’s Producing Artistic Director Bob... Read more
Liz Carroll and Nic Gareiss fiddle and dance at “A Christmas Celtic Sojourn” performance at the Cutler Majestic Theatre on Dec. 9, 2009. Courtesy WGBHMake no mistake, fiddler Liz Carroll is proud to have grown up in Chicago, and has always enjoyed playing... Read more
Perhaps the best metaphor to evoke the Irish set dance is to think of that odd piece of furniture – you know, historically and aesthetically valuable, but tricky to set up, doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the décor, and so it sits off by itself... Read more
Having marked their 20th anniversary this past year in grand style – with the release of the crowd-funded album “All These Years,” which included appearances from all its former members – the groundbreaking Irish-American band Solas is about to head back... Read more
Marie Mullen talks about ‘Mag,’ the manipulative mother
Druid Theatre Company — founded in Galway in 1975 by Garry Hynes, Marie Mullen, and the late Mick Lally — stands not only as one of the world’s most respected arts organizations, but also at the... Read more
Rob McClure and the company of the new musical “Something Rotten.” Joan Marcus photo
It’s always a treat to see a new musical comedy. Revivals are great in celebrating successful shows from the past, but an original musical with a new story, music, and... Read more
Rachel Reeds (pictured) will lead a Cape Breton “house party” as part of the BCMFest 2017 Nightcap concert, while Shannon Heaton presents a live multimedia performance of her “Irish Music Stories” project.When a festival has gone on for almost 15 years,... Read more
Anyone who has listened to Irish/Celtic music the last two decades has almost certainly – sometime, somewhere – heard Dublin native John Doyle. Perhaps it was with Solas, the trailblazing Irish American, Grammy-nominated band he co-founded; or one of his... Read more
Chloe Agnew and Eamonn McCrystal in performance. Photo courtesy Hedge Hog Entertainment
Dublin born-and-raised Chloe Agnew was the youngest member of Celtic Women when she joined the group at age 14. Now, 24, she is poised to blaze her own path to... Read more
Understand, it’s not as if Aodán Coyne and brothers Shane and Fiachra Hayes – known collectively as “Socks in the Frying Pan” – had some grand scheme to become one of the most in-demand Irish bands to make the trek to America.
For a good while, they were... Read more
Seamus EganWhen you’re the music director for “A Christmas Celtic Sojourn,” says Seamus Egan, Christmas comes early. “Actually,” he quips, “Christmas tends to last all year.”
Egan is finishing up his first decade overseeing the musical end of things for... Read more
The Boston Pops annual holiday concerts rank among the city’s most enduring Christmas traditions. They began in 1971 under the baton of venerable Arthur Fiedler with a three-concert series at Symphony Hall. Those initial performances, titled “A Pops... Read more
Some of the faces may change for Childsplay (shown here in 2012), including new singer Karan Casey but artistic director and namesake Bob Childs sees a lot of continuity in the group -- especially its core sound.
After a hiatus in 2015, the Boston-based... Read more
The show-stopping “I’ll Build A Stairway To Paradise.” Matthew Murphy photo
“An American in Paris” ranks as one of the most popular film musicals of all time. Starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, it tells the romantic tale of an American soldier, a... Read more
Conor Lovett in the Gare St Lazare Ireland production of “Here All Night.” Hugo Glendinning photoConor Lovett and Judy Hegarty Lovett share a great deal in life. Aside from being husband and wife, the talented duo are founders and co-artistic directors... Read more
“We didn’t want this to be a ‘themed’ record, but we felt ‘Copley Street’ would be a nod to the past generations of musicians,” says Joey Abarta, right, of the album he made with Nathan Gourley. Louise Bichan photo
Copley Street is a little longer than a... Read more
Tommy FlemingThe Norwood Theatre welcomes Irish tenor Tommy Fleming on Saturday, October 15th at 7:30pm. After 25 years honing his craft, Tommy is now taking his place at the forefront of popular music across the globe. The mere mention of a Tommy... Read more
By Sean Smith
Special to the BIR
Shannon Heaton: “I think it’s amazing that so many of us have come to Irish music in different ways. I’m eager to tuck into the backstory behind so many influential, innovative, important voices in the tradition. ” Andy... Read more
By R. J. Donovan
Special to the BIR
Ian-Lloyd Anderson, Lloyd Cooney and Liam Heslin in the Abbey Theatre production of Sean O’Casey’s “The Plough and the Stars,” playing the American Repertory Theater from September 24 to October 9. Ros Kavanagh photo
“... Read more
