Arts and Entertainment
By Sean Smith
Special to the BIR
A spur-of-the-moment creative impulse by two Greater Boston residents during a Thanksgiving sojourn has now, nearly four years later, culminated in a unique video project that offers a new perspective on traditional Irish... Read more
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By Sean Smith
This month’s column focuses on recent recordings by a pair of Irish/Celtic trios with Massachusetts and New England connections.
New Leaf, “New Leaf” • Based in Western Massachusetts, this band comprises fiddler Kira Jewett, a former pupil... Read more
Thurs., Oct. 3 – The Irish Network (IN Boston) and the Boston Public Library present an evening with Jack Cashman, author of "An Irish Immigrant Story.” The Central Library, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 4 –The Irish Network in Boston invite members to... Read more
The Irish Cultural Centre of New England in Canton will feature a combination book launch and concert with Tara O’Grady, a multi-genre singer who recently published an on-the-road memoir, “Migrating toward Happiness: The Soundtrack to My Spiritual... Read more
By R. J. Donovan
Special to the BIR
Boston has been splashed across international headlines this year thanks to the “Varsity Blues” college admissions bribery scandal being played out in our waterfront courtrooms. Clearly, there should be no separate... Read more
THE BIR’S CALENDAR
OF CELTIC MUSIC EVENTS
Summer turns to fall, and as always, Greater Boston has plenty of Irish/Celtic-related music events on the calendar.
•Two local acts will be on stage at Club Passim in Harvard Square on Sept. 15. Roots-oriented... Read more
By Sean Smith
We Banjo 3, “Roots to Rise Live” • It has been four years since this Irish/Americana outfit released a live album (“Live in Galway”), and in that time WB3 has made a significant transition in the “Celtgrass” genre – a mix of Irish and... Read more
By R. J. Donovan
Special to the BIR
When Tony Award-winning actress Alice Ripley opens in “Sunset Boulevard” at North Shore Music Theatre later this month, she’ll be returning to a show she knows very well.
Twenty-five years ago, she performed in the... Read more
By Sean Smith
Special to the BIR
Fair play. To Northern Irish singer-songwriter and activist Tommy Sands, it’s “kind of a throwaway phrase that people use a lot – but it’s a meaningful one.”
In fact, it is a lack of fair play – the idea of treating... Read more
Belonging to Each Other, a Falmouth non-profit that helps provide housing, food and other needed services to homeless people, will hold its third annual benefit gala on September 12 at St. Barnabas Church in Falmouth, featuring a performance by Cork... Read more
Four Greater Boston teen musicians
– and 8,000 other competitors –
are heading to Drogheda for Fleadh 2019
BY SEAN SMITH
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
The four of them have each been to the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil at least once, and they’re all set to go again.... Read more
BY SEAN SMITH
Liz Carroll and Jake Charron, “Half Day Road” • Yeah, I thought there’d been something missing these last several years: Last time Liz Carroll released a new album was 2013, back when the Patriots still only had three Super Bowl titles. That... Read more
BY SEAN SMITH
This month’s offerings of Greater Boston/Eastern Massachusetts Irish and Celtic-related events will include a busy weekend at the Irish Cultural Centre of New England and, up on the North Shore, the inaugural Rockport Celtic Festival.
•The... Read more
BY R. J. DONOVAN
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
I recently had the unique opportunity to attend the Riverdance Academy Summer School Program on the campus of Boston University. Rest assured I was not there as a dancer, but as an observer. It proved to be an... Read more
By Sean Smith
Kilfenora Céilí Band, “Both Sides Now” • Talk about longevity: The Kilfenora Céilí Band’s origins date to the dawn of the ceili band era itself, and even before – there are references as far back as 1888 of a fife and drum band in Kilfenora... Read more
By R. J. Donovan
Special to the BIR
If your summer vacation plans include a trip to New York City this month, you’ve got some great theatrical entertainment choices.
“The Ferryman,” playing at the Bernard Jacobs Theater on West 45th Street, just won The... Read more
By Sean Smith
Special to the BIR
At their worst, band slogans and taglines can be unenlightening or overly hyperbolic: “Changing what you thought you knew about music!” or “Guaranteed to melt faces for generations to come!” But the New England-based... Read more
By Sean Smith
Special to the BIR
Gigs have been few and far between for Ship in the Clouds, a Boston-based traditional Irish music quartet that formed last year. Given, however, that its three Boston members are working at pretty demanding full-time jobs... Read more
BY SEAN SMITH
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
From a purely transportational standpoint, the Friel Sisters’ recent stay in the Boston area had its difficulties: They arrived late for their sound check at one gig, and a few days before going back home to the UK, they... Read more
