Arts and Entertainment
“Swept Away,” now in its New England premiere at SpeakEasy Stage Company through May 23, is the epic tale of a storm, a shipwreck and four crew members facing harrowing choices of morality and the grim cost of survival. The production is directed by... Read more
Contemporary Irish folk band Ishna will celebrate the release of their debut album, Slí Amach: Way Out, with special live performances as part of the The Burren Backroom Legacy Series on May 27, 2026 at 7:30 PM at The Burreen 247 Elm Street, Somerville... Read more
It’s not as if siblings Elizabeth and Ben Anderson were fated to be a musical act. Or maybe they were.
Both took up their respective instruments when they were of elementary school age: Elizabeth the violin, and Ben the cello – after first trying his... Read more
•Lest you forget, the first-ever Tunes on the Charles festival hits full stride this weekend, with plenty of sessions, concerts and workshops. Get the backstory on the festival here.
•The Burren’s Brian O’Donovan Legacy Series has a decidedly local focus... Read more
Artists who have played in TD Garden: Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, U2, Rihanna, The Rolling Stones, Drake – and Scottish Fish?
A clarification is in order, obviously.
On March 18, the Boston-area Celtic fiddle band performed at halftime of the Boston... Read more
American Classics continues its 29th season of Songwriter Salutes with an evening celebrating Jerry Herman, Meredith Wilson, Dolly Parton and others. Performances will take place on April 10 at First Church Congregational in Cambridge, and on April 12 at... Read more
•A few large-scale events to note: One is the inaugural Tunes on the Charles festival in Cambridge and Somerville from April 30 to May 3, which you can read about here.
The annual New England Folk Festival Association, better known as NEFFA, takes... Read more
Greater Boston will see the debut this spring of a traditional Irish music and dance festival that aims to emphasize culture and camaraderie as much as reels, jigs, hornpipes and songs.
The inaugural Tunes on the Charles festival will take place from... Read more
Aoife O'Donovan performs as part of a special concert honoring her father, Brian O'Donovan, March 14 in Symphony Hall.
This is the behemoth of months for Irish/Celtic music and dance in Greater Boston, with events in venues great and small and... Read more
Boston Orpheum, March 5
Experience the magic of Celtic Woman live on stage in one of Boston’s most iconic theaters.
Tickets are still available — get yours here!
The Grammy-nominated global music sensation Celtic Woman (www.celticwoman.com), the most successful all-female Irish group in history, is set to return to North America and captivate audiences once again with their brand-new tour, CELTIC WOMAN – A NEW ERA... Read more
Like many a musician, for Irish flute player and vocalist Shannon Heaton and her husband Matt, playing music has never been just about music. The couple, an integral part of Boston’s Celtic music scene for more than 25 years, find that playing tunes and... Read more
Nicolas Brown, “Not So Good as the Flute”
Principal (in this case only) Personnel: Nicolas Brown (flutes)
Distinctive Tracks: “I Had a Wife of My Own/Why Should I Like My Love?”;
“Master, I Go Hunting /Shaving Baby with a... Read more
At the height of the Covid quarantine, playwright-composer Alex Bechtel was separated from his partner. She was in Boston; he was in Philadelphia. The isolation, the longing, and the waiting weighed heavily on them both.
From that longing rose the... Read more
Cambridge nonprofit Passim recently announced the full round of this year’s recipients of the Brian O’Donovan Legacy Fund grants, which support Celtic music and dance artists. The awards go to funding live shows and tours in New England, with one grant... Read more
•Local Ye Vagabonds fans have two reasons to rejoice: The duo just released its new album, “All Tied Together,” and is going to be in town – on Feb. 1 at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge. Carlow brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn are known... Read more
•The annual winter BCMFest is the big happening this month (Jan. 15-18), with headliners Altan and Old Blind Dogs and numerous Boston-area performers, which you can read about here.
•The Burren – which is marking its 30th anniversary – will be among... Read more
The Burren, Greater Boston’s legendary venue for Irish music – and much more – is celebrating three decades in 2026, with the official commemoration taking place the weekend of Jan. 17-18.
During the day on Jan. 17, as part of the Boston Celtic Music... Read more
The 23rd annual Boston Celtic Music Fest (BCMFest) will welcome two long-time, internationally renowned bands, Irish quintet Altan and Scotland’s Old Blind Dogs, as they join an array of Greater Boston-based acts when the festival takes place Jan. 15-18... Read more
The somewhat snowy sidewalks along East Merrimack Street were filled with foot traffic around 7 p.m. on Wed., Dec. 17. as families and friends walked toward the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, where members of the Celtic Woman’s “Symphony Christmas Tour” were... Read more
