Arts and Entertainment

Tin whistle players performed a medley as part of the Trad Youth Exchange concert. There was absolutely no space in The Burren Backroom, certainly not on the stage: Twenty children in two rows occupied most of the platform, and a third row of eight sat... Read more
In Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” miserly Ebenezer Scrooge forsakes capitalism to discover the true spirit of Christmas after crossing paths with Ghosts Past, Present, and Future.  Since it was published in 1843, the story has stood as a holiday... Read more
Back for its 12th year, “A Christmas Celtic Sojourn” will once again turn to new faces and sounds as well as familiar favorites in celebrating the Christmas holiday season through music, song, dance, and storytelling from Irish, Scottish, and other,... Read more
Frustration can lead to anger and despair – but also, sometimes, a potentially good idea like TradLife, a newly launched website that champions the teaching of traditional music. TradLife founder Emerald Rae was carrying around a goodly amount of... Read more
Boasting a line-up of familiar favorites, new faces and sounds, and creative collaborations, BCMFest (Boston’s Celtic Music Fest), presented by Passim, will once again warm up the winter in celebration of the Boston area’s abundance of Irish, Scottish,... Read more
The actress and educator McCaela Donovan (no relation) could definitely use a few more hours in her day. For her full-time job, she’s Assistant Director of the School of Theatre at Boston University. Beyond that, she also finds time to serve as Associate... Read more
Legendary Grammy-nominated musician, songwriter, singer and producer Phil Coulter will perform a concert on Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in St. Ignatius Church in Chestnut Hill to benefit the Irish Pastoral Centre-Boston (IPC), a non-profit organization that... Read more
The O’Brien family has plenty to show for its involvement with Irish dancing. Their Newton home’s basement, renovated some years ago to accommodate a small practice studio, is full of photos and trophies that chronicle the success of Conor, 21, Claire, 23... Read more
Greater Boston’s early fall Irish/Celtic concert slate includes a rare duet appearance by Beoga members Niamh Dunne and Sean Og Graham and a concert by new “super group” The Alt, both at The Burren, and a performance by one of Scotland’s most enduring and... Read more
It’s a sad but true fact of life, says Arlington resident Kevin Ferguson: Sometimes it takes a tragic event to spur you to start that project you’ve always been meaning to do. For generations, Ferguson’s family was a fixture in the “Irish Catskills,” an... Read more
Sue McLaughlin, with three of the many puppets and masks she tends to backstage at Disney’s “The Lion King,” playing the Boston Opera House September 9 - October 12. Photo by Selena Moshell Somewhere in the depths beneath Boston’s Opera House lies a home... Read more
Broadway actress and Nashua native Kerry O’Malley. The Broadway actress Kerry O’Malley is currently spending her evenings on Boston Common appearing as Olivia in Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s production of “Twelfth Night.”    Directed by Steven Maler... Read more
Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon has played with the likes of The Waterboys, Christy Moore, Jackson Browne, Frankie Gavin, Michael McGoldrick, Sinead O’Connor, and the RTE Concert Orchestra, among others, while taking her masterful Irish accordion playing (... Read more
The South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset will hold its first-ever Irish music festival on Aug. 21, featuring renowned fiddler Eileen Ivers and her world-music band Immigrant Soul, along with The Fighting Jamesons and Celtica: Pipes Rock. Doors open at 6... Read more
“Calvary” is a darkly brilliant film that tackles emotional, cultural, and religious, and regional issues on a cinematic canvas both broad and insular. That may read oxymoronic, but writer-director John Michael McDonagh and a splendid cast pull off... Read more
Kathleen Parks and Ricky Mier of the band Cat and the Moon share a duet during the Boston Irish Festival music weekend. Sean Smith photo Dancers small, tall, and in between swarmed the Irish Cultural Centre of New England campus June 14 for the second... Read more
Michael McGrath (pronounced McGraw) is a lucky guy. And he knows it. The Worcester native first came to the attention of Boston audiences in Gerard Alessandrini’s musical spoof “Forbidden Broadway” back in the 80s. He costarred with Toni DuBuono, the... Read more
For almost exactly a quarter-century, Black 47 has made raucous, often provocative, sometimes outrageous, and always full-hearted music, a distinctive brand of Irish/Celtic rock mixed with hip-hop, jazz, and reggae and imbued with a zeal for social... Read more
Black 47 will play at this year’s Boston Irish Festival as part of its Last Hurrah performance tour. There’ll be a last hurrah from Black 47, plus return engagements for Irish-world music fusion act Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul and indie folk-pop... Read more
The late winter/early spring of 2014 held some sadness for Boston’s Irish music community, which mourned the passing of two of its stalwarts: Paddy Cronin, 88, a talented and influential fiddle player; and Henry Varian, 72, a singer, musician, raconteur,... Read more

Pages