BCMFest (Boston Celtic Music Fest) will present a concert featuring the internationally renowned Irish band Lúnasa on March 8, 2025, in Somerville Theater – a new venture for Boston’s annual showcase of Celtic music and dance.

Ticket information and other details for the event will be available at a later date.  

Formed in 1997, Lúnasa has been critically acclaimed for its layered, harmonically sophisticated, and quite modern treatment of Irish traditional music, marked by inspired and polished arrangements full of passion and power. With ten albums to its credit – including the recently released “Live in Kyoto” – the band boasts a roster brimming with vast musical experience, creativity and innovation. A prominent feature of Lúnasa is the melodic and harmonic chemistry between Kevin Crawford (flute, whistle), Cillian Vallely (uilleann pipes, whistle), and fiddlers Sean Smyth and Colin Farrell; of equal stature are rhythm players Trevor Hutchinson on string bass and guitarists Ed Boyd and David Doocey (the band uses different line-ups depending on tour locations).

In recent years, Lúnasa has become known for its intriguing collaborations, such as with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra on a 2013 live album and vocalists Tim O’Brien, Daoirí Farrell, Natalie Merchant, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Eric Bibb on “CAS” (2018). Some of these team-ups have taken place during Boston-area gigs, featuring singers like Karan Casey, Dave Curley, and Ashley Davis.

“Lúnasa is one of the most active touring bands in Irish/Celtic music circles, and has brought enjoyment to audiences throughout the world, whatever their familiarity with Irish music,” said Summer McCall, director of BCMFest since 2022. “We’re very happy to be able to present them in concert, while adding another dimension to BCMFest.”

Founded by local musicians Shannon Heaton and Laura Cortese in 2004, BCMFest is a multi-day festival held in the winter to celebrate the richness and diversity of Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and other Celtic music and dance in the Greater Boston area. Each year, the festival invites musicians, singers, and dancers in the Boston Celtic music community to apply to perform. Beginning in 2015, the festival added a one-day July event, Summer BCMFest (the 10th Summer BCMFest took place July 7). The festival is a program of Passim, a Cambridge-based non-profit that supports a vibrant music community through Club Passim, music school, artist grants, and outreach initiatives. 

BCMFest has organized some ancillary events throughout its history, such as an annual fall concert in Westford that took place for five years and a monthly “Celtic Music Monday” series in Club Passim. But the March 2025 Lúnasa concert represents a new direction that reflects a compelling combination of circumstances, McCall explained.

One is the death last October of Brian O’Donovan, who for years organized Celtic music and dance events in the Boston area, including the annual “A St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourn” production.

 “Brian’s sad passing left a void for that high-caliber kind of entertainment during what is arguably Boston’s most active period for Celtic music,” said McCall, who befriended O’Donovan and his family, and in recent months has worked with his widow, Lindsay. “While no one could ever hope to duplicate what Brian did, we see this concert as a way to honor his memory and legacy by presenting a talented group of performers who are firmly rooted in the Irish tradition, even as they explore new and exciting ways of expressing it.”

At the same, she added, BCMFest has arrived at a watershed moment full of possibilities.

“Because of the hard work of Laura and Shannon, as well as many other people over the years – co-organizers, volunteers and performers alike – BCMFest is at a point where it can expand beyond its original mission. Our most recent festival this past January was the most successful yet, with every event sold out and thousands of people in attendance over the course of four days and three nights. 

“So, BCMFest now has the visibility and stature – the brand, if you will – to be able to put together an event like this. We’re very excited to be moving forward,” said McCall, noting that BCMFest will continue as a program of Passim.

McCall said it’s useful to consider BCMFest in the wider context of live entertainment: Getting people to leave home and attend a music event has never been an easy task, and in recent years organizers, promoters, and venues alike have had to confront challenges such as the impact of the pandemic and competition from streaming services and other technology.

But while the Boston area music scene – especially the folk and traditional music community – certainly has been affected by such trends and occurrences, McCall sees a lot of reasons for optimism.

“I think Boston is doing very well; in fact, I would say thriving,” she said. “On the one hand, there is always the influx of young people who move here, often because they’ve heard what a great place it is for Irish, Scottish, and other folk/trad music. And then you’ve got an older community that is welcoming these and other people to the area. So, there’s a tremendous intergenerational aspect to the music in Boston.

“And for this intergenerational music community, there is just so much happening locally week in and week out. You can go to concerts at Club Passim or the Burren, for example, and there are about 15 sessions a week in pubs — such as the Druid, the Burren, Brendan Behan, among others – or at places like the Canadian American Club or the Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston. If you want to learn the music, you’ve got resources like Passim’s School of Music, Boston’s local Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann branch, the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club, and many, many individual teachers. This is a dedicated, energetic community that lives the music every day.”

Over time, McCall added, BCMFest has adopted a more expansive definition of “community” that goes beyond geography. In that spirit, BCMFest has invited the likes of Chicago-based Irish fiddler Liz Carroll, Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson, and Cape Breton singer Mary Jane Lamond to appear at past festivals. 

“One doesn’t have to necessarily live in Boston to be a part of Boston’s Celtic music community: There are many musicians, singers, and dancers from other parts of the US, or even other countries, who have developed strong ties to Boston,” she explained. “They’ve performed in the area frequently; they’ve been on the staff of a music camp or other program; or they simply have plenty of friends and acquaintances here.

“Lúnasa has made a strong impression on many in Boston’s Celtic music community, who view the band’s members as mentors and role models – and would welcome the opportunity to see them at a BCMFest-organized concert.”

BCMFest has clearly been able to tap into the Boston area’s enthusiasm for Celtic music, said McCall. But as it has from the start, the festival is constantly trying to get a read on its audience and what will bring them back.

“Some people want more opportunities to jam, or to do some singing. Some like more traditional-style music; others prefer the contemporary sound – for example, crossover with Americana or rock,” she said. “One thing we heard about this year’s festival was that some of the venues felt kind of crowded. So, for next year, we’ll work on creating more space, including some just for socializing.

“The BCMFest organizing committee is looking forward to the 2025 festival and once again seeing the great variety and quality in our Celtic music community.”