Derek Warfield, leader of the Young Wolfe Tones, continues his illustrious musical career, now exceeding the 50-year mark. We recently interviewed him, and he looked back on those 50 years—his life, musical upbringing, career, and hopes for the future of the Irish musical tradition.
All Posts By
Jeff Meade
Joanie Madden brings her band Cherish the Ladies to the Commodore John Barry Arts & Cultural Center (The Irish Center) Saturday, December 1, for the first stop of the Celtic Christmas tour. Tickets here.
Joanie, who recently won the Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award from the Irish-American Writers and Artists, recently took time for a chat about the award, the band, her career, and the new Christmas music tour.
Jeff: So I guess I’ll just jump right into it. You recently received the Eugene O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award from the Irish-American Writers and Artists. That had to be gratifying after so many years of performing.
Joanie: Well, you know, Jeff, first off it’s great to speak to you again, and secondly, you know, it’s always nice to receive awards and honors and we had a great night. It was actually Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas presented me with the award, and it was great to join this illustrious list of names of people that have won it previously. But it was a great night. What was great about it for me, more importantly, was that so many of the musicians in New York and New Jersey and Connecticut came out. You know, all my great friends in the music business, so it was wonderful to see them all there for that.
Irish Music in America returns to the Philly area Tuesday, November 27, at Sellersville Theater 1894. The show starts at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:30.
We thought we’d give you a sneak preview of this exciting show.
There was a whole lot of love in the ballroom of the Commodore John Barry Arts & Cultural Center Sunday night. A full house of friends and family members joined in honoring the 2018 Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame awardees Sunday night.
Honorees included irishphiladelphia.com co-founder Denise Foley, Pearse Kerr, whose lifetime experience included a stint in British custody during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and Sister Frances Kirk, SSJ, renowned as the Delaware Valley chairperson and organizer of Project Children, a program that provided a summer holiday in the United States. away from those aforementioned Troubles for literals thousands of Catholic and Protestant kids.
This coming week, there’s a lot to be thankful for—including some night-before-Thanksgiving Irish activities sure to get you in the holiday spirit.
One quick reminder: Sunday night, the 18th, starting at 5 p.m., we’re celebrating the contributions of four of our favorite peeps at the Delaware Valley Irish Hall of Fame Dinner, at the Commodore Barry Arts & Cultural Center (the Irish Center), 6815 Emlen Street in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. Honored will be irishphiladelphia.com founding editor Denise Foley, Pearse Kerr and Sister Frances Kirk, SSJ. Receiving the Commodore John Barry Award will be Sister James Anne Feerick, IHM. Details here.
Now … on to the Thanksgiving week festivities.
A bright, balanced blend of Irish music and dance drawing on seasonal inspirations, Irish Christmas in America arrives on stage at Sellersville Theater 1894 Tuesday, November 27. Fiddler Oisín Mac Diarmada, of the Irish traditional supergroup Téada, has been producing the show for 14 years, which never ceases to delight audiences from one end of the country to the other—regardless of whether their roots are Irish.
“We started in 2005, a few years into touring with Téada, he says. “We really enjoyed it, so we kept on doing it.”
March, of course, is perhaps the best time of year to acquaint people with Irish culture, but, he adds, Christmas is a great time, too.
Irish Christmas in America features some of the finest musicians and dancers you’re likely to find, including well-known singer, accordionist and story-teller Séamus Begley and harper Gráinne Hambly, who has performed frequently in the Philadelphia area over the years.
Here’s a good reason to keep your night before Thanksgiving open.
On Wednesday, November 21, Irish Country mega-star Nathan Carter will be on stage at the Commodore Barry Arts & Cultural Center (The Irish Center). Take a look at this video, and you’ll see what all the fuss is about.
Tickets are currently available online here or by contacting the Irish Center at (215) 843-8051.
The Irish Center is at 6815 Emlen St., Philadelphia, PA, 19119, in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia.
Your weekend starts out with a full day of Irish dance. If you’ve never taken in the Intercollegiate Irish Dance Festival at Villanova, now’s your chance to see some of the best college-level Irish dance teams strut their stuff. Saturday marks the sixth festival hosted by Villanova’s dance team. We’ve gone, spent the day, gotten the T-shirt. It’s incredibly fun to see how creative the competitors can be. This year, there will be 10 teams.
The festival takes place in the Jake Nevin Field House, 800 East Lancaster Avenue on the ‘Nova campus in Radnor. The competition starts at 9:30 a.m., with a Grand Irish Show starting at 4:30 p.m. Tickets available in advance for $10 on VUTix, and $12 at the door. Kids and student admission, $5.