Music & Dance
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John Byrne’s Songwriting Skills Take Center Stage
Standing in front of the noontime crowd at WXPN’s Free at Noon concert on this St. Patrick’s Day, John Byrne sounded almost giddy. “How are ye all?” he called to the crowd as he and his eponymous band launched into their version of the Dubliners’ “The Twang Man,” the story of a man who kills his lover’s new partner, then rolled right into “The Well Below the Valley,” an ancient tale of incest and infanticide, with […] Read More
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In on the Ground Floor with Ambler Celtic Strings
The musicians of Ambler Celtic Strings are assembled in the community room of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library branch in Ambler, hemmed in by lime green plastic stacking chairs, and they’re running through the set list for their first gig at Jenkintown’s MacSwiney Club. As it happens with most practices, some of the tunes are a little rough around the edges, needing a few tweaks here and there, but fiddlers Bruce Fenderson and Aine O’Sullivan, […] Read More
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Historic Rebel Band Appears at The Irish Center
On Friday night March 10, the Irish Center presented a rare appearance of the Irish Brigade, the well-known band from Northern Ireland. Still fronted by founding member and songwriter Gerry O’Glacain, the band continued its reputation for high-spirited performance along with superb musicianship. Generally known as a rebel band, their repertoire focuses on Irish republicanism and resistance to England’s occupation of Northern Ireland, through political ballads written by O’Glacain during the Troubles. Each song commemorates and […] Read More
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Ceili Dancing, Anyone?
Noreen Donahue Mcaleer and Megan Glanz started teaching adult ceili lessons at the MacSwiney Club in Jenkintown. I popped in one Wednesday and was surprised. There was a room full of young women that I had never seen before. Noreen told me they were mostly neighborhood women out spending time together, learning something knew. I’m came away impressed. Ideally, I would like to see the old-time ceili dances come back, where young people can dance […] Read More
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How To Be Irish in Philly This Week, Part 2
The Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be greening up the city on Sunday, March 12, rain or shine (or as Parade Director Michael Bradley likes to say, “sunshine or liquid sunshine.” Dan Harrell, for decades head custodian at The Palestra and patron of the students at St. Malachy’s College in Belfast, will be leading the parade as grand marshal following a Mass at St. Patrick’s Church. Other parades on the weekend: Bucks County, Hamilton Township, […] Read More