Gearing up for the trad music Catskills Irish Arts Week

It will include some of the staff artists like Mike Rafferty, Monsignor Charlie Coen, Willie Kelly and friends of Joe’s who played with him over the years like Mattie and Deirdre Connolly and Martin Mulhaire and John Nolan.

There will be loads of other influences on display like the Sliabh Luachra craic of Jackie Daly, Matt Cranitch and Paul DeGrae, the Galway girls Liz and Yvonne Kane, a special launch of Mary Bergin’s new tin whistle tutor and two Cavan stalwarts in fiddler Antoin MacGabhann and box player Martin Donohoe.

There is also an amazing trio of singers from Mullaghbawn, Co. Armagh in Len Graham, Patricia Flynn and 82-year-young Mick Quinn, who will highlight that part of the world. Throw in a good mixture of teachers and performers from Toronto, Chicago and Baltimore who add their own brand of music and merriment to the delightful mix, and the Big Apple may have to lend its moniker as the City That Never Sleeps to the Catskills hamlet of East Durham as the multiple nightly music sessions make sleep deprivation a worthy objective.

CIAW concludes with the day-long Andy McGann Festival (noon-7 p.m.) dedicated to much admired New York fiddler who passed away in 2004 during the CIAW, which serves a sampler for those who are not able to attend the week-long feast of Irish music and dance.  

For details on the CIAW and accommodations in the area visit www.irishvillageusa.com, email irishartsweek@gmail.com or call the Quill Center at 518-634-2286.

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Nster.com