This is my 20th year of not attending classes, yet each September brings a back to school funk nonetheless. I guess after a while the dread of school gets embedded in your genetic code! Enter Blackthorn, the Irish rock powerhouse from Philadelphia. For the last 15 years, the city of Wildwood, New Jersey has hosted the band and all of their friends for the Irish Weekend, the largest green beach party you'll ever attend.

This year's event takes place September 21-23, with Blackthorn at the Bolero Hotel sharing the stage with Black 47, Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul, the Jimmy Kelly Band, 5 Quid, and many more acts throughout the weekend.

"I don't think you can do Irish Weekend justice by just talking about it," says guitarist Seamus Kelleher when asked to describe the shenanigans of the weekend.

"You have to make the trip to Wildwood on a Friday evening in late September and just watch what happens. At about 6 p.m., you see streams of cars, vans, buses and God knows what, full of people from all over New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and beyond parade into town. By 10 p.m. the streets are full with over 80,000 or 90,000 people. I can only compare it to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. There must be 30 or 40 places with music, several of them in huge tents."

A full list of bands, along with discount hotel packages and details on the weekend, are available on the Blackthorn website at irishthing.com.

I've made the pilgrimage a couple of times, and I've had a great time. This is the kind of Guinness soaked weekends that legends are made from, populated with toes in the sand, great music and lots to eat and drink. What more information do you need?

To sweeten the pot this year, Blackthorn will be Kelleher's backing band as he plays songs off of his excellent solo CD, Four Cups of Coffee. A tour de force of howling blues, intricate acoustic finger picking and catchy riffs, Four Cups of Coffee is a slow roasted, full bodied CD that is as addicting as caffeine.

I witnessed a live read of the CD at the CelticLounge launch party recently, where Kelleher held the crowd in the palm of his hand during his spirited set. Kelleher's CD can be heard on Celtic Lounge Radio at CelticLounge.com or you can purchase the CD on the website SeamusK.com.

In the spirit of authenticity in journalism, it should be noted that I have enjoyed a friendship with Seamus that dates back many years, and despite the sentiments in one of my favorite songs of Morrisey entitled "We Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful," it has been a joy to see Seamus pursue his dream of a solo CD.

When I last checked in with him last May Four Cups of Coffee was just hitting the streets. Since then the CD has exploded. I recently spoke with him about that ride and the Irish Weekend. Here's how it went.

Last time we spoke, you had just released the album. Now it's been out for a while. What has the reaction been to it?

I've been delighted with the reaction so far. The title song "Four Cups of Coffee" is getting a great reaction. I'm getting a lot of e-mail from people who say that they enjoy the variety of music on the CD. It goes from hard core blues to Celtic melodies played on acoustic guitar. I was afraid that might put people off, but it seems to be what is attracting people to it.

Was there any reaction from fans or experiences in the promotion of the CD that has surprised you?

So far I've gotten great support from everyone. The Blackthorn fans have been great in getting the word out and so have friends and family.

Getting to the promotion question - we live in such a different world now where the Internet becomes the central part of marketing music. I spend a lot of time reaching out to radio stations and different websites. My site SeamusK.com also is at the core of marketing the CD. It's a learning curve for me but I'm enjoying the process.

It's great to have my Irish network of friends as a starting point but I'm determined to go beyond the Irish market. I think the music on the CD can appeal to a broad audience. It's a challenge to make that happen but the Internet is such a wonderful tool in that respect. Already I have had people from Australia and Japan email me saying nice things about the album.

I hope to be on My Space and You Tube in a few weeks. Maybe when people see what I really look like, it will put an end to the success of the CD.

What songs have you played with Blackthorn and how has their interpretation of the song differed from your solo CD?

So far we have just played "Four Cups of Coffee" and "Dust My Blues." I think the performance is not much different from the CD. People often forget just how good the guys in Blackthorn are. Because of our success there is a tendency to think of the 20 or 30 songs we do. But we have hundreds of songs between us that people never hear.

But I'm anxious to do some of the other songs like "Madame" and "Missing My Hometown." The great thing about this album is that I can do it just on acoustic guitar, as a duo or with a full band. Each combination gives it a slightly different vibe and I love that.

Your acoustic finger picking during the instrumentals are truly beautiful. Is that something you'd inject in a Blackthorn show or is it a different vibe?

It's great that you pick up on the finger picking. I just started doing that four years ago. It's the Chet Atkins style also referred to as Travis Picking after the great Myrle Travis. It's a whole different way of playing guitar. I use it all the time with Blackthorn both on the acoustic music and the rock material. It takes a ton of practice to get it right. Some days I'm better than others.

Are you looking forward to Irish Weekend?

Absolutely! It's the high point of the year for us. The coolest part of it is, you know that everyone is back at work after summer while you are down at the Jersey Shore having a ball with 100,000 of your closest friends. It is a great way to lift those September blues.

(For more information on Irish Weekend in Wildwood, New Jersey, log onto Blackthorn's web site at irishthing.com.)