Visit our special St Patrick's Day section

That trend for many of the touring trad super groups to bypass New York City continues unabated this season save for one example down below.


The Chieftains (Paddy Moloney, Matt Molloy and Kevin Conneff) are currently on a long St. Patrick’s under the aegis of the Imagine Ireland program throughout the U.S. in 2011. As usual it winds up on St. Patrick’s Day where this year they will celebrate it in Toronto, Canada at the Roy Thomson Hall.

No New York City venue for the boys and their long-time companion cast members of the annual tour, dancers Cara Butler (Long Island) and Jon and Nathan Pilatzke (from the Ottawa Valley), harpist Trina Marshall, Singer Alyth McCormack and bluegrass artists, Jeff White and Deanie Richardson.

But they will be playing not too far from Midtown Manhattan starting on Tuesday, March 15 at the McCarter Theater in Princeton.

Solas are on tour in the east with a special St. Patrick’s Day guest slot at the World Café Live in Philadelphia for two shows at 7 and 9:30 p.m.

Altan’s March tour brings them to Philadelphia at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 19 as well as New Hampshire, Vermont and New London, Connecticut (www.altan.ie).

Dervish briefly touch down in the Northeast at the Somerville Theater in Somerville, Massachusetts on Friday, March 18, with additional stops in New Hampshire, Vermont and Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania on March 20 (www.dervish.ie).

Not far from Somerville on Friday night, March 18 the St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourn hosted by Brian O’Donovan begins a two-night tour at the Sanders Theatre on Harvard University in Cambridge, and moves south to New Bedford’s Zeiterion Theatre on Saturday, March 19. Teada are the featured guests along with Michael Cooney, the uilleann piper.

Lunasa begin a packed two week tour on March 11 and they are braving the Big Apple with an appearance at the Highline Ballroom on Monday, March 21 at 8 pm and then on Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey at the Ciccone Theatre. See lunasa.ie for more information on the tour.

Those talented young college girls who got their start in Pearl River who perform under the name GIRSA have upcoming appearances in the greater metropolitan area.

Hard at work on their second CD, they have gigs down at the Jersey Shore at the wonderful Strand Theatre in Lakewood, New Jersey on Saturday, March 12 at 8 p.m. (www.strand.org).

A week later they make an appearance at Pawling’s Towne Crier Café (www.townecriercafe.com or phone 845-855-1300) on Friday, March 18 at 8:30 p.m. at the food and drink emporium in Putnam County, New York.

Finally, there is a benefit concert for the Mary Therese Rose fund at Mahwah High School on Sunday, March 20 starring John Whelan, Gabe Donohue and Eamonn O’Rourke, three very gifted musicians who rarely get a chance to play together. For tickets call Jack Crilly at 201-394-5940.

Visit our special St Patrick's Day section