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Prep for a Memorial Day weekend of competitions with fresh music - VIDEOS (IrishCentral)

Fri, 24 May 2013 09:19:00 PDT

The Sounds help with our mission to winHeading to New York this weekend for the Roisin Academy Feis or British Columbia for the West Coast Irish Dance Championships? How about Ohio for the Akron AOH Feis or the Cleveland Feis? Tennessee for the Memphis Feis or Maryland for the Comhaltas Irish Dance Festival? California for the California Spring Feis? Or maybe you’re off to Illinois for the Chicago FeisNo matter your competitive destination this weekend, we want to share four tunes you should add to your own playlist before lacing up and taking the stage Best of luck to all dancers and be sure to come back and share your results with us! “Song With A Mission” – The SoundsA jam to help push you towards your mission of winning first place “Higher” – Mark RosasThis one will make you want to kick and leap higher than ever READ MORE

Kilkennny Arts Festival to showcase exciting mix of music, theatre, dance and visual arts - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:42:23 PDT

By: JANE WALSH

August 2013 will see the 40th Kilkenny Arts Festival bring an exciting mix of Irish and International music, theatre, dance, craft, visual arts, literature and more to the medieval city located in the South-East of Ireland. Ireland’s oldest multi-disciplinary festival is celebrating an unrivalled legacy which has seen some of the biggest names and most exciting newcomers in the arts from around the world flock to Kilkenny.

Roddy Doyle’s ‘The Commitments’ celebrates 25 years - revamped as a musical - VIDEOS (IrishCentral)

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 05:18:08 PDT

By: AMANDA DRISCOLL

“The Commitments”, the story of one Irish man’s dream to form a soul band in working class Dublin and originally a novel written by Roddy Doyle in 1987, became a runaway success in 1991 when it was made into a film.

Masters of Irish music The Teetotallers hit New York City - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:30:19 PDT

By: IrishCentral Staff Writers

Three giants of the Irish traditional scene, The Teetotallers - fiddler Martin Hayes, flute player Kevin Crawford (Lunasa), and singer and guitarist John Doyle (Solas, Joan Baez) - return to New York City after selling out Joe's Pub last year.

Shadowy ninjas of Irish dance, Fusion Fighters set to debut March 17 (VIDEO) (IrishCentral)

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 11:47:15 PDT

Pray that they only use their awesome hip-hop, techno, disco, martial arts, Celtic dance powers for goodI discovered Fusion Fighters today when I opened a mysterious Facebook message sent in a plain brown envelope (new service, still in beta), and throwing caution to the wind, followed a cryptic shortened URL to its YouTube sourceNothing could prepare me for the Mcfunkadelicness I found, and now share with you:http://wwwyoutube READ MORE

March madness! Here's some great music to kick-start the Irish dance competitions party – VIDEOS (IrishCentral)

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:46:59 PST

Get the Friday party started with some Swedish House MafiaHeading to Wisconsin this weekend for the Lavin-Cassidy Feis or Connecticut for the CT Shoreline Irish Dance Champs? How about Alberta, Canada for the Possak Feis at the Tower or North Carolina for the Walsh Kelley School Feis? California for Feis Rince Conejo Valley? Texas for the Texas State Championships and Feis? Or maybe you’re off to New Jersey for the Garden State FeisNo matter your competitive destination this weekend, we want to share four tunes you should add to your own playlist before lacing up and taking the stage Best of luck to all competitors and be sure to come back and share your results with us! “Don’t You Worry Child” – Swedish House Mafia ft John MartinPut any nerves at ease with this song READ MORE

One Direction release music video ‘One Way or Another’ for Red Nose Day charity - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 03:59:24 PST

By: KERRY O'SHEA

Tara O’Grady’s stately weekly Long Island hotel gig - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 04:31:24 PST

Tara O'GradyThe stately walls of the Garden City Hotel on Long Island are swinging to the sounds of Tara O’Grady, who brings her sultry jazz stylings to the venerable hotel every Friday and Saturday night from 7-10 pm“This is a great new weekly gig that started on New Year’s Eve,” O’Grady explains “I was at the hotel at the high tea service that they have and I saw on the menu that they were throwing a jazz New Year’s Eve dinner and I thought, ‘How cool would this be?’ I went home and an hour later, I got this email asking me to do it READ MORE

Dubliners Barney McKenna gone but not forgotten - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 02:31:32 PST

Barney McKennaDUBLIN -- It was only a year ago when the Temple Bar Trad Festival helped launch the 50th anniversary year of the Dubliners, the iconic music group that not only helped define Ireland’s capital city but also gave it a distinctive voice No one could imagine then how important those two celebratory concerts in the venerable Christchurch Cathedral at the edge of Dublin’s Temple Bar were, given what happened later in the year The death occurred on April 5 of Barney McKenna, the last of the original group of Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly and Ciaran Bourke who formed the Dubliners out of days and nights in O’Donoghue’s Pub on Merrion Row, adding fiddler John Sheahan two years later In the aftermath of McKenna’s passing, Sheahan and others decided it was time to bring the band’s performances to a halt and call it a day for the influential trad folk band that covered all of Ireland’s most memorable ballads and spawned generations of singers and musicians, including many who ply their trade all around Temple Bar all year long READ MORE

Former boxer turned actor John Duddy stars in new Bon Jovi music video (IrishCentral)

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 07:01:47 PST

By: DARA KELLY

Former Derry born boxing champion John Duddy is the star of Jon Bon Jovi’s new music video ‘Because We Can.'

Magical and harmonious Solas head to “Shamrock City” - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 05:30:56 PST

SolasFor those of us who toil in the vineyards of traditional Irish music, it looks like another year of brilliant creativity and collaboration that keeps that genre very much a living tradition This past weekend the number of options and great music on offer was a logistical challenge met head on because there were opportunities to see and hear new music and make acquaintances with new musicians and old friendsIt all began with the drive out west in New Jersey to a wonderful theatre in Blairstown that will be marking its 100th anniversary this year and has become a welcome performance space for a wide assortment of well-known and new talent This was my third foray there to see Irish acts (Lunasa and Full Set last year) and on Friday I saw Solas, the super group formulated in Irish America which was among those trail-blazing trad bands who sought to make a living playing music in the 1990s READ MORE

Mourning the great Ray Kelly - County Clare frontman of the Mickey Finns - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 05:15:55 PST

The Mickey FinnsThe Irish American rock and roll community was gutted to its core this week with the news of the sudden death of Ray Kelly, 46, former singer and guitarist on some of the best Prodigals albums and lead singer of the Mickey Finns Kelly, a carpenter in the construction industry, was injured while at work and passed away suddenly Kelly had that one-of-a-kind rocker voice that sounded like broken glass wrapped in velvet It rang with a rebellious energy over the furious noise of the Prodigals jig punk sound and in recent years, and had that creaky croak of a last call at closing time at a honky tonk country bar that suited the Mickey Finns southern-fried soulful Irish music so perfectly READ MORE

A window on my past in an old just discovered video -- Rolling back the years to Tipperary, Ireland 1959 (IrishCentral)

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 04:30:49 PST

The 1959 Fleadh Cheoil festival in Thurles, County TipperaryThe past reaches out at the most unlikely times My brother Fergus, a Minister of State in the Irish government, was recently researching the history of the Fleadh Cheoil, (pronounced Flah Keoil) the annual massive traditional music festival held in different towns throughout Ireland with a view to attracting it to Drogheda, the town he representsRead More Irish news hereHe came across this footage from 1959 of the Fleadh Cheoil festival in Thurles, County Tipperary, the town I grew up in It contains fleeting footage of my father who was one of the organizers and offers an amazing glimpse into the life and times I grew up in READ MORE

The top 12 Irish dance videos of 2012 - VIDEOS (IrishCentral)

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 04:15:30 PST

Prodijig, winners of Sky1's "Got to Dance," claim the No 1 spot on our list Last year's most popular Irish dance videos were innovative and surprising, and just when we thought Irish dance couldn't get that much more exciting, 2012 packed a wallop with dubstep-inspired step dancing, "Got to Dance" champs and One Direction treble reelsBased solely on pageviews attributed to individual Irish dancing videos uploaded to YouTube in the last year, these are the top 12 Irish dance videos of 2012:1 READ MORE

Looking for White Christmas in NYC (VIDEO) (IrishCentral)

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:15:20 PST

A lovely Christmas Day in NYC, clear, seasonably cold, but nary a snowflake in sight But way too early, a couple of months ago, we got a dusting, and that was enough to send Sephira off into Central Park to improvise a quick video for "Sleigh Ride" from their holiday album StarlightIrish sisters Ruth and Joyce O'Leary of Sephira recently posted the results of their fun & frolic in Central Park as a video Christmas card to fans and friends, and now I share it on to you Merry Christmas READ MORE

Two young Irish boys perform a spectacular cover of Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love,’ goes viral on YouTube - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 05:15:41 PDT

Shyand and Rob singing "We Found Love" by RihannaTwo boys from Kildare, Shyand aged 16 on guitar, and Rob aged 11 on vocals, have been making waves on the Internet this week after posting a stunning rendition of pop-star Rihanna’s massive hit ‘We Found Love’In the video, one boy strums on the guitar while the other sings The two added their own touch to the song by inserting a bit of a rap into itThis is the second time that Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’ has been making news in Ireland - just over a year ago, the Barbadian pop-star filmed the video for the song in Northern Ireland READ MORE

Check out U2 performing on “The Late Late Show” in 1980 - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 05:47:04 PDT

The amazing hair of 1980s U2Ten months before the album “Boy” hit the stores, U2 appeared on “The Late Late Show” performing “Stories for Boys”The Rolling Stones rooted out this little gem of a clip which shows Bono, the Edge and the boys performing just after the release of the three-song EP, “Three”John McKenna couldn’t have put it better with his introduction when he said, “What can I say about these titans among rock and rollers? READ MORE

Irish American's Pioneering Video on View at MOMA (IrishCentral)

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 01:15:14 PDT

Pioneering video art by Irish American Paul Dougherty is now on view in the Museum of Modern Art’s current show, “SELECTED WORKS FROM THECONTEMPORARY GALLERIES: 1980-NOW”From the punk era, Frankie Teardrop (1979) combines superimposed projector manipulations and high-end video post-production technology, generally unavailable to artists The resulting video is described by John O’Connor of the New York Times as “an urban ballad of mental break-down” and is included in Rolling Stone‘s “Book of Rock Video” "Frankie READ MORE

Gavin Friday - Irish pop genius - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:15:14 PDT

Gavin FridayGavin Friday, who is quite wonderfully sui generis, makes our list for one of the most singular pop talents Ireland has producedHere he reminds you why READ MORE

Spirits Were High Despite Weather at Electric Picnic 2011 - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:20:18 PDT

Dear Rain: in spite of your exhaustive efforts this past weekend, the 2011 Electric Picnic festival was a smash hit Armed with galoshes and thick skin, an estimated thirty thousand people enjoyed three days and nights of outdoor music and arts activities on a 600-acre estate in Stradbally, Co Laois There wasn't a hint of recession blues about the festival – except, perhaps, in the timely name of a band called "Ghost Estates" – which was visually spectacular in presentation READ MORE