Kilfenora Céilí Band Celebrates St. Patrick’s Weekend at the National Concert Hall with release of their 10th Studio Album Both Sides Now and Two Concerts
Regarded by aficionados as the quintessential Irish céilí band, the Kilfenora Céilí band, together with guests, singer’s Edel Vaughan and Jerry Lynch, dancers Laura Minogue, Deirdra Kiely and world champions Michael and Matthew Gardiner perform two uplifting, energetic and entertaining shows at the National Concert Hall this St. Patrick’s Weekend, Monday 18th March at 1pm and 8pm.
The band, who continue to forge new ground with their innovative recordings, artistic collaborations, repertoire and concert presentations will also be marking the event with the release of their new 10th studio album entitled “Both Sides Now” taken from the Joni Mitchell songbook. Featuring guest artists; Clare singer’s Edel Vaughan, Jerry Lynch, and percussionist Danny Byrt, the album also features Donal Lunny as guest musician and producer.
Tim Collins is quoted as saying: “The album, Both Sides Now, and even the song itself, is a metaphor for how we (the Kilfenora Céilí Band) have adapted, where the band is coming from and going, representing what we do to be successful as creative and performing artists.”
Both Sides Now merges both traditional and contemporary repertoire and features everything from Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now sung by Edel Vaughan to newly composed waltzes and polkas by band member and concertina player Tim Collins to the familiar upbeat traditional reels and jigs by well-known composers Charlie and Maurice Lennon and others.
Engaging, uplifting and utterly enjoyable, this legendary group take their rich musical heritage into the future with a show that is expertly choreographed, boasting highly rhythmic traditional tunes, together with beautiful songs and witty repartee in what Sharon Shannon calls “Fantastic, feel-good, happy, lively music”.
The 13-piece band features band leader John Lynch (banjo, mandolin), Claire Griffin (accordion), Tim Collins (concertina), Gary Shannon (flute, whistle), Anthony Quigney (flute, whistle, piano), Anne Marie McCormack (fiddle), Sinéad Heagney (fiddle, viola), Anne Rynne (fiddle), Eimear Howley (fiddle, viola), Fintan McMahon (piano), Sean Griffin (drums) and Brian O’Grady (double bass) and Sharon Howley (cello).
Kilfenora Céilí Band, singers Edel Vaughan, Jerry Lynch, and dancers
National Concert Hall, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2.
Monday 18th March 2019, 1pm and 8pm.
Lunchtime Concert Ticket €20. Evening Tickets: €37.50, €32, €28.50 (Choir Balcony: €22). National Concert Hall Box Office Tel: 01 417 00 00 or www.nch.ie
After 105 years in the business the world-renowned Kilfenora Céilí Band are seen by many afficianadoes as the quintessential Irish céilí band. Their core repertoire of dance music, puntuated with an incomparable lift and rhythm, defines an unbroken tradition that dates from the beginning of the twentieth century. Despite this link with the past, their recent recordings and concert performances point to a broadening of the perceived boundaries of their genre. Collaborations with a diverse range of song and dance artists, experimentation with repertoire outside of the dance domain and complex harmonic arrangements speak to an ensemble who are pioneering new and exciting performance contexts for the céilí band genre. While acknowledging and incorporating the past, the Kilfenora thrives on creativity and innovation.
The band has travelled extensively, visiting Britain, Northern Ireland, Europe and the U.S. They have performed at Glastonbury twice and in 2009 headlined on the Acoustic Stage. The band has also performed concerts in Milwaukee, Lincoln Centre New York, Ireland’s National Concert Hall and Cork Opera House to name but a few.
The Kilfenora features fiddles, bass, cello, flutes, banjo, concertina and accordion, with what "Folk Roots" magazine called "one of the tightest rhythm sections in the world".
