>A new spin and new season have been added to the successful Celtic music festival held annually at the Old Brogue Irish Pub in Great Falls. Four concerts will be performed in November using the same musical format but offering artistic styling not heard during the winter concert series.
ÒWe decided to do this because we kept selling out concert after concert, and people would go away sad after it was over in six weeks,Ó said musician and concert promoter Barbara Ryan. ÒThis has a slightly different flavor to it. WeÕve got a couple of people who cut their teeth playing in pub bands but have now graduated way beyond that.Ó
Old Brogue owner Michael Kearney said, ÒWe wanted to add a couple more artists in that are more balladeers and are different than in the winter series, which tends to be more traditional.Ó
Two of those artists are Seamus Kennedy and Danny Doyle. Kennedy is from Belfast, Ireland, and has been entertaining American audiences with his ballads and musical style for 32 years. Doyle also uses ballads, along with history and Irish stories, to bring his audience back in time to the musical era of the Ô60s and Ô70s of Dublin, Ireland.
The concert organizers expect this fall concert to be as widely received as the winter series, which sells out year after year. ÒThis time of year tends to be a downtime for people. Once daylight savings is gone, people start to look more toward indoor entertainment. ItÕs a great way to ooze into the holiday season,Ó said Ryan.
ÒThereÕs a cozy feeling of being in a pub. ItÕs also really inexpensive for a concert, and the atmosphere is great and everybody loves it,Ó Ryan said.
THE CONCERTS will be held on Sundays Nov. 7, 14, 21 and 28 in The Snuggery dining room at The Old Brogue Irish Pub. Reservations must be made in advance of each concert. Tickets are $12 for each sitting, or a season pass can be obtained to all four concerts for $40.
In addition to the music, a full dinner menu (with Irish specialties such as beef stew) is available, as is a wide array of international beers and ales that can be enjoyed during the concerts.
Concert attendees are generally requested to enjoy the music quietly but are often encouraged by the performers to participate.
Maggie Sansone, who will be playing on Nov. 21, is looking forward to the fall concert after performing for several years at the winter musical series. ÒItÕs a very intimate and authentic setting. ItÕs lively and a good listening environment,Ó said Sansone.
Sansone, who plays the pan-Celtic hammered dulcimer, will be joined on-stage by singer Lisa Moscatiello and flutist Laura Byrne. ÒWe are also going to have a special Irish fiddler with us. ItÕs Rosie Shipley. SheÕs one of the hottest young fiddlers around,Ó said Sansone.
ÒThe concert series are always very successful. They are a
guaranteed sell-out. WeÕre selling pretty good right now, but there are seats available still for all the concerts,Ó said Kearney. ÒWe love having the opportunity to give people this kind of music here,Ó said Kearney. Ryan added, ÒItÕs predictable and something that people know they can count on, and itÕs reasonable for a concert.Ó
Reservations can be made by contacting The Old Brogue at 703-759-3309. The Old Brogue is located in the Great Falls Village Center off Georgetown Pike.
Nov. 7: IONA, a premier pan-Celtic band on the East Coast and an Old Brogue favorite at the winter concerts.
Nov. 14: Seamus Kennedy, native Irish music told through ballads and song.
Nov. 21: Maggie Sansone, an evening of virtuoso pan-Celtic music featuring the hammered dulcimer, flute and fiddle.
Nov. 28: Danny Doyle, an Irish music revival using ballads, stories and history.