August is Fuchsia

JACKSON, MS
7 pm, August 21, 2010
$10 Adult, $5 Under 18
($8 for CHS and JID members)
The Courtyard @ Covenant Pres
4000 Ridgewood Road, Jackson

Considered one of Ireland's finest traditional acts, the Fuchsia Band from Co. Cork is making ONE American tour this year, with a limited docket of appearances over just a couple of weeks. Jackson is one of the stops on the tour!

Covenant Presbyterian has graciously offered use of their space, hosting the concert in the idyllic setting of their Courtyard.

Known for their folk-trad spirit and charm, the Fuchsia Band have travelled far and wide performing their unique mixture of music, song, storytelling and dancing, and have gained recognition around the world.

The concert starts at 7:00pm on Saturday August 21, 2010, in the Courtyard at Covenant Presbyterian Church (4000 Ridgewood Road) in Jackson. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children under 18. Discounts are available for members of the Celtic Heritage Society and Jackson Irish Dancers.  Free workshops on the Irish flute, button accordion, tenor banjo, and bodhrán will be held in conjunction with the performance at a time and date to be announced. (Purchase of concert ticket is not required to attend the workshops.)

Check out the Fuchsia Band website to learn more about these Mississippi favorites.

This event is sponsored by the Celtic Heritage Society, and is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi Arts Commission. 

A Night of Irish Stories
Jackson and Hattiesburg Appearances

The storytelling nights in Jackson and Hattiesburg were a great success! Many who had never actually gotten to hear Junket Irishman Máirtín de Cógáin tell stories on his many visits to Mississippi to play music enjoyed a magical night of stories from Ireland, old and new, as well as a few tunes thrown in for good measure!

Covenant Pres hosted the Jackson show, while the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Hattiesburg hosted the second showing, with over 70 listeners in attendance!

A native of the rebel County Cork, Máirtín is also a noted singer, drum player (the Irish bodhrán), and céilí/set dancer. His work can be seen with Co. Cork’s The Fuchsia Band, and more recently Captain Mackey’s Goatskin and Stringband with Jimmy Crowley, and the brand new Máirtín de Cógáin Project, who will be releasing a new CD this summer.

As if there weren’t any limits to his talents, Máirtín is an up-and-coming-actor, with a significant role in the 2006 Cannes Palm d’ Or winner, The Wind that Shakes the Barley. Additionally, Máirtín is bilingual, speaking both English and the Irish language (also known as Irish Gaelic).

John Spillane brought the house down

Photo by Mack Barham, 2010.

John promised the crowd that he would destroy them completely by his performance, and then he delivered! A little destruction is a good thing.

Éamonn de Cógáin, a fellow Corkman, made the drive from Atlanta to Jackson for the concert, which was not to be missed. Éamonn kindly acted as emcee for the evening, with a great introduction for the night.

A mix of music, magic, all seriousness, and pure humor studded the night for two hours. The storm and lighning outside was resigned to oblivion, and there was just the craic and the music. The Mad Woman of Cork shocked the uninitiated with its raw execution and emotion, while fans of Spillane remarked it was better than when they heard it in Clonakilty, or Dublin.

The audience quickly caught on to the melody for Beautiful Ballincollig, joining the performance of the witty, bittersweet song. John was blown away himself when he was joined by the full house crowd in singing Óró, Sé Do Bheatha Abhaile. There in the middle of Mississippi, people sang in Irish. Did I mention it was a magic night?

If you missed the concert and are kicking yourself, sit tight. John will be swinging back through the South for a performance in Monroe, Louisiana (less than two short hours west of Jackson) at Enoch's Irish Pub. Thursday March 4th, 507 Louisville Avenue
Monroe, LA 71201-5923, (318) 388-3662.

Thanks much to the audience for supporting this event and live Celtic music in Mississippi. John remarked several times how blown away he was by the responsiveness of the audience. We were so gratified that Mississippi showed such a warm reception to John Spillane, and we will keep working to bring stellar Celtic concerts to Jackson.

Thanks also to Wine & Spirits in the Quarter and Fenian's Irish Pub, without whose generous sponsorship there would have been no concert.

~vap

Buíochas!

The 18th CelticFest Mississippi belongs to the ages and digital cameras, and it was mighty.

Thanks to all who braved the humidity and threatening skies for the 18th CelticFest Mississippi! Also, thanks to the performers, volunteers, and staffers who all donate their time and energies to this local marvel, and to all the sponsors who support it and us.

The festival was asuccess, with lots of first time attendees to mix in with the oldfriends. The Céilí floor was as crammed as ever, and Fenian's sold out of their wonderful Shepherd's Pie and Corned Beef plates once again!

We're already plotting and scheming to make the 19th CelticFest just as fresh and new as the first... mums the word until then!

 

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