MUSIC
RECENT EVENTS
New Voices: An Evening with Ashley Davis
April 10th and 11th 8:00pm
$25 General Sale/$20 Irish Arts Center Members
In the tradition of Celtic mavens such as Loreena McKennitt and Moya Brennan, contemporary singer/songwriter Ashley Davis takes the best of the old traditions and molds them into something uniquely beautiful and refreshingly new – guiding her audience back to a time when luminous songs and colorful stories were the centerpiece of a spring evening.
“A spellbinding voice and enchanting, original songs. Pure magic!" Country Music Today
“A young woman with a beautiful voice and as much musicality as anyone could wish for.” Phillip Glass
IRISH AMERICA MAGAZINE, MARCH 2008 | by- Ian Worpole
Ashley Davis' new CD,"Closer to You," is a lush mix of original Celtic-mythic love songs sung with an ethereal, dreamlike quality, indeed Ms Davis credits Loreena McKennitt as a primary influence, and that Celtic-Eastern quality is all-pervasive throughout the album, to great effect. A Kansas native, Ashley was raised on bluegrass before heading to Limerick to earn a Masters degree in Traditional Irish Singing at the Irish World Music Centre and at the same time become totally immersed in all things Celtic. Philip Glass is a fan; indeed, when I caught Ashley at Joe's Pub in NYC this past January the man himself was seated at the next table, enjoying every moment. Her sold-out show that night was a warm, witty masterpiece, with a good friend of mine Dan Lowery playing some sizzling flute solos and the 5 piece band as a whole adding many layers of intricate sound to her songs, some of which are apparently entering the "traditional" canon back in Ireland, according to one of her many hilarious introductions, for Ms Davis has indeed become something of a master story-teller also. You can get her CD at: daisyrings.com
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Click here to buy tickets or call Smarttix at 212.868.4444

Songs, Storytelling and Shenanigans
with
Mick Moloney, Daniel Cassidy & Peter Quinn
March 24 at 6:30 PM | Lolita Bar (226 Broome Street)
RSVP events@tenement.org
Join the Tenement Museum, Glucksman Ireland House NYU, and The Irish Arts Center for an evening of songs and storytelling with Irish-American musician Mick Moloney and writer/historian/musician Daniel Cassidy. Moloney and his band will perform the music of vaudevillians Harrigan and Hart, while Cassidy discusses his book How the Irish Invented Slang, which is now in its fourth printing. Leading them in lively conversation will be award-winning author Peter Quinn.
Mick Moloney is the foremost expert in 19th-century Irish-American music and teaches at NYU. He has recorded many Irish songs about the immigrant experience that will be used as an interactive feature in the Tenement Museum’s newest tour, the Moore Family Apartment, opening in June 2008.
Daniel Cassidy is the founder of the Irish Studies Program at New College in San Francisco. He is also a professional musician (at one time, he was the opening act for George Carlin) who has extensively researched Edward Harrigan, one half of the 19th century musical comedy duo Harrigan and Hart. How the Irish Invented Slang proves that US slang has its strongest wellsprings in nineteenth-century Irish America. "Jazz" and "poker," "sucker" and "scam" all derive from Irish. While demonstrating this, Cassidy traces the hidden history of how Ireland fashioned America not just linguistically but also through the Irish gambling underworld, urban street gangs, and the powerful political machines that grew out of them.
Peter Quinn, a third-generation New Yorker, is the author of Banished Children of Eve, which won the American Book Award. Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish America, now out in paperback , examines Irish New Yorkers from Archbishop "Dagger John" Hughes to James Cagney.
**The Tenement Museum will also welcome Joseph O’Connor and Kevin Baker on Monday, March 31. Stay tuned for more details on the museum's monthlong Irish celebration in March. **

Annual St. Patrick’s Open Day 2008
Sunday, March16 12 noon – 5:00pm
Free Event!
Come celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day at the Irish Arts Center!
Please join us for this fun filled, free afternoon of authentic Irish music, dance, song and language. Participants are welcome to join in a workshop or simply sit back and enjoy the variety of performances and activities taking place throughout the day.
Fun for the whole family! For information call 212.757.3318.
Click here for more information and the complete schedule!

Masters in Collaboration:
Ireland’s Musical Greats in Partnership with a
New Generation of Artists
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PAUL BRADY
Meets Sarah Siskind
An Evening with Ireland’s Pre-eminent Singer/Songwriter and one of Nashville’s Brightest New Voices
One Night Only!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
8:00 pm
Tickets: $100 |
Click here to read the rave review in the Irish Voice!
Extremely Limited Availability – 99 seats only!
To purchase tickets, please contact Sydney Snyder at (212) 757-3318 x204
Proceeds will further the educational work
of the Irish Arts Center
“Paul Brady is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of rare gifts, an artist who has made an indelible impression in both traditional and pop-rock genres.” - The Wall Street Journal
"Sarah (Siskind) has beautiful songs that resonate, and a lovely voice to match." - Ron Sexsmith
About the Project
Paul Brady is one of Ireland’s most enduringly popular artists, and widely regarded as the pre-eminent Irish singer-songwriter of his generation. He has chosen Sarah Siskind, a gifted, up-and-coming Nashville-based singer, instrumentalist and songwriter whose influences run from Irish and British folk music to Pearl Jam and Led Zeppelin via Mahalia Jackson, Gerry Douglas and The Mahavishnu Orchestra, to be his partner in a unique collaboration. During a weeklong workshop, Brady and Siskind will invite each other into their repertoire, exploring their distinct musical styles and approach to songwriting. Whatever emerges from this musical dialogue will be presented for the one-night-only engagement at the Irish Arts Center on Saturday, February 23rd, and may form the basis for future collaborations.
Sarah Siskind grew up in a family of musicians. She recalls hearing endless genres of music piping through her parents’ record player in her North Carolina home: Bluegrass, Celtic, Appalachian, Gospel, Classical. It had a strong influence on her and at age 4, Sarah was singing and playing piano, and was writing songs at 11. By the time she was 14, she released her first full-length album called Horizon Cries and went on to win numerous state-wide songwriting contests and appear alongside other North Carolina acts such as Doc Watson and Maya Angelou. The next project followed at 17, and after a brief move to Seattle, WA, Sarah settled in Nashville, TN and released her third CD at age 21.
The Irish Arts Center Masters in Collaboration Series was inspired by renowned Irish musician-folklorist Mick Moloney to bring together Ireland great musical artists with new genres of music and new generations of musicians, in an effort to broaden and deepen the musical conversation between Ireland the United States.
Sponsored in part by Culture Ireland

TIN WHISTLE DAY Free Event!
with Bill Ochs
Sunday, January 13, 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Our resident tin whistle expert Bill Ochs, a world renowned
instructor and founding member of the Center, will show you
everything you need to begin
playing the tin whistle at a free
workshop for adults.
Please bring a key-of-D tin whistle
or purchase one for $10 at the
workshop.
For
information bill@pennywhistle.com or call 212.247.3231

AN IRISH CHRISTMAS
A Musical Celebration with Marie and Martin Reilly and Special Guests
December 14 SOLD OUT!
December 15 SOLD OUT!
December 16 SOLD OUT!
Bring your entire family to this highly entertaining, utterly
heartwarming celebration of the season. Marie and
Martin Reilly (pictured here) with special guests Séamus
MacConaonaigh and Gabriel Donohue will lead a concert of live traditional
Irish music – including all your holiday favorites.
Irish fiddler Marie Reilly has performed extensively
throughout the U.S. with Cherish the Ladies,
Riverdance and The Chieftains. Her brother,
button accordionist Martin Reilly, has toured with
Eileen Ivers, Cherish the Ladies, Riverdance,
Mick Moloney, Robbie O’Connell and The Green
Fields of America.They have appeared everywhere
from Carnegie Hall to Good Morning America.
Join Marie, Martin, Séamus and Gabriel, as well as special
guests, for an entertaining evening of songs and
stories of Christmas.
Admission: $30

IRISH FLUTE CONCERT
Sunday, September 30 2:00pm– 3:00pm
Featuring Lúnasa
members Kevin Crawford
and Cillian Vallely (pictured here)
Join these two outstanding
musicians from the
internationally acclaimed
supergroup Lúnasa,
known for their “dazzling
reworkings of traditional
Irish folktunes” (Washington Post). Follows a Master Class
in Irish Flute with both artists.
Concert admission: $15 members/$20 non-members

TIN WHISTLE MASTER CLASS
with Bill Ochs
Saturday, September 15
2:00pm–4:30pm
Two part workshop:
Absolute beginners
2:00pm– 3:30pm
Advanced beginners and
intermediate players
3:30pm– 4:30pm
Our resident tin whistle expert Bill Ochs, a world renowned
instructor and founding member of the Center, will show you
everything you need to begin
playing the tin whistle at a free
workshop for adults.
Please bring a key-of-D tin whistle
or purchase one for $10 at the
workshop.
For reservations or
information, e-mail Bill
Ochs at bill@pennywhistle.com or call 212.247.3231.

Absolutely Irish!
On Wednesday, April 18th, we hosted
Absolutely Irish!, an unprecedented
gathering of some of the brightest stars of traditional Irish music, led by legendary musician and folklorist Mick Moloney.
The program was filmed by Academy
Award winning filmmaker Paul Wagner
before a packed, live audience in our intimate Donaghy Theatre, and is planned for broadcast on PBS stations next spring.
Among the many performers at this
once-in-a-lifetime event were Joanie Madden, Eileen Ivers, Liz Carroll, Robbie O’Connell,
Séamus Egan, John Doyle, Mike Rafferty, Charlie Coen, Karan Casey, Susan McKeown,
and dancers Niall O’Leary, Darrah Carr, and Jo McNamara. Absolutely Irish! was produced with the support of the New York State Rockefeller Music Fund. (photo by Nuala Purcell)
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