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Seven Nations just added some March tour dates:

This is a MUST SEE band.

Gareth Brannigan bought his first guitar after receiving some money on his 12th birthday. After his father showed him a few chords he was off and running eventually learning lead guitar, playing on occasion’s guest lead guitar in his father blues band. On hearing music from Damien Rice, Declan O’Rourke, Ray LaMontagne to name but a few he turned to writing his on songs, this led to him accomplishing semi-finalist status in the UK Songwriters Contest competition 2008 with “Sunrise”. In late 2008 Gareth entered the recording studio to lay down four self penned songs that was to become his first EP entitled “Walk with me”. Gareth teamed up with experienced musicians, notably John Leighton on keyboards and Elaine Sokanovic backing vocals. What resulted from these performances and Gareth’s production is a collection of songs that well surpassed all expectations of a singer songwriter so young, Gareth was 19 at the time. In 2009 he was a finalist the Newtownards Guitar Singer Song writers competition. He is now currently promoting his EP as a solo artist in various venues around the country and has recently performed live on Dublin FM’s “On the verge” www.ontheverge.ie with Brendan Hickey, also appearing on U105 with Lisa Flavelle.
He is currently writing new songs and hopes to go into the studio again in the near future.

“Walk With Me” is currently available as download from ITunes, Amazon, CDBaby, Rhapsody…….

You can hear samples at Gareth’s music at his myspace page: www.myspace.com/garethbranniganmusic

Conor Mason, born August 27, 1981, is a singer-songwriter from Derry. Having learned classical piano from the age of 8, Conor soon progressed to a variety of other instruments including Guitar, drums and harmonica.

Conor followed a music production course at a local college where he began playing in bands and learning the art of recording. It was around this time that Conor played in a band called Gentle Ben. Soon after they split, Conor began recording songs for his first solo project.

It wasn’t long before people were taking notice of Conor’s music. His song ‘Circles’, was one of ten songs of the year in the BBC Across the line show in N. Ireland. More recently, Conor has also won both the XFM Unsigned competition and the monthy ’Your Sound’ showdown at the legendary King Tuts venue in Glasgow. This lead to a slot at the Hydro Connect Music Festival this year, where Conor played alongside artists like Elbow, Sigur Ros, the Coral and Gomez. At the end of last year, Conor released his debut album, ‘When it’s over’, on Antimatter music.

Conor is back in Derry working on his new album, and playing with a new live band, which he hopes to tour with after the summer. With his songwriting consistency, and the sheer warmth of every performance, we look forward to hearing (and seeing) what Conor does next.

Next Gig: IMRO Tour 2010 @ Masons, Derry – 15th April

When It’s Over is available through ITunes (click on album cover to go to ITunes) and also at the Antimatter shop http://www.antimattermusic.co.uk/shop.html

Visit Conor at:
his myspace page http://www.myspace.com/conormason
his facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Conor-Mason/119434200227
his twitter page http://twitter.com/conor_mason
his Lastfm pagehttp://www.last.fm/music/Conor+Mason

Just got this from the Barley Juice mailing list. If you are not yet a fan of this great Cetlic Rock group be sure to check them out. Click on the venue name below for more info

Listen closely during this Thursday’s episode of The Office, and you will hear our “Weekend Irish” playing in the bar scene. We’re sorry in advance for any damage that might occur to your telly room.

check our calendar at www.barleyjuice.com for all of our upcoming shows.

 “Hope to see some of ye in the very near future folks. Slan..”

The Druids are a four-piece Irish REBEL band made up of three Kildare men and a Wexford man… Paddy Mangan from Johnstown Bridge on banjo, mandolin and vocals; Gary Lawlor from Clane on acoustic guitar and lead vocals; newest recruit Darren Egan also from Clane on bass, a great musician, he will also be singing when he gets settled in; and the one and only Mick O’Brien originally from Wexford but now living in Newbridge on five string banjo, bodhran, tin whistle and vocals. The group has recently taken onboard a manager, Adrian Moran from County Westmeath, who aims to take them “to the highest point of their careers.”

The Druids played their first gig on 9th May 2009 and since then have toured Ireland and Scotland where they play again in April. They are supporting the Celtic band Charlie and the Bhoys in the famous Barrowlands Glasgow to a sellout crowd of 2000 Celtic fans and returning  to the Brazen Head in Glasgow where they perform on regular occasions. On St.Patricks Day The Druids are playing in Belgium and have ten dates in Santa Ponsa in Spain for the annual Celtic Convention in May. Over 30,000 Celtic supporters will be there. They have had enquiries for American and Australian tours for late 2010 and early 2011. Currently they are working on their second album which should be available in early March, 2010. Writers as well as singers and musicians, The Druids have already written four of their own Rebel songs.

The Druids can be seen and heard at:

BEBO:   www.bebo.com/druids32

MySpace:  www.myspace.com/thedruidsirishrebelband.com

Youtube:  www.youtube.com/thedruidsband

Two of our favorite groups have just announced additional tour dates.

Enter the Haggis has added Abingdon, Va to their tour. They will appear on Friday July 30 at 7:30 PM at 120 N. Court Street. This show is part of the Virginia Highlands festival. This is a great festival which runs from July 24 – August 8. For more info check out their website: http://www.vahighlandsfestival.org

The Saw Doctors have added Tuesday May 11 They will be appearing at Pollak Theater on the campus of Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, New Jersey. Tickets are $25 to the general public $5 for students.

I personally disagree with a certain mouse. To me, the happiest place on earth is Kells Pub in Portland OR. This is especially true this month when the St Patrick’s Day Festival goes into full swing. The festival runs for 5 days and is a charity event. The perfect chance to have a wonderful time and help out local charities. This year’s festival also includes an event that benefits Haiti. Kells Irish Pub and Restaurant is located at 112 SW Second Avenue in Portland. The phone number is 503-227-4057.

This year’s Festival is sure to be one of the best with the line up of talent they have on deck. The festival kicks off on Friday, March 12th in the pub at 11:30 AM and in the Festival tent at 7PM. There is a $5 cover in both locations after 7 PM. The entertainment in the pub that evening includes Grafton Street, Cul An Ti and Chancers. In the festival tent you can see The Maher Dancers, Tom May, Kells Pipers, St James’ Gate and Amadan.

On Saturday, March 13th both the pub and the festival tent are also busy. The pub opens at 7 AM and goes until 2 AM. The tent comes to life at 11:30 and goes till 12 AM. There is a $10 charge after 6 PM. In the pub you can see Chancers starting at 6:30 PM. Grafton Street, Amadan and St James’ Gate also play the pub that night. In the tent you can see The Murray Dancers starting at noon. Also appearing on Saturday are Tom May, Kells Pipers, Peter Yeats, Yeates Dancers, Cul An Ti, Thin Lizzie Dedication, Maher Dancers, Slate and Standard and U2 77.

On Sunday, March 14th, the pub hours are 7 AM – 2 AM and the tent will be open 8:30 AM – 6 PM. The evening in the pub kicks off with Irish Sessions starting at 6 PM. Chancers and Grafton Street perform later in the evening. In the tent things kick off at 10 AM with the Kells Pipers. Also performing on Sunday are Slate and Standard, Maher Dancers, St James’ Gate and Grafton Street.

On the weekend kid and family events are free all day. Minors are welcome in the restaurant and festival tent are until 5 PM

On Monday, March 15th events will be confined to the pub in preparation for the big Charity event in the tent the following day. The pub will be open 11:30 AM – 2 AM. Grafton Street will perform at 9 PM followed by Amadan.

Tuesday, March 16th marks the day of the Special Benefit Concert for Mercy Corps. Tickets are $16 in advance or $20 at the door. Advance tickets for this event only may be purchased through Kells website at: http://www.kellsirish.com/portland/festivalmusic.html All proceeds go to aid Haiti. The tent opens at 6 PM. Curtis Salgado will be performing at 7:30 followed at 9:30 by the Crazy Bs. The pub will be opened 7 AM to 2 AM. St James’ Gate will appear at 11:PM.

On St Paddy’s Day itself the events are non stop. The pub hours will be 7AM – 2 AM. The entertainment begins at 12:30 PM with Cul Ti An and continues all day with Tom May, Chancers, St James’ Gate, Grafton Street with Irish Sessions beginning at 10:30 PM. In the tent the festivities start at 10AM and run till 12 AM. Performers include The Maher Dancers, Kells Pipers, Grafton Street, Yeates Dancers, St James’ Gate, Imelda May, The Murray Dancers, The Portland Police Band (so be on your best behavior my Portland pals – you know who you are ) U2 77, Tualitan Valley FR Pipers and Thin Lizzie Dedication. I can’t think of a better way to spend St Paddy’s Day. Admission is $20 before and $25 after 4PM and includes a festival t-shirt. More information can be found at the festival page of the Kells website http://www.kellsirish.com/portland/festivalmusic.html

Kells pulls an excellent pint and can even be persuaded to make you a Nutty Irishman in a pinch. I couldn’t recommend them more highly.

Sunday March 28
Jobing.com Arena
Phoenix, AZ
Ticket & VIP Click here

We have added ticket info links if we had them. If there is no link check with the venue or Paul’s website www.paulmccartney.com

In celebration of St Patrick’s Day this month we will be showcasing as many Irish performers as we can. Everyone is Irish this month so we’d like to introduce you to your cousins from the old country. Ireland has long been the home of great music and stories. This country nurtures the creative soul which is evident in the great number of singers, songwriters and other artists who live there. It is difficult for young artists, and even not so young artists, to get a foot in the door in Ireland as it is the world over. If we, as fans, don’t help them out where will tomorrow’s music come from? So let’s bypass all the powers that be and give a listen to them. We featured Siobhan Day yesterday and today we will shine the spotlight on another young artist that we featured a while back.

Chris Keys is a singer-songwriter from Belfast. We posted his bio earlier but here is a little more info and a sample of his great music. Chris is 26 years old and has been featured in the film Imagine while busking in his home town. He is currently working on his second album. Listen to his songs then friend him on myspace http://www.myspace.com/chrisjkeys and facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-keys/52820986217 You can also see videos of his work at his youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/chriskeysofficial

Two more dates have been announced by the Saw Doctors so we will plug them into the tour schedule as we now know it.

May 7 The Magic Bag in Detroit Ticket info call 248 544 3030 or http://www.themagicbag.com
May 8 Celtic Fest Chicago in Millennium Park of Chicago as part of the Chicago Celtic Festival.
http://www.celticfestchicago.us
May 9 Cleveland House of Blues
May 13 The Theatre of the Living Arts (TLA) in Philadelphia call 215 9202 1011 or http://www.livenation.com or http://www.ticketmaster.com
May 14 Irving Plaza in New York City
May 15 House of Blues Club in Boston http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/418767 or http://www.ticketmaster.com
May 16 The Music Hall in Portsmouth NH

We will update as more cities are announced.

Irish singer-songwriter Siobhan Day was born in Belfast into a musical family. Growing up she would be surrounded by a wide range of musical tastes from Irish Traditional to Guns N Roses to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. At a very early age Siobhan learnt to play the keyboard and tin whistle, but she first picked up the guitar at the age of 13 which would be the beginnings of a very clear and exciting path into music.

Having music as a way for Siobhan to cope with events in her life was a cathartic release; writing about love and loss, hope and growing up, memories and dreams. The music is a mixture of contemporary folk and acoustic rock, drawing influences from her childhood experience and her current musical tastes.

Siobhan has recently started gigging and is currently working on getting into the studio to record her first EP with a lot of positive interest in her work and exciting plans for the year ahead.

You can catch her live in coffee shops, singer-songwriter nights and even busking in and around Belfast city centre.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/siobhanday
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/sizeborg
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Siobhan-Day/180952197211

Siobhan also offers a free download of her song Outside at: http://www.nichart.com/downloads.html It’s under SSS

by PrisR

The North Texas Irish Festival is being held March 5-7, 2010 at Fair Park in Dallas, TX. The list of performers scheduled to appear is amazing! With both international and U.S.-based musicians appearing, the festival has got to be fantastic. It will be just the thing to energize us all for the remaining weeks of winter! Following is an alphabetical listing of those scheduled to appear:

International Artists
The Barra MacNeils – Ireland
The David Munnelly Band – Ireland and England
Ed Miller of Scotland with Scooter Muse and Jil Chambless of the US
Gadella – Prince Edward Island
Grand Derangement – Nova Scotia
Great Big Sea – Newfoundland
Irish Descendants – Canada
Samantha Robichaud – New Brunswick
Sliabh Notes – Ireland
The Town Pants – Vancouver, Canada
Vishten – Prince Edward Island

Also Featured US artists from Texas and across the US

Abby Green
Behan
Beyond The Pale
Blaggards
Boru’s Ghost
Clandestine
Cor Gaeilge Texais
Coyne & Reeves
Crossroads
Don Gabbert
Ed Miller (A Scot now living in Texas) with Scooter Muse and Jil Chambless
5 Second Rule
Irish Rogues
Jiggernaut
Jim Flanagan
Legacy
Needfire
North Texas Caledonia Pipes & Drums
Poor Man’s Fortune
Sarah Dinan
Seamus Stout
Shift
Teribus
Threadneedle Street
Trinity River Whalers
Tullamore

Be sure to visit the North Texas Irish Festival website for
times and location of these show: www.NTIF.com

The Wicked Tinkers have updated their 2010 tour schedule. Here’s where they will be this year. As always, there could be dates added or changed so be sure to check their website also http://www.wickedtinkers.com/schedule.html

Feb 27 – 28
46th ANNUAL ARIZONA SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES
Phoenix, AZ

March 13 – 14
24th Annual SONORA CELTIC FAIRE
Sorona, CA

March 20
ANCHORAGE CELTIC SPRING FESTIVAL
Anchorage Alaska

March 27
TUCSON EVENING CONCERT
Tucson AZ

April 10
BAKERSFIELD HIGHLAND GAMES

April 16 – 18
LAS VEGAS HIGHLAND GAMES
Las Vegas, NV

April 22
YOLO ARTS MUSIC TOUR
Palms Playhouse, 13 Main Street, Winters, CA from 7:00-8:30pm

April 24 & 25
SACRAMENTO VALLEY SCOTTISH GAMES
Woodland, CA

May 29 & 30
UNITED SCOTTISH SOCIETY HIGHLAND GATHERING AND FESTIVAL
Costa Mesa Fairgrounds- Southern California

June 12 & 13
UTAH SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES

June 26 & 27
SAN DIEGO SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES

July 17 &18
ARIZONA HIGHLANDS CELTIC FESTIVAL
Flagstaff, AZ

July 22
YOLO ARTS MUSIC TOUR
River Walk Park Amphitheater, 651 2nd Street, West Sacramento, from 7pm to 8:30pm

July 24
FORD FAMILY SERIES
Ford Amphitheater, Hollywood CA, at 10am to 11am

July 31- Aug 1
63rd PACIFIC NORTHWEST SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES
King County Fairgrounds in Enumclaw, Washington –

Aug 7 & 8   Tentative
THE ISLE OF WIGHT DIDGHEADRADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL
IN THE UK

Sept 12
KELSO HIGHLANDER FESTIVAL
Kelso, Washington

Sept 17-19 Tentative
OKLAHOMA HIGHLAND GAMES
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Oct 9 & 10
THE SEASIDE HIGHLAND GAMES
Seaside Park on the Ventura County Fairgrounds,Ventura CA

Timeless Traditions, released in February 2009, is Malachi Cush’s fourth album and follows successes with his debut album Malachi, New Day and Celtic Heartbeat. It is an exceptional collection of traditional Celtic songs enhanced by Malachi’s effortless laid back style and smooth mellow voice.

A favorite of mine is County Tyrone. I listen and my minds eye sees those vividly green high holy hills.                 The Donaghmore Exile, another favorite, is a perfect example of Malachi’s expertise at storytelling.
Peggy Gordon is beautifully done as a duet featuring Deirdre Bonner. Her lovely voice compliments Malachi’s and reminds me of Mary Black’s Anachie Gordon. They also join voices to sing Ned of the Hill.

Mention should be made of the considerably talented artists and musicians Plunkett McGartland, Brendan Monaghan, Davey Muldrew and Declan Magee who so ably contribute backup. I would highly recommend this album to anyone and find myself listening over and over again. The songs  are each a little different from the other and are well done and enjoyable listening. I just wonder how this one slipped past me when it first came out. It’s a winner for sure!

Timeless Traditions Song list:

Young Matt Hyland
Lover’s Heart
Ned of the Hill
Step it out Mary
The Wild Goose
The Donaghmore Exile
Spanish Lady
I Wish my Love was a Red Red Rose
Peggy Gordon
The Creel
County Tyrone
A Soldier’s Farewell
 

Timeless Traditions

Available at iTunes:

Visit Malachi Cush at:

Myspace:  http://www.myspace.com/malachicush

Website:  http://malachicush.net/

Fansite:  http://www.malachimad.com/

Gaelic Storm is back on the road. Be sure to catch Darcy and the band if they come to your area. They do a great show and will be introducing some of the songs from the new CD at these shows. Click on the venue name for more details.

03 – 04 Alexandria, VA Birchmere Music Hall
05 Pomona, NJ Stockton Performing Arts Center
06 Manasquan, NJ Algonguin Arts Theatre
07 Wilmington, DE The Grand Opera House
10 Greensburg, PA The Palace Theatre
11 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
12 Chicago, IL House of Blues
13 Chicago, IL Meyer Theatre
16 Eau Claire, WI State Theatre
17 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre St Pat’s Day with Gaelic Storm. What could be better?
19 Iowa City, IA Englert Theatre
20 Council Bluffs, IA The Arts Center
21 Akron, IA Akron Opera House
23 Grand Rapids, MN Myles Reif Performing Arts Center
24 Mankato, MN Alltel Center
25 Detroit Lakes, MN Historic Holmes Theatre
27 St. Paul, MN The O’Shaugnessy Auditorium