August 16 & 17, 2008
Featuring fantastic entertainment from the Emeral Isles, plus world-class Irish-American bands. Dozens of authentic Irish vendors, traditional foods, and plenty of beverages.
Admission: Adults: $12; 12 years and under are FREE. Group rates are available to groups of 15 or more. Group Reservation Form
Hothouse Flowers
Say It With Flowers. Performing Saturday only.
With their fifth and latest studio album, ‘Into Your Heart’, Hothouse Flowers are planning to steal their way into hearts everywhere.
"The one thing I tell everyone," says Hothouse Flowers guitarist Fiachna O’Braonain, "is that this record is the most raw, soulful record we have ever done." Coupling the Flowers’ hunger for a solid soul sound along with the distinctive, instantly recognisable vocals of lead singer Liam O Maonlai, ’Into Your Heart’ is the sound of a band in love with their music - and completely comfortable with the many roots and sources that give their music its unique vibe.
'Your Love Goes On', the first new single from the record, debuted as the highest-ranking new single that week in the Irish charts. With the February 6th release of ‘Into Your Heart’ in Ireland and a scheduled mid-March release in the UK, the band plans to tour extensively behind the record. Additional world/regional releases are being planned throughout the year.
With the pressure long gone off the band as Ireland’s next big thing, Liam, Fiachna, Peter O’Toole, bassist, and drummer Dave Clarke can get on with the more enjoyable task of making albums according to their own pace. Recent years have seen them play festivals in Europe and take on concert tours across North America where Rolling Stone magazine once dubbed them ‘the best unsigned band in Europe’.
This coming year expect to hear a lot more from the Flowers as they make their way into more and more hearts around the world.
The Elders
Since forming in 1998, The Elders have set the American music scene on its ear, thanks to a skillful mix of amped-up roots rock, augmented with powerful vocals, blazing instrumentals and top-notch song writing
The line up consists of a group of wicked-fine Kansas City musicians with a passion for Celtic music, and a charismatic Irishman with a love of all things American. This combination makes for cross-pollination that is high octane and progressive, yet rooted in tradition.
These six gentlemen collectively create original music that transcends & endures - music that is unaffected by fads, trends and the giant maw of mind-numbing commercialism. The songs are mystical, comical, political and cultural while covering a wide variety of topics such as poverty, civil war, family bonds, spirituality, love and friendship. They speak of generations of immigrants, and address their heritage through songs and stories of history, characters, places and events - some distant, some recent, some real and some imagined.
The Elders continuously attract capacity crowds throughout the US and abroad. Their fan base is ever-expanding, consisting of people of all ages, from all walks of life, many who follow the band from gig to gig, sometimes driving for hundreds of miles to see their energetic performances. One needs only to visit the Fan Mail page to see the extraordinary effect their music has on people
The Elders are fronted by Ian Byrne from County Wicklow, and backed by guitarist Steve Phillips (The Rainmakers), bassist Norm Dahlor (Tommy Shaw Band), violinist Brent Hoad, drummer Tommy Sutherland, and keyboardist Joe Miquelon (Asleep at the Wheel.) All are well-known veteran musicians having played in numerous recording and touring bands before forming The Elders.
Andy Cooney
Performing Sunday only. Christened by The New York Times as "Irish America's Favorite Son", Andy Cooney has taken the Irish-American music scene by storm. His outstanding voice and dynamic stage presence makes him a favorite with audiences as he renders songs ranging from all-time favorites like "Galway Bay" and "Danny Boy" to his hit records "The Irish Wedding Song", "Boston Rose" and "Shannon River". Andy's talent and versatility provide the ability to deliver a song directly to the hearts of his listeners.
Andy currently has ten solo releases, and has recorded with Ireland's finest musicians including an album recorded with the world-famous Phil Coulter entitled "Home Away From Home".
Quite handsome with a disarming boyish charm, Andy is known to be a true professional bringing the best of Irish entertainment wherever he tours. Andy Cooney maintains a mailing list of almost 20,000 fans and his website is frequently visited daily. Andy and his band receive the highest reviews wherever they have performed. Whether playing before a packed theater or at a family gathering, his feelings are the same, "... I still feel as though I'm singing for my family... only the room is a little bigger".
The Barley Boys
The Barley Boys have taken their live performances from the local pub scene to the festival stages across the nation. The band has reached a new presence in the Celtic Music scene of today. The Barley Boys have played such venues as The Bethlehem, PA Celtic Classic, Irish 2000 in Altamont,NY, The Slainte Fest in Long Island, NY and The Newport Irish Festival in Rhode Island.
Michael Babick, singer, guitarist, and songwriter has been a professional musician for over 20 years. His inspiration for Celtic music comes from researching his lineage; recent trips to Ireland solidified his sense of heritage. The individual talents of The Barley Boys’ powerful drums, melodic bass, high energy fiddle and innovative guitars all join together to form a new full and exciting sound.
MacTalla Mor
MacTalla Mor, Gaelic for Great Echo, an exciting Celtic Roots Band featuring The Great Highland Bagpipes, Piano, Vocals and Bodhran in a dynamic mix of Traditional Celtic, Roots Rock, Calypso, Hip Hop, Fusion and Jazz is taking America by Storm. Their champion pipers, brothers Jesse & Levon and award winning Gaelic singer, their sister Ilana, along with brother “MageErik” on Bass and mom Patty on Bodhran (Celtic Drum) set them apart and make them a crowd favorite throughout North America.
Their energetic performances receive rave reviews, standing ovations and instant invitations to return wherever they perform. Along with Traditional Irish and Scottish tunes, MacTalla's original songs, arrangements and driving rhythms create a vibrant and engaging blend of the past and the present. Indeed, their Gaelic and novel songs bridge the gap between the past and present in an elegant fashion that is strikingly relevant to today's generation. MtM's magical performance brings the past to life creating a joyous, poignant and powerful experience for audiences of all ages.
In addition to headlining at major Festivals, Universities and Celtic Events, they've appeared at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, on ABC, NBC and CBS TV, played for HBO Studios, New York City's Steinway Hall and Central Park's Tavern On the Green and are heard daily on radio stations throughout the world. They recently helped break attendance records at Grandfather Mountain Highland Games NC, the largest Scottish Clan gathering in America with over 50,000 people in attendance. MacTalla Mor Band is called "Compelling and Powerful" by the Ale Street News, "Celtic Music for the Masses" by the Hartford Advocate and Ludxury Experience Magazine exclaims: "There Is No Musical Limit for this Family"! Traditional Gaelic singing (Sean-nos) and Puirt a' Beul (Mouth Music) meet original Celtic Roots Rock and Fusion. Join MacTalla for their extraordinary brand of Earth Shaking, Dance Making, Ground Breaking Celtic Rock and Fusion "The Pipes Are Calling...Resistance Is Futile"!
Calley McGrane and Exile
The live Celtic music scene in the Northeast has featured a lively group of musicians with eighteen year old fiddler and vocalist Calley McGrane at the forefront. After performing for several years as a duo act, Calley and guitarist John McGrane (Calley's dad) were joined first by bassist David Knauf, and then by vocalist and bodhran player Mark Stein.
Their latest (and very welcome) addition was Jonathan Lichtig, a professional drummer, whose presence has lifted the band to another level of energy and drive. The band's sound is an eclectic mix of traditional Celtic fiddle tunes, haunting Irish ballads, and rousing pub & rebel songs. Following the release of their Irish traditional 2004 CD "Taking Flight", the Exiles infused their 2006 CD "On The Run" with some contemporary rythyms, while still retaining a firm link to this tradition. The 2007 CD "No Turning Back" has, at its core, traditonal Celtic music, but relies on heavy doses of percussion and bass to drive this CD into a genre they call "Celtic alt-rock".
The Dave Rowe Trio
The Dave Rowe Trio is a high-energy musical freight train that blends in-your-face, three-part harmony with hot guitar pickin’, jaw-dropping fiddling, and dry Downeast wit. The result is a show that grabs an audience and makes them hold on for dear life through the final chord of the encore.
The band started soon after Dave Rowe’s father passed away in 2004. His dad, Tom, was a founding member of the revered folk group, Schooner Fare, and was also Dave’s bandmate in the roots band, Turkey Hollow. Needing some uplifting and a new direction, Dave asked Kevin O’Reilly and Ed Howe to join him to become the Dave Rowe Trio. They held their first rehearsal on St. Patrick’s Day in 2004 in front of a live audience. After this trial by fire, the trio started on a path of CD production and live shows all over the country, recording five critically-acclaimed CDs in three years and leaving audiences from Maine to Milwaukee gasping for air. At the same time, the boys found themselves performing on stage with some of the brightest stars in folk and acoustic music including Christine Lavin, Tommy Makem, Noel Paul Stookey, The Shaw Brothers, Bill Morrissey, The Nields, Gordon Bok, Tom Paxton, and Schooner Fare.
Ed Ryan
Ed Ryan makes the kind of music that you never get tired of listening to. The Long Island singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has been described as an unusual blend of unbridled cynic and hopeless romantic and is a man whose powerful voice and sharp wit have made him a popular favorite in and out of the music scene.
Ed Ryan is a respected entertainer in the Irish-American community. Performing with Gerry Finlay's Cara Band, Ed has become quite popular in the Irish circuit, most notably for his searing rendition of "Danny Boy" and for his humorous (and most requested) original sing-along titled "The Drinking Song." For his efforts, Ed has been invited to perform during the opening ceremonies of New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade on WNBC-TV for many years.
Broesler Irish Step Dancers
The Kevin Broesler School of Irish Dance has been an active member of the East Coast Irish community since 1986. The school was opened in New York by its founder and director, Kevin Broesler. Mr. Broesler, a former national and world champion stepdancer and a featured performer at various concerts and cultural festivals, is a fully accredited teacher and adjudicator of Irish dancing, qualified by the An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha in Ireland. In 2004, Kevin Broesler was honored by Irish American magazine as one of its top 100 Irish Americans.
The school has continued to grow; first, into Maryland in 1988, followed by New Jersey in 1994. Currently classes are offered in Rockland, Fishkill, and Brewster, New York; Westwood, New Jersey; and Baltimore, Maryland. The expansion of the school has been marked by the success enjoyed by many of Mr. Broesler's former and current students at regional and national competitions, and at the World Irish Dancing Championships held each year in Ireland.
In 2005, the Broesler School was named the top Irish Dancing School in the U.S. by Irish Dancing & Culture magazine.
Schenectady Pipe Band
In it's pursuit of excellence, the Schenectady Pipe Band has been competing in contests at Scottish games throughout the Eastern United States and Canada, as well as in Scotland. Many members also choose to compete in solo competitions. These events not only reward individual achievements, but also offer incentive to further improve playing skills.
The band includes people of all ages, walks of life and national descent, bound only by a common love for the thrilling music of the Highland bagpipe and drum. The Band performs several dozen times a year for a variety of events and practices weekly in order to maintain and improve its standard of performance. A high communal spirit, endless good times, and above all, the joys of achievement are the reward of hours of dedicated practice. New members are always welcome!
Tim Quinn will also be performing in the Coppertree Pub.
Paid Festival admission is required to enter the Festival grounds on the weekends of August 9-10 and August 16-17. The Skyride is a separate Festival amenity that is within the grounds at an extra fee to festival attendees. Skyride only tickets are not available on August 9-10 and August 16-17.
