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Irish Fest Virtual Program

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 2021 Virtual Program 


Irish-Themed Shows - Watch Below!


with support and in collaboration with
Culture Ireland Irish Fest Virtual Program Partner   TradFest Irish Fest Virtual Program Collaboration

 

In addition to the festival at the Henry Maier Festival Park, we also produced an online program for folks to enjoy from anywhere in the world! Watch anytime below or on our YouTube!

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

 

Lineup

Aisling Lyons Band - Irish Fest Virtual


Aisling Lyons Band
Dermot Sheedy, Aisling Lyons & Seán Lyons are a newly formed 3 piece who came together very naturally after being asked to collaborate for Folk Nights at glór by curator, Paula Carroll in early 2021. Dermot Sheedy first came to prominence as the innovative percussionist with Ciorras, a band formed by Donal Lunny as part of the TG4 series Lorg Lunny. Since then he’s gone on to bigger things and an international touring career with Hermitage Green. Aisling Lyons is one of the rising stars and budding composers of the Irish harp world – rooted in tradition and beautifully inventive. She is also an accomplished concertina player and trails a string of accolades on both instruments. Sean Lyons is one of the county’s most sensitive folk singer / guitarists. From the same musical family as Aisling, he is also a piper and whistle player. With his striking lyrics and imaginative melody-making, he has also proven himself a fine song-writer in folk and other idioms. As a collaboration, the 3 Clare natives have been described as 'spectacular, sensitive, powerful and emotional'.

Aoife Scott - Irish Fest Virtual


Aoife Scott
Aoife Scott is an award winning folk singer and songwriter based in Dublin, Ireland. Born into the legendary Black Family, Aoife is steadily rising to the top of the traditional and folk music scene, and has long enjoyed success as an established artist in her own right. Fragile and ethereal one minute and strong and vibrant the next, her dynamic and profound vocals explore the emotional depths of her lyrics, leaving the audience entranced. 

Aoife has a unique sound. Her music has a broad creative scope but is largely influenced by her own roots in folk and traditional Irish music.

Colm and Laura - Irish Fest Virtual


Colm and Laura Keegan

 

Frankie - Irish Fest Virtual


Frankie Gavin
Frankie Gavin has played fiddle and flute since his teenage years. At the age of seventeen, he won All-Ireland competitions for fiddle and flute. Originally influenced by the great Irish and American-Irish fiddle players such as James Morrison, he later found himself playing with stars: The Rolling Stones, Stephane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin and for celebrity audiences including four American presidents, John Kennedy on his 1962 visit to Ireland, then Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama. Perhaps most significantly, the name Frankie Gavin is synonymous with De Dannan, the globally renowned band he founded with Alec Finn in the mid-1970s. After a short break, in the early 2000s, Frankie started a new version of the band with a young line-up.

Creative geniuses do not stay still for long and, in addition to solo work, Frankie Gavin is now involved in a number of new and exciting line-ups.

The Roaring 20s Irish Orchestra, which recreates the sound of the Flanagan Brothers, a family who emigrated to the USA in 1911 and took New York by storm in the 1920s.

The Provenance, a fiddle group playing traditional music, comprising Frankie and three accomplished female fiddle players.

KGBa trio comprising three of Ireland’s finest musicians: Paddy Keenan, ex-Bothy Band uillean piper, Frankie Gavin and ex-Altan accordeon player Dermot Byrne.

There’s more information about Frankie Gavin and these projects on this website https://frankiegavin-dedannan.irish

Fishamble - Irish Fest Virtual


Fishamble Theater Company

Fishamble is an Irish theatre company that is passionate about discovering, developing and producing new plays of national importance with a global reach, while championing the role of the playwright.

Founded in 1988, Fishamble believes that vibrant theatre stands at the centre of a vibrant civic society. It harnesses the imaginative power of theatre to provide audiences with a diverse range of contemporary, compelling and heartfelt dramatic works. Fishamble thinks nationally and reaches globally. It works collaboratively with networks of artists, communities, and organisations, to achieve the maximum possible life for its plays. For instance, over 30 Fishamble playscripts have been published.

Fishamble has toured its productions to audiences throughout Ireland, and to 19 other countries. It typically produces over 200 performances annually, from the Aran Islands to Auckland, Ballymun to Brisbane, Clonmel to Cleveland.

Larry Beau - Irish Fest Virtual


Larry Beau
Larry Beau is an Irish songwriter and contemporary folk musical artist. His forthcoming album -Dust and Dreams- is a collection of journeyman songs written over the past 10 years on his travels around Ireland, Europe and the U.S. The album production was funded by a 32 day Troubadour Trail around the island of Ireland in 2019, fundraising and broadcasting a different song form a different county each day.

‘A Starry eyed amalgam of Bob Dylan, Paul Mc Cartney and a wandering  Irish MinstrelMETRO

‘Wonderful’    CAPECOD TIMES

‘Heart stopping’   IRISH TIMES

Moxie - Irish Fest Virtual


Moxie
Moxie are an alternative Folk band from the West Coast of Ireland emerging from traditional Irish music roots. Since their first album ‘Planted’ released in 2014, they have been sharing their high-spirited energy across the globe in Europe, Australia, Canada, Vietnam and the U.S. With their new lead singer, Moxie are ready to release their new album ‘The Dawn of Motion’ in summer 2021. Their interest lies in exploring how far the boundaries of traditional Irish music can be pushed in creative and imaginative ways. They take rural dance tunes from traditional music and urbanise them, using new instruments and technology to create new sounds. Their music seamlessly blends Irish music with other genres and is a colourful illustration of the society we live in today!

Mulcahy - Irish Fest Virtual


Mulcahy Family
Musical families are often the backbone of multi-generational continuity within that global community, and no musical family today is more impressive in upholding the best principles of the tradition than the Mulcahy’s of Abbeyfeale, West Limerick. Mick, Louise and Michelle Mulcahy play a vast array of instruments between them but it's the sweetness and tunefulness of their ensemble playing that is most striking. Mick plays accordion, melodeon and concertina, whilst Louise plays flute, uilleann pipes and whistle. Michelle’s vast array of instruments include harp, concertina, accordion, fiddle, melodeon and piano. They have an unmistakable, infectious sound and their skill and enthusiasm comes from a lifetime of playing together.

Niamh Regan - Irish Fest Virtual


Niamh Regan
The Irish Times described Regan’s early teenage demos as “bursting with potential”, and at seventeen this precocious folk singer won a Paul Brady scholarship to study flute and guitar in the University of Limerick. Here, she formed the trad/bluegrass band Juhn Echo, and once again drew plaudits from The Irish Times who highlighted her “stunning vocals”.

After completing a degree in music, Niamh released her debut solo EP in 2017, and follow-up single ‘What To Do’ in 2018, earning gushing praise from the likes of Hot Press (“beautifully crafted... captivating”) and Nialler9 (“a timbre that is commanding and wise”).

But who is 26-year-old Niamh Regan now? Comparisons with contemporary artists such as Laura Marling, Lisa Hannigan, This Is the Kit and Sarah Jarosz have popped up regularly in the UK and Irish press, while discerning critics detect the influence of Nick Drake, Bert Jansch, Richard Thompson, Tom Waits, Paul Brady, and Karen Dalton. One thing is for sure, with the release ‘Hemet’, Niamh Regan has carved out her own niche in the world of contemporary folk music. Prepare to hear something synchronously earthly and familiar, yet intoxicatingly fresh.

ocelots - Irish Fest Virtual


The Ocelots
24-year old twins Brandon and Ashley Watson create The Ocelots. Formerly based in Ireland, they began their musical careers in 2016 street-performing around mainland Europe.

In 2019, the brothers moved to Leipzig, having recently completed a six-month intensive tour. They played 87 concerts in those six months, wandering through Australia, Ireland and Mainland Europe. Finally, over the course of two weeks they recorded their debut album ‘Started To Wonder’ in a cottage located in West Cork.

The debut album “Started to Wonder’ holds elements of folk and alternative rock; capturing feelings of the melancholic, road-worn and homeward bound. The Ocelots are now ready to tour again in 2021/2022, bringing to audiences what they are widely known for, their instinctual energy in live performances, unique blood harmonies and delirious stories full of wit, charm and spontaneity.

Paula Meehan - Irish Fest Virtual


Paula Meehan - Irish Poet
Irish poet and playwright Paula Meehan was born in working-class Dublin and earned degrees from Trinity College and Eastern Washington University. She is the author of the poetry collections Return and No Blame (1984); Reading the Sky (1986); The Man Who Was Marked by Winter (1991; US edition 1994); Pillow Talk (1994); Mysteries of the Home (1996); Dharmakaya (2001), which won a Denis Devlin Award; Six Sycamores (2004), with the artist Marie Foley; and Painting Rain (2009). Her plays for children and adults have been staged widely and performed for radio. Meehan has also held workshops with inner-city communities and in prisons. Her numerous honors and awards include the Marten Toonder Award, the Butler Literary Award, and the post of Ireland Professor of Poetry. In 2015, she was inducted into the Hennessy Hall of Fame for her achievements in poetry. 

Paula Stokes - Irish Fest Virtual


Paula Stokes - Irish Artist & Curator
Paula Stokes was born and grew up in Ireland. She graduated from the National College of Art and Design(NCAD), Dublin, Ireland, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Glass Design. She also has a Certificate in Glassmaking and Technology from the Dudley College of Technology, UK. Stokes received the Milnora Roberts Scholarship for Academic Excellence in Printmaking from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

In 1996, together with Róisín de Buitléar, she established a visiting artist program at the National College of Art and Design(NCAD), where professional artists from Seattle worked with the students.  Stokes has taught extensively at Pratt Fine Arts Center, Urban Glass, the Seattle Glassblowing Studio, the Pilchuck Glass School, and at NCAD.

As Exhibitions Manager at Pratt Fine Art Center, she curated and staged over 70 exhibitions in sculpture, jewelry, painting and printmaking. In 2012, Stokes facilitated the presentation of Engaging with Glass, a survey of contemporary Irish Glass, in conjunction with the Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Ireland, at Traver Gallery in Tacoma. She also worked on the exhibition of Caution! Fragile by Róisín de Buitléar at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma.

In 2013, Stokes co-founded the nonprofit gallery METHOD, where she has co-curated over 40 exhibitions featuring site specific installation based art. Stokes returned to work for Dale Chihuly in 2013 and was the project director of his Ulysses Cylinders, which premiered at Dublin Castle in 2014. Until 2020, she managed Chihuly’s glassblowing studio, in addition to working on special projects. 

remedy club - Irish Fest Virtual


The Remedy Club
The Remedy Club, an Americana/Roots duo based in Wexford, Ireland comprising KJ McEvoy (brother of well - known songstress, Eleanor McEvoy) and singer Aileen Mythen have been described as ‘Ireland’s best kept musical secret’  by HOTPRESS journalist Jackie Hayden who also described their music as “a marriage of folk and country with a hint of the blues with delicious harmonies and nimble guitar playing’’.  Their critically acclaimed album True Hand True Heart  has been gaining them a lot of new fans around the globe.

The album was recorded in Room and Board studios, Nashville and produced by 5 - time Grammy award winner Ray Kennedy (Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams).  It hosts an array of Nashville based stalwarts including Lex Price on bass (Neko Case, KD Lang), Lynn Williams on drums (The Wallflowers, Delbert McClinton) and multi-instrumentalist and Rodney Crowell’s go to musician, Rory Hoffman.  The album has been receiving wonderful reviews across the board including being chosen as album of the week on RTE Radio One and HOTPRESS magazine including the album in their top 10 folk albums of 2020.

The Remedy Club will be performing as a duo on the night and playing a selection of songs from their first and second albums and will also be performing a brand new cover of a Thin Lizzy song for the first time, which will be released on 20th August.

ryan - Irish Fest Virtual


Ryan Sheridan
Born in County Monaghan, Ireland, singer/songwriter Ryan Sheridan got his start in music at a young age playing traditional Irish music. After touring the U.S. with Riverdance, Sheridan transplanted himself to New York City, where he picked up the guitar and started working on writing his own material. Sheridan released his first solo album, The Day You Live Forever, in 2011. Though the album initially went platinum in his native Ireland, it would receive a second surge of success in 2013 when it was released in Germany, where it quickly jumped to the top of the digital German charts.

seo linn - Irish Fest Virtual


Seo Linn
Kev, Daithí, Keith and Stiofán are an energetic and dynamic four piece with a unique modern sound that takes inspiration from their Irish culture. Their influences are varied; from traditional Irish to old school rock, modern pop to classical orchestra - and all of this can be felt in some way in the music they write and record. Their songs and style mesh storyful lyrics with driving rhythm, energetic instrumentals and soaring vocals, all tinkled with delicate nuances that create a fascinating soundscape.

From their beginnings in Conamara, Galway in the west of Ireland, Seo Linn have come a long way together on their incredible journey. Their energetic and exciting stage presence consistently captivates audience after audience. Their growing repertoire of exciting original material and their unique versions of old traditional Irish songs have garnered them an ever-growing following racking up millions of listens on Spotify and millions of views on YouTube.

Seo Linn are currently working hard in the studio recording their second album, and are set to return to touring in 2022. The band have proved themselves as top class entertainers on the international stage, travelling the world and gaining fans and friends in Ireland, the US, the UK, Australia, Europe and Uganda.

Check out Seo Linn on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and all social platforms to stay up to date with news and new music.

siamsa tire - Irish Fest Virtual


Siamsa Tíre
Home of the National Folk Theatre of Ireland. Siamsa Tíre works to ensure that people of all ages and backgrounds can explore, understand, feel at home and enjoy Irish folk culture, its past, present and future. 

Irish folk culture is not a tangible product nor an artefact of history. It is our living cultural heritage, alive in us, now, here, together, being ourselves. It is rooted in social connection and the passing on of skills across generations and among close-knit communities both intimate and large scale. It is a value system, a philosophy, a way of living, thinking, behaving and being. It is part of Ireland’s acknowledged soft power in world affairs. 

At Siamsa Tíre, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland, we bring people together to share stories and skills and explore Irish folk culture with joyful curiosity. Our presented programme follows the Celtic Calendar and is designed to reflect an inclusive, responsive, and contemporary approach to the rich and varied cultural heritage and creative life of Ireland’s close-knit communities by: 

EXPLORING through creative learning, participation and development programmes. 

SHARING folk stories and traditions through in-house productions, co-productions, commissions. 

WELCOMING a full range of hosted events across artforms from local, national and international groups. 

In-Person Festival Lineup

Stay tuned for 2022 lineup information. 

Tickets to the Festival

The virtual program is free to tune into. For the in-person festival, admission tickets will go on sale soon!

 Sponsors 

Ireland Bluffs

Aer Lingus Milwaukee Irish Fest Sponsor

Arena Americas at Milwaukee Irish Fest

Associated Bank Milwaukee Irish Fest Sponsor

Audio Biz

Catholic Financial Life

CiderBoys Milwaukee Irish Fest Sponsor

Epic Creative Milwaukee Irish Fest Sponsor

Five Farms Irish Cream

Habush Habush Rottier

Jameson

Tourism Ireland - Milwaukee Irish Fest Sponsor

Lakefront Brewery

Miller Lite

Northwoods Web Solutions

Parkview-Senior Living Community Center

Vizzy Hard Seltzer

  • Artist
  • Paddy
  • Celtic Canine & Kid
  • Artist with Violin
  • Crowd
  • Irish Fest Fans
  • Young Irish Dancers
  • Young Kid and Dad
  • Wisconsin Irish
  • Young Kids Dancing

Milwaukee Irish Fest Logo
 

CelticMKE
1532 N. Wauwatosa Ave
Milwaukee, WI
Festival Grounds
Henry Maier Festival Park
Milwaukee, WI

 

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