Page 16 - Irish Examiner USA

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IRISH EXAMINER | February 12th, 2020
T THHEE IIRRIISSHH EEXXAAMMIINNEERR IInntteerrmmiissssiioonn and AAppoolllloo HHoouussee. A-list
celebrities who have attended the
Craic Fest over the years are a who’s
M MUUSSIICC AANNDD EENNTTEERRTTAAIINNMMEENNTT who in the entertainment such as

LLiiaamm NNeeeessoonn, EEdd BBuurrnnss, DDeenniiss LLeeaarryy,
CCoolliinn FFaarrrreellll, JJiimm SShheerriiddaann, CCiilllliiaann
G GUUIIDDEE:: RROOCCKK,, CCOOUUNNTTRRYY,, JJAAZZZZ,, MMuurrpphhyy and BBrreennddaann GGlleeeessoonnto
name a few.
T TRRAADD,, FFOOLLKK,, BBAALLLLAADDSS,, BBLLUUEESS,, You can get all the latest news on
Cracfest from their website at
www.thecraicfest.com, on their face-
C CLLAASSSSIICCAALL AANNDD LLOOTTSS MMOORREE book page (thecraicfestnyc) or from

the festival office at (917) 373-6735.
Welcome to our regular music and entertainment guide, brought Presented by TThhee CCaabboott, TThhee HHiigghh
KKiinnggss return to New England to per-
to you by Paddy McCarthy for your reading enjoyment form at the BBeerrkklleeee PPeerrffoorrmmaannccee

CCeenntteerr (136 Mass Ave, Boston) on
Saturday, March 7 - just in time to
get your St. Patrick’s season off to a
terrific start! The High Kings (FFiinnbbaarrrr CCllaannccyy, DDaarrrreenn HHoollddeenn, and BBrriiaann DDuunnpphhyy) continue to
set the bar extremely high for Irish folk bands across the world and are widely regarded as the
standard bearers for the genre in 2019. Visit www.thecabot.org to get your tickets!
It was my great pleasure to be in the company of one of my favorite artists last week, namely Irish
folk singer SSuussaann MMccKKeeoowwnn. Hailing from Terenure in Dublin, Ireland, Susan briefly attended
the Municipal College of Music in Dublin as a teenager before abandoning a promising opera
career in order to sing folk and rock. Together with JJoohhnn DDooyyllee, McKeown formed TThhee CChhaannttiinngg
HHoouussee in 1989. They released a cassette-only album called “The Chanting House” in 1990.
Upon graduating from University College Dublin McKeown was awarded a scholarship to
attend The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan. So, in 1990, with a bursary
from TThhee AArrttss CCoouunncciill ooff IIrreellaanndd she relocated to New York City.
It was the release of “Bones” in 1995, an album of searing original songs with her take on a cen-
turies-old keen (coined) and a classic arrangement of Robert Burns’ “Westlin’ Winds” (later
recorded by Fairport Convention) which secured her reputation as an inventive, emotion-cen-
It’s all happening again and that is TThhee CCrraaiiccffeesstt 2222 lead by the maestro himself TTeerreennccee
tered singer-songwriter, and launched her solo touring and recording career.
MMuulllliiggaann. It is all happening March 7 at the MMeerrccuurryy LLoouunnggee (217 E. Houston Street). Now for
Moving to New York exposed Susan to a whole new range of musical possibilities and the oppor-
some great news, the Irish hip hop duo KKnneeeeccaapp(from Belfast) will have their US debut at
tunity to work with musicians from all over the world. “New York is an ideal place to record
CraicFest 22 on March 7 at Mercury Lounge. What makes Kneecap stand out is that, apart from
because there’s such a variety of musicians living here,” she says. But it’s also helped her focus on
being fairly controversial, they incorporate the Irish language into all of their tunes. Special
her own traditional heritage. “I’ve often heard other emigrants say they became more Irish when
guests are award winning Irish actor JJoohhnn CCoonnnnoorrsswho will be returning with an encore per-
they left Ireland,” she says, “and it’s certainly true for me.”
formance of his show IIrreellaannddss CCaallll. Irelands Call is a riveting one man show about the lives of
Believe me you will be hearing a lot about Susan McKeown as she is involved in the CCuuaallaa
three young men as they grow up from Coolock on Dublin’s northside. What shapes them and
FFoouunnddaattiioonn. The Cuala Foundation believes that the measure of a society is how it takes care of
entices them to a life of crime. The opening act on the night will be RReebbeell PPhhooeenniixx, a hip hop Irish
its people. They work to transform disadvantage into disadvantage through culture. The mental
artist from Dublin.
and emotional distress that can result in suicide, self-harm, addiction and isolation is often relat-
Festival Director Terence Mulligan commented “We’re excited to have the U.S. debut of Kneecap.
ed to intergenerational trauma, and the reasons for this are historical and complex. Like their
If you loved Rubber Bandits you will love Kneecap they have a similar energy on stage. Due to
sister organization CCuuaallaa GGrroouupp in Ireland, they develop new systems self-care with youth and
popular demand we have Irelands Call one man show back as well as a talk back after the show
communities on the Lower East Side, connecting people more deeply with themselves, their com-
with John Connors. Also we have Rebel Phoenix opening the show for us he’s a talented young
munities, history and hope: cultivating a culture
guy from Dublin. The Craic should be deadly on March 7.
of belonging and developing economic poten-
The CraicFest is the premier Irish music and film festival in New York City since 1999. CraicFest
tial. As I said you will be hearing a lot more
introduces new Irish Cinema as well the new generation of Irish bands and filmmakers to the US
soon.
public. The Craic film fest (March 12-14) lineup will be announced soon. The festival is presented
DDaavviidd GGrraayy is a British singer-songwriter. He
by the FFiittzzppaattrriicckk HHootteell& TToouurriissmm IIrreellaanndd. Craic Fest has had numerous award winning films
released his first album in 1993 and received
over the past 20 years in NYC. Such films as TThhee WWiinndd TThhaatt SShhaakkeess tthhee BBaarrlleeyy, IInn BBrruuggggeess,
worldwide attention after the release of “White
Ladder” six years later. It was the first of three
UK chart-toppers in six years for Gray, of which
the latter two also made the Top 17 in the
United States. White Ladder became the fifth
best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK. It is
ranked the tenth best-selling album of the 21st
century in the United Kingdom. Gray has been
nominated for four Brit Awards – twice for Best
British Male.
David Gray is a superstar in Ireland and will be
coming your way very shortly here in the USA.
We will have full coverage for you next week on
this page.C