Saturday, November 12, 2011-   IONA accompanied by Kathleen Larrick, Highland Dancer will be in concert at the Kirk Ave Music Hall, Kirk Ave, Roanoke.  Ticket will be $18 & $9 for students available online only from www.kirkavemusic.com.

IONA's music is a unique, acoustic weave of the traditional music of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany (France), the Isle of Man, Asturies and Galicia (Spain), as well as their transplants in America. Blending songs, dance tunes, and aires into a rich and stunning tapestry, their style is outstanding in an arena where these traditions are seldom intertwined.

Conceived in 1986, IONA was the musical offspring of lead singer, bouzouki, guitar and bodhrán player Barbara Ryan and wind section, Bernard Argent. With fiddler Jim Queen (banjo and vocals as well) and bass guitar player Chuck Lawhorn, IONA has become the leading Celtic group in the Mid-Atlantic region. They are all seasoned performers: entertainers who involve their audiences with the history and cultural backgrounds of the music, with teaching words to the songs -- even those sung in a Celtic tongue, with leading simple Breton dances, with humor, and with every emotion in the spectrum.

An IONA show is known for:
1. Traditional Celtic Material The haunting songs, toe tapping dances and the humor of the Celtic peoples from Scotland to Brittany provide IONA with an incredibly varied repertoire
2. Original Acoustic Arrangements All the members of the band play several instruments, often switching within a piece to achieve their unique sound. They weave tunes from different countries around their songs, pursuing complex rhythms with deft professionalism.
3. Lively Entertaining Presentation Above all, IONA's performances are FUN! Barbara and Bernard teach audiences words to their songs (some in Celtic languages!), lead them in clapping and even encourage them to dance!

Tickets are available online at www.kirkavenuemusic.com/buy or at the door; Prices TBA.  Further info from Charlene - cdhut@aol.com or Maggie at mbrall@jetbroadband.com or see Kirk Avenue Music Hall's web site www.kirkavenuemusic.com.  This concert is presented by the Scottish Foundation of the Virginia Highlands and Kirk Avenue Music Hall. 

PADDY KEENAN is the preeminent Irish Uilleann Piper. Paddy formerly played with the legendary Bothy Band. What more need one say!  John Walsh, also Irish, will be singing and accompanying Paddy on guitar.

Paddy Keenan has been nominated for an 2010 Irish Music Awards (IMA) Award: Top Uilleann Piper

Paddy Keenan is 2002's Irish National Traditional Musician

Paddy Keenan was born in Trim, Co. Meath, to John Keenan, Sr. of Westmeath and the former Mary Bravender of Co. Cavan. The Keenans were a Travelling family steeped in traditional music; both Paddy's father and grandfather were uilleann pipers. Paddy himself took up the pipes at the age of ten, playing his first major concert at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, when he was 14. He later played with the rest of his family in a group called The Pavees. Eventually, Paddy was a founding member of one of the most influential bands of the 1970s, The Bothy Band.  Paddy's style has continued to mature in the intervening years since the break-up of The Bothy Band as he has pursued a solo career. 

Generally acknowledged as the most accomplished uilleann piper performing today, Paddy is certainly one of the most brilliant musicians of his generation. He can rightfully claim his place alongside such open-style legends as pipers John Cash and Johnny Doran. 

 "In Irish music there are legends and legends and then there's Paddy Keenan. Paddy Keenan's playing is now at its peak. Na Keen Affair is one hell of a comeback." - John O'Regan - Rock'n Reel   

“Paddy Keenan is the piper’s piper, the best of the best.”—Zina Lee, Celtic Café, 2001

John Walsh was born in The Bronx, NY. At the tender age of 10, his family moved to Kilkenny, Éire where great hurlers are born by the minute. Not being very skilled at the ancient art of Hurling, he took up guitar and was lucky enough to be surrounded by a rich musical heritage in Kilkenny where he learned music of all sorts and kinds. After spending years soaking up as much music as he could, he moved back to NY, met more musicians there and is presently performing, and recording, mostly in his studio, St Canice’s Backyard, based in NY.

John’s debut album- “aon dó trí” is a CD of traditional tunes, transferred to guitar along with songs and original works. Lucky to have talented friends and family to help him out on the album, he recruited Pat Kilbride, Paddy Keenan, John Reid, Keith O’Neill, Barry Teehan, John Ryan, Lincoln Schleifer, Denny McDermott and his family and is very glad to have them come along for the trip!

About “aon dó trí”:  “It's a fine piece of work with some great playing”- Steve Tilston 

Tickets are available online at www.kirkavenuemusic.com/buy or at the door; $18 adults and $9 students with ID.  Further info from Charlene - cdhut@aol.com or Maggie at mbrall@jetbroadband.com or see Kirk Avenue Music Hall's web site ww.kirkavenuemusic.com.  

This concert is presented by the Scottish Foundation of the Virginia Highlands and Kirk Avenue Music Hall. 

The Tannahill Weavers are one of Scotland's premier traditional bands.  Their diverse repertoire spans the centuries with fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, and original ballads and lullabies that leave their audiences spellbound.  Their music demonstrates to old and young alike the rich musical heritage of the Celtic people.  As tight and versatile as any band in the Celtic music scene, the Tannahills can summon rock-n-roll intensity or haunting introspection.

"Over the years the Tannies have been trailblazers for Scottish music, and their tight harmonies and powerful, inventive arrangements have won them fans from all over the world. The band is one of a kind."     -The Desert Shamrack, Scottsdale, AZ

"An especially eloquent mixture of the old and the new."       -New York Times