The Abbey’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival
Schedule
9 a.m.- Bus transportation to Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade
12 p.m.- O’Hare School of Irish Dance
1 p.m.- Larry Nugent & Guests
6 p.m.- The Great Whiskey Project
9 p.m.- O’Hare School of Irish Dance
10 p.m.- Shannon Rovers Bag Pipers
11 p.m. The Sandcarvers
The Sand Carvers
The Sandcarvers have been hailed as one of the best Celtic rock bands in the country. The raucous six-piece hits the stage going ninety to the dozen, and their exuberant live show coupled with exhilarating fan interaction earn them rave reviews wherever they perform.
Combining strong solo voices and vocal harmonies with equally strong instrumental skill, The Sandcarvers write original songs that brilliantly tell stories from real life. They also put a wicked spin on traditional tunes from o’er the Pond, turning them inside-out and upside-down.
Shannon Rovers Bag Pipers
We are the Shannon Rovers Irish Bagpipe Band. For over 75 years, the Rovers have been a cultural fixture in the Chicagoland area. From parades to politics, weddings to funerals, generation to generation, the Shannon Rovers have been there through it all, bringing the passion of Irish music with them.
O'Hare School of Irish Dance
The O’Hare School of Irish Dance also teaches performance Irish dancing. Our classes at the Irish American Heritage Center combine competitive as well as performance Irish Dancing. Under the direction of World Champion/Riverdance performer Michael Belvitch, students are taught solo steps as well as traditional and progressive set dancing. As a troupe, the students are seen throughout the Chicagoland area performing for Irish festivals, weddings, celebrations and St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
Kevin Flynn and the Avondale Ramblers
“We’re a Chicago-Irish band.” That’s how front man Kevin Flynn best describes the Celtic inspired sound of Kevin Flynn and The Avondale Ramblers. Based out of the Avondale neighborhood on Chicago’s north side, KF & The Ramblers bring a rollicking take on Gaelic music that reflects the working-class, religious, drunken, sometimes violent (yet always somewhat beautiful) aspects of their city. Though the band’s sound is steeped in the influence of traditional Irish music, their songs are anything but traditional…
“We kind of look at our music the same way Led Zeppelin looked at theirs,” says Flynn. “The basis of their sound was the blues – but they expanded on it. They took it into new and interesting areas. That’s what we try to do with Celtic/Gaelic music.” It’s certainly something they accomplish. Country, folk, gospel and rock seem to meld seamlessly with their Irish tunes. The lyrical perspective is also unique: “We’re from here – so our songs are about Chicago, not Ireland,” continues Flynn. “Instead of singing about Ireland’s pubs, rolling fields and characters we sing about the Harp & Shamrock, Michigan Avenue and Mayor Daley. We don’t sing with a brogue – we sing with our Midwestern accents.”
Along with lead singer/guitarist Kevin Flynn, the Avondale Ramblers are comprised of a stellar cast of veteran players from the Chicago music scene including members of MILLION YEN, NASH KATO BAND and MARY TYLER MORPHINE.
The Great Whiskey Project
The Great Whiskey Project formed in 2010 when a soulful singer/songwriter and an explosive Irish fiddler teamed up with other Chicago musicians to fuse foot-stomping rythms with poignant melodies. The result is a contagious new sound that will make you want to stay for another drink.
The Great Whiskey Project loves to play great songs. They are less concerned about the genre that those songs fall into. They will play traditional Irish music, Johnny Cash, Gnarls Barkley, Elvis and The White Stripes in the same set. It all works together. They are most proud of their dozens of original songs. They are constantly writing.
Larry Nugent and Guests
Laurence Nugent carries on a great tradition of virtuoso flute and whistle playing that has graced Irish music on both sides of the Atlantic. As an established performer and recording artist on the Celtic music circuit, Laurence has performed with scores of musicians, including The Chieftains, Shane McGowan, Van Morrison, The Drovers, The Green Fields of America, Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill and Paddy Keenan. He has been a featured performer at Milwaukee Irish Fest, San Francisco Irish Fest, the Glen Echo Festival in Washington DC, the Willie Clancy Summer School in Ireland, and the International Flute Festival De Cornouaille Quimper in France. He has toured extensively throughout Ireland, the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. His CDs (Laurence Nugent, Two For Two, and The Windy Gap, on Shanachie Records) have met with critical acclaim. On them, Laurence was joined by some of the greats of Irish music, including fiddle legends Kevin Burke and Liz Carroll, and guitarist Arty McGlynn. He has been heard extensively on radio, including A Prairie Home Companion, The Studs Terkel Show, and Ireland’s national network RTE. He also appears on the Shanachie recording Celtic Tapestry along with Solas, De Dannan, Clannad, Planxty and Silly Wizard. Laurence Nugent comes from the little village of Lack in County Fermanagh, an area steeped in the traditional arts of music, singing and storytelling. Not surprisingly, his first musical influences came from within his own family. His father Sean Nugent was an All-Ireland fiddle champion and leader of the Pride of Erin Ceili Band, one of the top Irish dance bands of its day, and Laurence grew up listening to some of the finest players in the land. Like many young musicians of his generation, Laurence entered many of the regional and national competitions held under the auspices of the Irish musicians association Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann; he took first prize in junior competitions three times in the late 80′s, and went on to win the senior All Ireland Championships in 1994 and 1995. Since moving to Chicago in 1992, Laurence has played a large part in the local scene as an anchor and resource for traditional Irish music in the area. The informal music sessions he has led over the years in Chicago have been well-known for their fine quality of both music and hospitality. He has taught hundreds of students in private lessons, in classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music, and in workshops throughout the United States and Ireland.
We Lead, You Follow
