Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2017, Irish super group Lúnasa gives a festive performance at Carnegie Hall on Friday, March 3 at 8:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall. The concert features singer Karan Casey, one of the most innovative and provocative voices in Irish folk music today.
Lúnasa flute player
Kevin Crawford said, "The significance of Lúnasa performing at
Carnegie Hall is about being Irish-our culture, our history and, more importantly, about acknowledging the master musicians who've gone before us. These visionaries created a platform for groups such as Lúnasa to go out into the world and share this incredible music of ours. Yet nothing compares with the sense of validity and pride associated at the prospect of playing
Carnegie Hall."
Over the past two decades, Lúnasa has released nine albums-most recently in collaboration with Ireland's RTÉ Concert Orchestra at Dublin's National Concert Hall-with a tenth album due in 2017 to mark the momentous anniversary. Their album
The Kinnitty Sessions won
Irish Music Magazine's "Best Traditional Album" award in 2005 and was nominated for "Folk Album Of The Year" at the 2004 BBC Radio 2 Awards. In addition to a robust touring schedule with concerts in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe, Lúnasa continues to collaborate with top folk artists including American singer-songwriters
Natalie Merchant and
Mary Chapin Carpenter and bluegrass superstar Tim O'Brien.
Frequent Lúnasa collaborator
Karan Casey brings expert vocal artistry to this
Carnegie Hall performance, honed from years of performing with some of the most notable folk groups including Solas, The Dubliners, and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. She has released six solo albums, a duo album with legendary guitar player
John Doyle, and has appeared on over 50 records earning her the reputation as one of the most imitated voices in Irish traditional music.
About the Artists
Lúnasa, one of the most influential bands in the history of Irish traditional music, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2017. Named after an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, the group that
Folk Roots magazine once called an "Irish music dream team" was formed from members of some of Ireland's greatest bands and over the years has proven its mettle time and again, having sold over a quarter of a million records, performed more than 2,000 shows in high-profile concert venues across 36 countries, and collaborated with many notable artists outside the tradition. Two decades ago they ascended to the forefront of contemporary Irish music, and there they've remained, a leading voice in the genre and the standard against which others are compared.
Lúnasa's current lineup includes Trevor Hutchinson, who achieved fame as the bassist with the The Waterboys; uilleann piper Cillian Vallely, who was a member of
Riverdance and recorded with
Bruce Springsteen;
Kevin Crawford, widely considered one of Ireland's greatest ?ute players; ?ddler Sean Smyth, who performed with Donal Lunny's legendary Cool?n and accordionist
Alan Kelly; award-winning ?ddler
Colin Farrell, who has toured with
Project West, Grada, and Michael McGoldrick; and guitarist Ed Boyd, known on the UK folk circuit for his work with bands such as Flook, Kate Rusby, and Cara Dillon.
Legendary Irish fiddler
Kevin Burke once said that "maintaining the unique, intimate qualities of a musical tradition while at the same time meeting and fulfilling the demands of the contemporary music world is a difficult juxtaposition to achieve, yet Lúnasa have managed to accomplish exactly that." From the start, the band's complex arrangements and unique sound reshaped the boundaries of traditional music and energized audiences the world over. Twenty years on, the group continues to evolve, playing new music that is as state-of-the-art and aggressively infectious today as it was so long ago. With a new album set for 2017 and a robust touring schedule to match, Lúnasa continues to set the standard and will lead the way for decades to come.
Karan Casey has long been one of the most innovative, provocative and imitated voices in Irish traditional and folk music. Her career has spanned 25 years from the early days as a jazz performer in George's Bistro in Dublin to her heady days in New York with the band Solas to her now established solo career. She has since sold over half a million albums.
Karan released her first album with the group Solas, which quickly became the most celebrated Irish band in the U.S., and her four years with the group were pivotal. Since embarking on her solo career Karan has released six solo albums, a duo album (with
John Doyle), an album for children, and numerous contributions to other artists' projects - appearing on more than 50 albums in total. She has toured constantly throughout North America, Europe and Japan, performing solo, with her own band and with many other diverse artists. Recent years have seen Karan appearing with folk legends
James Taylor,
Liam Clancy, Peggy Seeger,
Mick Moloney and The Dubliners, and Imelda May; performances with Solas, Lúnasa,
Tim O'Brien and Capercaillie's Karen Matheson; and collaborations with pianist/composer Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, and with Breton guitarist Gilles le Bigot's "Voix de la Terre." Other ventures have included The Vallely Brothers
Big Band and Niall Vallely's "Turas na dTaoiseach/Flight of the Earls" event, which was premiered in Belfast's Grand
Opera House and later performed in Louvain, Belgium. She was also involved in
Tommy Hayes's "Apples in Winter" multimedia project. She presented a program on Irish National
Television exploring the songs associated with the Irish Labor Movement.
Karan recently completed a sold-out Music Network tour of Ireland with
Maura O'Connell and a tour of the U.S. with Lúnasa as well as performances with A Stór Mo Chroí (featuring John Spillane, Lumiere and Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh). Upcoming performances include concerts in the U.S. with her own band and with Solas as well as two appearances at Boston's
Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Program Information
Friday, March 3 at 8:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
Lúnasa
··
Colin Farrell, Fiddle and Low Whistles
··
Kevin Crawford, Flute, Low Whistles, and Tin Whistles
·· Cillian Vallely, Uilleann Pipes and Low Whistles
·· Trevor Hutchinson, Double Bass
·· Ed Boyd, Guitar
with Special Guest:
Karan Casey
