Photo Coverage: The Chieftains Celebrate their 55th Anniversary at The Kupferberg Center

"55 years, wow, where have they gone as we're still going strong", says Paddy Moloney, leader of the six-time Grammy Award winners, The Chieftains. The Chieftains have been highly recognized for reinventing traditional Irish music on a contemporary and International scale. The Chieftains were formed in Ireland in 1962 by Paddy Moloney, one of the top traditional folk musicians in Ireland and around the world. Their ability to transcend musical boundaries to blend tradition with modern music has notably hailed them as one of the most renowned and revered musical groups to this day. BroadwayWorld was there to cover their 55th Anniversary at The Kupferberg Center. Check out the photos below:

After more than fifty five years of making some of the most beautiful music in the world, The Chieftains' music remains as fresh and relevant as when they first began. So now The Chieftains are set to embark on their 55th Anniversary Tour in the US beginning in Califonia on February 17th making their way across the US to the east coast with a final show on St. Patrick's Day in Jacksonville, Florida. Paddy Moloney says, "This tour will have all the musical force of what we've accumulated and achieved over the last 55 years, with a few extra gemsthrown in for good measure".

As cultural ambassadors, their performances have been linked with seminal historic events, such as being the first Western musicians to perform on the Great Wall of China, participating in Roger Water's "The Wall" performance in Berlin in 1990 and being the first ensemble to perform a concert in the Capitol Building in Washington DC. In 2010, their experimental collaborations extended to out of this world, when Paddy Moloney's whistle and Matt Molloy's flute travelled with NASA astronaut, Cady Coleman, to the international space station.

Although their early following was purely a folk audience, the range and variation of their music and accompanying musicians quickly captured a much broader audience, elevating their status to the likeness of fellow Irish band, U2. The Chieftains are never afraid to shock purists and push genre boundaries and the trappings of fame have not altered The Chieftains' love of, and loyalty to, their roots however- are as comfortable playing spontaneous Irish sessions as they are headlining a concert at Carnegie Hall.

Paddy finishes with, "With this tour of music, song, dance and a few surprises.....our guests are the cream of the crop joining in for a great party". For full tour information go to www.thechieftains.com

THE CHIEFTAINS perform at The Kupferberg Center, Queens College March 4th and at NJ PAC on March 5th Performers: Paddy Moloney - uilleann pipes/tin whistle, Matt Molloy - flute, Kevin Conneff bodhran/vocals, Jon Pilatzke - fiddle/dance, Triona Marshall - harp/keys, Alyth McCormack - vocals/percussion, Tara Breen - fiddle/saxophone, Tim Edey- guitar, Cara Butler - dance, Nathan Pilatzke - dance

Photo Credit: Genevieve Rafter Keddy

The Chieftains Celebrate their 55th Anniversary at the Kupferberg Center

55 Years of Music with The Chieftains
The Chieftains Celebrate 55 Years of Music
Paddy Moloney
Matt Molloy and Kevin Conneff
Triona Marshall, Matt Molloy, Kevin Conneff, Paddy Moloney, Jon Pilatzke, Tim Edey and Tara Breen
Matt Molloy, Kevin Conneff and Paddy Moloney
Matt Molloy and Kevin Conneff
Paddy Moloney
Tara Breen
Jon Pilatzke and Nathan Pilatzke
Triona Marshall, Matt Molloy, Kevin Conneff, Paddy Moloney, Tim Edey, Jon Pilatzke and Nathan Pilatzke
Kevin Conneff, Matt Molloy and Paddy Moloney
Kevin Conneff, Matt Molloy and Paddy Moloney
Alyth McCormack
Kevin Conneff, Matt Molloy, Alyth McCormck and Paddy Moloney
Tribute to Nelson Mandela -Kevin Conneff, Matt Molloy, Paddy Moloney, Tim Edey, Jon Pilatzke and Tara Breen
Jon Pilatzke, Alyth McCormack, Nathan Pilatzke and Cara Butler
Jon Pilatzke, Alyth McCormack, Nathan Pilatzke and Cara Butler
Cara Butler, Jon Pilatzke, Alyth McCormack and Nathan Pilatzke
Cara Butler
Cara Butler and Nathan Pilatzke
Cara Butler and Nathan Pilatzke
Cara Butler and Donny Golden
Astronaut Cady Coleman brought the flute of Matt Molloy and the Pipe of Paddy Moloney into space
Cady Coleman
Triona Marshall
Pipe and Drum Band
Tim Edey, Jon Pilatzke and Nathan Pilatzke
Matt Molloy, Cady Coleman and Paddy Moloney
Matt Molloy, Cady Coleman and Paddy Moloney
Matt Molloy, Cady Coleman, Paddy Moloney and Jon Pilatzke
Matt Molloy and Kevin Conneff
Matt Molloy, Kevin Conneff, Paddy Moloney and Cady Coleman
Queens College Chorus
Tara Breen
Cara Butler
Matt Molloy, Kevin Conneff, Cady Coleman, Paddy Moloney and Cara Butler
Cara Butler and Donny Golden
Triona Marshall, Matt Molloy, Kevin Conneff, Cady Coleman, Paddy Moloney and Tim Edey
Matt Molloy, Kevin Conneff, Cady Coleman and Paddy Moloney
The Donny Golden School of Dance bringing audience members up on stage to dance with The Chieftains
Paddy Moloney, Anita Daly (Daly Communications), Shannon Spillane (WFUV Radio) and Megan Townsend (WFUV Radio)
Paddy Moloney
Kevin Conneff
Kevin Conneff, Anita Daly, Shannon Spillane and Megan Townsend
Kevin Conneff
Shannon Spillane, Anita Daly and Megan Townsend