Cherry Street Music Celebrates With A Celtic Soiree This March At The Allen Center

Cherry Street Music's Americana Series presents A Celtic Soiree, an evening of updated and traditional Celtic music taking place on Saturday, March 9 at The Allen Center in West Newton (MA).

The performance will feature Boston-based duo Matt and Shannon Heaton who will perform their masterfully crafted and well-traveled Irish music from the heart.  Uilleann piper Joey Abarta will join the Heatons as their special guest. 

The husband-and-wife pair have been integral to Boston's vibrant traditional music scene since settling in Boston in 2001. The Heatons have five albums to their credit and a distinguished resumé of concert and festival appearances around and beyond the US.

Shannon has made Irish traditional music accessible and welcoming for many with her involvement in co-founding Passim's Boston's Celtic Music Festival, which for over twenty years, has created opportunities for hundreds of traditional musicians and dancers. She was named Massachusetts Traditional Artist Fellow in 2016 and currently hosts the culture podcast Irish Music Stories. 

Matt has performed with countless ensembles, including the Karan Casey Band, Boys of the Lough, and Robbie O'Connell. In addition to his work as an Irish accompanist on guitar and bouzouki, Matt is an active performer for children and families and has received multiple Massachusetts Cultural Council Grants for his work with them.

Joey Abarta has spent more than half his life traveling, teaching, and performing music on the Uilleann pipes. Originally from California, he received instruction on the pipes from Dubliner Pat D'Arcy, a founding member of the Southern California Uilleann Pipers Club. Joey's musical talent and dedication have been recognized with numerous awards, including second place worldwide at the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in 2009 and first prize at the An Oireachtas in 2014.

Joey has also been honored with a traditional arts apprenticeship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council twice, in 2015 and 2022, and in 2023, he was awarded an Artist Fellowship in the Traditional Arts from the same institution.

About The Allen Center

 

The Allen Center (TAC) is an Arts & Cultural Center in West Newton, MA,  owned and operated by the Newton Cultural Alliance (NCA).  The Allen Center's historic facility is the beacon of arts and culture in the City of Newton, a unique space dedicated to the creative community. The renovation of the facility was completed spring of 2021, and, as with the case of many performance venues, has slowly been expanding its programming over two years. Since that time the offerings of TAC have broadened.  In the Fall of 2022, the NCA established an Artist in Residence and invited Allison Yoshie Eldredge, international concert cellist, to fill the position.  

The Allen Center has recently joined the Mass Cultural Council Card to Culture program and is making tickets available at reduced prices for This MCC program , together with the Department of Transitional Assistance, Massachusetts Health Connector, and the Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, are increasing access to cultural experiences for all Massachusetts residents.  Click here for more information.

Tickets

Cherry Street Music's Americana Series A Celtic Soiree takes place on Saturday, March 9th at 3pm at The Allen Center, 35 Webster Street, Newton MA.  Tickets and information are available at newtonculture.org.

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