The Chieftans Bring 55th Anniversary Tour to NJPAC

"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.

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

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

To fans of fiddle music, Natalie MacMaster needs no introduction. Over a recording career now spanning 25 years, this Order of Canada recipient has released 11 albums that have notched sales of over 200,000 copies. She has won two JUNO and eleven East Coast Music Awards and been nominated for a Grammy, is in great demand as a charismatic performer, and has collaborated with artists as diverse as Yo-Yo Ma (on the Grammy-winning album Songs of Joy & Peace), Alison Krauss, Jesse Cook, and Bela Fleck. Though acknowledging that she can be "a musical chameleon," Natalie stresses that, above all else, "I play Cape Breton fiddle."

Her husband, Donnell Leahy, is no stranger to the awards podium himself. He is the oldest brother of the internationally-acclaimed family musical group Leahy, winners of three JUNO Awards. Widely recognized as one of the best Celtic fiddlers in the world, his high-energy playing style also makes him a highly popular performer.

The couple's own, "Visions of Cape Breton & Beyond" US tour will begin on March 2nd in Brattleboro VT and run along the East Coast hitting Boston, Philadelphia, Newark NJ, a few cities in Maine and ending the tour in NYC on St Patrick's Day at Webster Hall. And the show is a family affair with their talented children joining them on stage, check out their St Patrick's Day greeting here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=natalie%20macmaster%20st%20patricks%20day#

YouTube performance piece here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a_XMN2nCbA

The Chieftains with Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy to perform at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center,

March 5, 2017, 3:00PM. For tickets visit:

http://www.njpac.org/events/detail/the-chieftains-natalie-macmaster-donnell-leahy

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