Musical festivities for the 2021 edition – virtual edition – of St. Patrick’s Festival Kilkenny got underway on Tuesday night with Trad faoi Dhó – Duets for Kilkenny.
The hour-long show, programmed by uilleann piper and a familiar face in Kilkenny trad circles, Leonard Barry, the first part of the show features duos of Irish and international musicians, performing both sides of the Atlantic.
With an intro from KCLR’s Martin Bridgeman, per the programme notes, this is who you’ve got –
Colin Farrell and Kevin Crawford (Flute and Fiddle)
Kevin and Colin are members of award winning Irish traditional group Lúnasa. As a group they have sold over a quarter of a million records and performed over 2,000 shows across 36 countries. For this show they were performing live from the USA.
Mick O’ Brien and Ciara Ní Bhriain (Pipes and Fiddle)
Dubliner Mick O’Brien is one of Ireland’s most acclaimed uilleann pipers and has toured extensively and recorded with the likes of The Dubliners and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Playing live from Dublin he will be joined by his Fleadh Cheoil-winning daughter Ciara on fiddle.
Mick McAuley & John Doyle (Accordion and Fiddle)
Kilkenny local Mick, and Dublin man John were both members of the trad band Solas and are stalwarts of the Irish music scene. Hailing from Callan, Mick has collaborated with the likes of Sting, Patti Larkin and Mick Hanly. John is a Grammy-nominated artist, who has played with all the greats of Irish music.
Dermot Byrne and Steve Cooney (Accordion and Guitar)
Dermot, a native of Donegal, has been a member of Altan and has performed with the Chieftains and Frankie Gavin. Irish-based Australian musician Steve has played with Altan, The Chieftains, Clannad and Andy Irvine. They’ll be performing live from Donegal.
Watch: Trad faoi Dhó (Part 1)
For more, check stpatricksfestival.com.
