LÚNASA AND AN CLAR SCHOOL OF IRISH DANCE
WHEN: Saturday, March 15, at 8 PM
WHERE: The Lackland Center at 715 Grand Ave. in Hackettstown
ADMISSION: $25 in advance and $30 on the day of
Tickets may be purchased online at www.centenarystageco.org, at the CSC Box Office in The Lackland Center at 715 Grand Ave in Hackettstown, or by calling 908.979.0900. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday 1-5 PM and 2 hours prior to performance times. Lúnasa is sponsored in part by Heath Village, Fulton Bank and Hackettstown Regional Medical Center.
“This is the hottest Irish acoustic group on the planet.”—The New York Times
One of Ireland’s most successful musical exports, Lúnasa, have no intention of taking their foot off the Celtic pedal. Lúnasa are internationally acknowledged as being the finest Irish instrumental band of recent times and they’re coming to The Centenary Stage for a St. Patrick’s weekend celebration to remember on Saturday, March 15th at 8 pm at The Lackland Center. On their first American visit, word-of-mouth led to sold-out shows and rave reviews. The New York Times wrote, “A standing-room only crowd in New York confirmed Lúnasa’s reputation… This is the hottest Irish acoustic group on the planet.” The An Clár School of Irish Dance located in Byram will also be featured throughout the night rounding out this St. Patrick’s Day themed event.
Lúnasa's inventive arrangements and bass driven grooves have steered Irish acoustic music into surprising new territory. The recordings have been hailed as some of the best and most important world music albums anywhere, while the blend of intelligence, innovation, virtuosity, and passion has brought them to the forefront of Celtic music. The band has performed over 1,500 shows across the globe since the band formed in 1997 and appeared at internationally renowned venues such as The Hollywood Bowl, National Concert Hall, Dublin and the Sydney Opera House and were invited to appear at the White House in 2011.
Lúnasa founder Seán Smyth is an All-Ireland champion on both fiddle and whistle. His 1993 solo debut, The Blue Fiddle, was named one of the years 10 best albums by The Irish Echo. Born in the UK, Kevin Crawford’s early life was one long journey into Irish music and Co. Clare, to where he eventually moved while in his 20’s. Kevin is a virtuoso flute player who’s recorded two solo albums. A much-in-demand musician, Trevor Hutchinson played bass with The Waterboys from 1986 to 1991 re-forming in 2013 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of and tour their legendary album Fisherman’s Blues. Cillian Vallely is a gifted Armagh uilleann pipes and low whistle player who has spent most of the recent past touring in the US, and was featured as the uilleann pipes soloist in the Broadway production of Riverdance. Ed Boyd, who permanently joined Lúnasa in 2012, is widely regarded as the finest acoustic guitarist on the European folk circuit.
The An Clár School of Irish Dance is located in Byram, NJ. To learn more about classes visit the website at www.anclarschool.com, call 973.347.523, or email anclarschoolofirishdance@gmail.com
The 2013-14 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, and CSC sponsors, including Premier Sponsor Heath Village Retirement Community, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, The Holiday Inn in Budd Lake, and Fulton Bank, Bronze Sponsors The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and Wells Fargo Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.
Photo by Eric Politzer.
