òran mór

For just about as long as he’s lived in Vermont, my twin brother Rob has been involved in the Burlington Irish Heritage Festival, which is now in its 17th year. He’s been a volunteer, vice chair, chair and has been a co-chair for what seems like forever.

Well, this morning he did part of his annual media junket , appearing on WCAX-TV to promote the festival (click here to view).

I thought he did a fine job. He was handsome, witty, and well-spoken…

…not at all the brother I knew growing up. 

(Oh, relax. Giving him a hard time is part of the job. I mentioned we’re twins, didn’t I?)

Love ya, Rob, and proud of ya.

Double trouble: Rob and I at the old McMenemy's Pub in Portsmouth.

So if you find yourself in Vermont on Saturday, and you can’t drive to our gig in Portsmouth, head to Burlington for the festival! They’ll have fine music, kids activities and even a Hale that looks just like me to make you feel welcome.

For the last several years, we’ve had a great relationship with our friend Terry Weir, who plays music down around the Boston area. On occasion he’ll sit in with us, and he sometimes has one or both of us play with his band, Sligo Road. We joke that it’s the exchange program between County Portsmouth and County Wakefield (where he’s based in Massachusetts).

Is it Sligo Mor, or Oran Road?

Next weekend, on Saturday, March 10,  I’ll be joining Terry and Sligo Road at a show at St. Brigid’s Church in Lexington, MA (located at 2001 Massachusetts Ave) for a bit of pre-St. Patrick’s Day fun…so if any of my MetroWest friends want to see me perform, now’s your chance…but you might want to call and see if there are any tickets left. The seating is limited and they are expecting a full house…

…but if I didn’t alert my family and friends that I’d be playing so close to home, I’d never hear the end of it.

The show will start between 6:30 and 7 p.m. – on the dot.

On Friday 3/16 at 11 a.m., we’ll be playing the Link House Benefit in Newburyport, MA. This day-before-St.-Patrick’s-Day event is a roast of local dignitaries featuring Irish music, humor and a genuine boiled dinner – like the one in South Boston that was started by Billy Bulger ‘back in the day.’

This highly anticipated community event is also the most important fundraiser for the John Ashford Link House, an organization that works with men and women of the North Shore who struggle with addiction. Since it’s founding, they’ve helped more than 5,000 people through their program.

We’re honored to be involved with such a worthy community event and ask that anyone looking to contribute to a charity consider this organization.

Not surprisingly, with St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, Irish music gets particularly popular at this time of year. Thankfully, we get to play along and, as a result, we’ve got a busy few weeks coming up. If you haven’t seen us in a while, we’ve got a few shows where we’d love to see you…

But we all know the big day is Saturday, March 17 — St. Patrick’s Day itself! After having their delicious traditional Irish breakfast, we’ll be playing at Ri Ra in Portsmouth starting at 11 a.m. and partying on until 4 in the afternoon. It’s sure to be a fun time…and the staff at Ri Ra will be sure to look out for you dropping in.

Ri Ra's staff is waiting for you to drop in!

Afterward, we’ll be off to play for a members’ event at Wentworth By The Sea Country Club in Rye, NH. (If your membership has lapsed, you might want to give ‘em a call.)

We hope to see you, but if you’ve got other plans, we hope you have a great time during the holiday season!

Since Dave and I started playing together, we’ve had the chance to do a few really fun and interesting gigs. We’ve done some double-bills that have been wonderful, and each opportunity has been really memorable.

And our next one is gonna be right up among the best.

We’re proud to announce that we’ve been asked to open for a true legend of Irish music when Derek Warfield rolls into town next month with The Young Wolfe Tones. Derek, who was a founding member and long-time front man of The Wolfe Tones — a group whose music I heard a lot when growing up — has inspired many performers over the years and written countless songs that have become modern standards.

Our friend Tom Lanigan (L) with the legendary Derek Warfield (R). A couple of handsome Irish lads, eh.

We’re thrilled to get a chance to open for him and the group of stellar young Irish musicians that play with him. (Trust me, they all are superb performers in their own right.)

The show will be at Ri Ra in Portsmouth on Tuesday, March 6 at 6 p.m.

Our friends from The Tom Lanigan Band have opened for Derek and The Young Wolfe Tones a few times — and will be doing so again this year down in Rhode Island — and they’ve always spoken highly of the experience. The two bands have developed a nice rapport, and Young Wolfe Tones’ stellar banjo player, Damaris Woods, even played on Tom’s new CD Voice from the Tomb. Here’s hoping the circle of friendship continues.

Of course, we hope that you’ll all come out and see us open for this show. In the meantime, here’s a video of one of the classic songs Derek is known for: “Celtic Symphony!”