òran mór

Well, the high holiday is quickly approaching…and we’re rearing to go. In addition to our usual Monday nights at Ri Ra in Portsmouth, we’ll be opening the musical festivities there on St. Patrick’s Day, playing from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. We’re planning a high-energy show that hopefully involves a few special guests joining us during the afternoon…should be a lot of fun.

They’ll be great music all month, of course, and we’ll be breathing it deep and building the excitement. So don’t be shy!  Get out there, enjoy the celebrations and get your Irish on!

Looking old school...except for the mikes.

Hey all,

Okay, we originally thought that we were playing our usual Monday gig at RiRa tomorrow night (2/28)…but it turns out they’ll be closed for a  staff appreciation night.

But it’s a great opportunity for us to say “thanks” to the staff at Ri Ra. We’ve been playing there every Monday for about a year and they ALWAYS take terrific care of us. They are a great and fun group of guys and gals…and we’re so grateful to be able to work with them on a weekly basis.

The RiRa Gang

So, thanks gang. You deserve a night off…especially as you charge up for the ‘high holiday’ that’s coming in two weeks.

We’ve mentioned both The Elysium Folk Club of Rollinsford, NH and our friend Jim Prendergast of Mill Pond Music in Portsmouth, NH. Well, like a musical Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, those two great tastes are getting together this weekend.

Jim will be playing with Ken Perlman this Saturday night (2/12) at 8 pm. You can get details about the show here.

Believe me when I tell you — if you’re looking for a great show at a great venue, be sure to step out this weekend to catch this performance. You’ll not only get a treat, you’ll be keeping live music live.

okay, okay…we know…

Yes, we’ve been dreadfully negligent about  keeping up our posts on the website.  Somehow, that danged ‘real life’ stuff has distracted us during the last couple of months. But we are still playing every Monday night at RiRa in Portsmouth NH from 7 – 10pm…so if you need your fix…

We call him Seamus

Actually, if you haven’t stopped in for a while, you should know that we continue to be joined by many of our musical friends on a regular basis. We’ve had a good stretch of being joined by Jim Prendergast — formerly of Nashville’s “Boys of County Nashville” and now proprietor of Mill Pond Music Studio in Portsmouth, NH. He’s a great guitar player and even better guy, so we love it when he stops in.

Of course, with the St. Patrick’s Day holiday approaching, we have several gigs lined up that we will be telling you about.

In the meantime, however, if you want to get your Irish on, we’d love to see you on a Monday night.

For as long as I can remember, “The Irish Hit Parade” has been airing on WROL-AM in Boston…a programming block that had everything Irish music — folk singers, show bands, ceili bands and Irish tenors. Hal Roach would even get airtime to tell his unique brand of humor (“Write it down. Write that one down…it’s a good one.”)  

Growing up, my grandparents would have the  radio tuned in from 10 am to 7 pm on Saturdays. As a teen, it wasn’t my cup of tea…which makes me chuckle when they air a promotion they have that says “This is the station your father used to MAKE you listen to…” ‘cuz now it’s one of the programs I’ll tune-in when I’m driving around on a Saturday.

Anyway, 40-something years and the Irish Hit Parade is still going strong…and Dave and I will be dropping in this Saturday during the 5 o’clock hour to visit The Bailey Ceili. I know host Bill Bailey from some of the sessions in Boston, and he asked if we wanted to stop by and play a few songs…so why not.  We’ll go on the air and sing a few songs, maybe do a tune, and have a laugh with Bill.

If you get a chance to tune in, it’s 950 AM. But the signal can be weak once you get outside of the 95 beltway. The good news is you can listen online here!

Tis himself and the lasses