òran mór

Normally, I like to warm-up the reader with a joke or a tale, but today I’m getting right to the point…NO TIME TO WASTE! Dave and I are going to be blessed with two guests tonight (6/28) when we play RiRa’s in Portsmouth.

The Lovely and Talented...

First up, our long-time friend and talented musical companion Sue Young will be joining us at the table tonight. She’s one of our favorite bodhran players to play with, and she’s got a lovely selection of songs with the voice to match! Tonight, it’s not òran mór…it’s su and mor!

Also, there’s a lad from Clare named Mark who is working this summer at RiRa, and by all accounts he’s quite the fiddle player (apparently he tore up the Sunday session a couple of weeks ago). He promised to bring his fiddle tonight to sit in for a bit…and we can’t wait for some savage tunes!

So come on by, get out of the humidity and have a jar…should be a rare auld night.

Just a heads-up that our planned appearance at Kate O’Shea’s in Seabrook NH on 6/26 has been cancelled…they’ve booked a private party for that night, so we’ll be off doing other things that night.

(I’m not sure what we’ll be doing…but it’ll be fun. Wish you were there.)

Don’t worry, however…we’re still playing there this Saturday night (6/12) and next Friday 6/18)…so there are plenty of opportunities to see more mor.

(or is that mor more?)

So you’ve heard us mention our friend Terry Weir several times…both for his session at Harringtons in Wakefield MA and because the three of us used to play regularly in Newburyport as the trio ‘Sligo Road’ …

And we’ve mentioned the session at The Press Room in Portsmouth NH…the session that’s a 25 year institution, and where Dave and I first met.

Well, tonight (5/14/2010), the two will get together for the first time. Terry is coming north from County Wakefield and is headed to The Press Room session to join in the craic…and then he’s is going to join us for the gig we have at Kate O’Shea’s in Seabrook. (We go on at 7:30 pm.)

I’m really looking forward to seeing his reaction to The Press Room. It can be wild and wooly sometimes, but the singing is always great and everyone there is like family. It will kind of be like introducing a long-lost cousin to the clan.

And, of course, Dave and I are really excited that Terry will be playing with us at Kates…he’s a terrific mandolin player and he’s got some great songs as well.

Hope you can join us for this special treat!

Reagh Greenleaf, of Wandering Tree Arts,  organized the music for this year’s Earth Day celebration at the Seacoast Science Center at Odiorn Point State Park in Rye, NH.  He invited a few of us local folk to join him under the tent and we had a great time  It was a beautiful Saturday morning.  After a race that ended on the point we — that would be Reagh, Bill Perry, Rocky Rockwood and I – started in on some tunes and songs.   Families and many energetic kids were about – so we had instant dancers.   I had a chance during the break to check out the latest exhibits at the Science Center.  That’s grown to quite a place, and a visit that I’d recommend when you are in the area.

Thanks again to Reagh for setting things up, and to Eva Powers for snapping these shots!

You probably  know that Terry Weir leads the Wednesday session at Harrington’s in Wakefield MA, and that we join him to become the trio “Sligo Road’ on many occasions, too.  

Terry is on vacation in warmer climes this week – and he has entrusted the Harrington’s Session to Pete and I.   One of  us told him ‘You can trust us” — while the other whispered “You’ll be sooooorrry”  (no need to tell you which was which).
Anyway – we have the reins there this Wednesday, the 21st.  If you happen to be around, or up for a little drive, we’d love to see you there.  We’ll be having a good time there from 8:30 to 11:30 – then trying to cover our tracks the best we can.