Celtic Sojourn offers a feast of Irish music and dance to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. (Photo Matthew Muse Photo)
Fiddle! Jig! A song about losing a wooden leg!
There’s a lot of music on St. Patrick’s Day. And outside of Ireland, there’s no better place to hear that music than Boston this weekend. From the traditional to the liberal, from the familiar to the surprisingly overwhelming, the sonic scene abounds with Irish or Irish-adjacent acts of all stripes and colours. Sorry, all stripes and he should be one color green.
St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Stay
Until March 19th, in various places and online
GBH’s Brian O’Donovan faces cancer, but with some luck and good medicine he could be the host of his annual St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourn. And what a run it will be. Celebrating Celtic artistic traditions, from music to dance, these shows feature singer and flutist Nuala Kennedy, Illian Piper Joey Abarta, guitarist and vocalist Eamon O’Leary, and Irish fiddler champion Kevin Burke. , Boston-born fiddler Katie McNally and others will appear. Celticsojournlive.com
dropkick murphys
March 16-19, MGM Music Hall & House of Blues
Dropkicks’ annual St. Pat’s show just keeps getting bigger. This year there are four shows at the new MGM Music Hall and one show at the House of Blues. That equates to around 20,000 tickets, plus his March 17th show will be livestreamed. This tradition thrives not out of habit, but because local heroes continue to put out flawless punk rock and put on ridiculously entertaining shows. dropkickmurphys.com
St Patrick’s Irish Variety Show
March 17th and 18th, Burren Backroom, Somerville
Why do one thing to celebrate the holiday when you can do everything to celebrate it? It hosts 12 shows almost continuously over Sunday night. Each show features an Irish Step Dancer and special guests, including a traditional Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage, or Guinness his Beef Stew and Soda Bread (vegetarian option available), topped with Barren Shamrock Cake. 24hourconcerts.showware.com
gaelic storm
March 18, Medford, Chevalier Theater
The most Gaelic band from Santa Monica moves east for the March squall. Don’t you know Celtic kings? Imagine finding the exact middle ground between Dropkicks and Chieftains. Folk, folk-rock and rock, but never far from classic Irish pub music. chevaliertheatre.com
inhaler
March 18 House of Blues
Want a next generation Irish act without fiddles and jigs? Bono’s son is in a band and it’s pretty good. Elijah Hewson and his cronies make music that’s a nod to The Killers and The War on Drugs, sitting right in between his mainstream pop and weird, dreamy, jagged experiments. Don’t take my word or Bono’s word for granted. Take Harry Styles and Arctic Monkeys, for example, they both tour with groups.inhaler band
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