Irish concerts busting out to mark St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day — March 17 — always ushers in a good mix of Irish concerts and club shows. Here’s a partial rundown of what’s going on in the Bay Area.
The Black Brothers
Shay and Michael Black, aka the Black Brothers, are renowned in the U.S. and their native Ireland for their authentic performance of a wide range of Irish folk tunes, street songs and historical ballads delivered in gorgeous harmony, and often some amusing stories to boot. The two brothers and their band have a quartet of shows this month in the greater Bay Area.
DETAILS » 7 p.m. Friday at Trinity Cathedral of San Jose, $20-$24, www.eventbrite.com; 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Mildred Owen Concert Hall, Pacifica; $15-$23; pacificaperformances.org; 7:30 p.m. March 15 at Michael’s on Main, Soquel; $17-$20; www.michaelsonmainmusic.com; 8 p.m. March 17 at Freight & Salvage, Berkeley; $24-$28; www.thefreight.org.
Molly’s Revenge
The Celtic band is known for its high-energy and enthusiastic stage shows incorporating bagpipes, whistle, fiddle, guitar, mandola and bodhran in a contemporary take on traditional Irish music. Its St. Patrick’s Day show also involves dancing.
DETAILS » 7:30 p.m. March 16 at Mildred Owen Concert Hall, Pacifica; $15$23; pacificaperformances. org; 7:30 p.m. March 17 at Flynn’s Cabaret (formerly Don Quixote’s International
Music Hall), Felton; $20; 831-429-7663, www.donquixotesmusic.info
St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland
OK, you’ll actually be in Mountain View or Pittsburg, but Kerry Irish Productions promises it’ll feel like Dublin, what with a full program of traditional Irish music, song and dance.
DETAILS » 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mountain View Center for Performing Arts; $20$50; www.mvcpa.com; 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Pittsburg California Theatre; $25-$35; www.pittsburgcaliforniatheatre.com.
Danú
The ensemble of Irish musicians from County Waterford bring their flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, bouzouki and, of course, their melodious voices to the Bankhead Theater at Livermore’s Performing
Arts Center.
DETAILS » 8 p.m. March 16; $40-$80; lvpac.org.
Altan
March is the season for traditional Irish music, and no band has blazed a more brilliant trail than Altan. Touring as a quintet these days, the group has maintained a potent core built on the ravishing fiddle work and vocals of Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, who was named Ireland’s Gradam Ceoil/Traditional Musician of the Year in 2017.
The band has grown since its inception in 1987, adding such musicians as Dáithí Sproule (guitar) and Martin Tourish (accordion), and just released its 12th album, “The Gap of Dreams” (Compass), a haunting session that explores the portal between the mortal realm and afterlife. The band has two Bay Area shows on its U.S. tour.
DETAILS » 7:30 p.m. today; Flynn’s Cabaret, Felton; $30; 831-429-7663, www. donquixotesmusic.info; 8 p.m. Friday at Freight & Salvage, Berkeley; $38/$42; 510-644-2020, www.thefreight.org.