Irish harpist Patrick Ball returns to BRT

Blackstone River Theatre will present Irish harpist & storyteller Patrick Ball on Sunday, April 21, at 7:00 p.m., at Blackstone River Theatre, 549 Broad St., Cumberland, RI. Admission is $20 advance, $23 day of show. For tickets visit www.BRTri.org or call in reservations to (401) 725-9272.

Patrick Ball is one of the premier Celtic harp players in the world and also a captivating spoken word artist. In playing the ancient brassstrung harp of Ireland with its crystalline, belllike voice, and in performing marvelous tales of wit and enchantment, Ball not only brings new life to two cherished traditions, but blends them to create a richly theatrical performance.

Ball has recorded nine instrumental and three spoken word albums which have sold well over one-half million copies internationally and won national awards in both the music and spoken word categories. He has been awarded grants for his work by the California Arts Council and is the recipient of the Circle of Excellence Award from the National Storytelling Association.

Whether in the stronghold of a Galway chieftain in the years before history began or yesterday in the snug corner of a pub in Dublin, the Irish have always delighted in storytelling. Their passion for eloquence and wordplay, their deep devotion to their mythical past, their ability to find joy and humor in a dark world, and their belief that the supernatural world could appear between one breath and the next made their stories and the telling of them unrivaled in the world of the oral tradition.