World-class local talent to celebrate Irish music
With a population of about 5 million people, Ireland sure seems to punch above its weight class when it comes to popular music and other cultural influences.
I mentioned this recently to John Condron, one of more than 30 talented musicians, singers and other artists starring in the show “A Shamrockin’ Good Time with Tim Placher and Friends” at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet.
Placher is a former award-winning Daily Southtown columnist who teaches choir to middle school students. He’s rounded up some of the area’s best talent for previous shows featuring songs of Buddy Holly, Prince, the Traveling Wilburys and other themes. Last summer he did a set of jailhouse-themed songs during a daylong festival at the Old Joliet Prison.
This time it’s music with connections to Ireland, sounds that seem to move the soul and spirit like no other genre. The beauty of Irish music might relate to the resilience of a nation that has overcome starvation, war and other hardships.
Performers in Friday’s show are local, but the caliber of talent is worldclass. Gavin Coyle, for example, grew up in Derry, Ireland. His incredible voice can give you chills. Coyle won the All Ireland Singing Competition
when he was 14.
That was the same age he first visited America as a participant in a program that sought to provide peaceful alternatives to children in war-torn Northern Ireland. He became a permanent resident of the United States in 1995.
Condron cowrote, performed and recorded a song with well-known Irish artists Mickey Harte and Paul Brady, sometimes called the Bob Dylan of Ireland. Their tune “Come Gather All” was an official anthem for the 2013 Donegal Gathering campaign, a tourism promotion.
A roster of remarkable musicians backs up Coyle, Condron and other talented vocalists. The show features violinists Katie Bern-Gordon, orchestra director at Century Junior High School in Orland Park, and Anne Hatfield-Martin. Hatfield-Martin and her sister, Mary Hatfield, both toured as fiddlers with Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance” production.
Max Dunne of Evergreen Park plays tin whistle and uilleann pipes, a type of bagpipe. Steve Haberichter plays mandolin. Readers may know Haberichter as owner of Down Home Guitars in Frankfort and founder of the award-winning Frankfort Bluegrass Festival, which returns to Breidert Green July 9-10 for its 10th anniversary.
I’ve been lucky to be a fly on the wall during rehearsals. I play acoustic guitar on a few songs as an unpaid contributor. My parts are simple and help provide a platform that allows more talented performers to shine.
The show features both traditional and contemporary Irish music. On the traditional side, there are renditions of standards like “Danny Boy.” The event features Irish dancers, pipers and other entertainment to help continue the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day into the weekend.
Several of Placher’s choir students will perform “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” a classic popularized by Bing Crosby in 1939. “Red Is the Rose” is a beautiful, lilting ballad. “Miss Otis Regrets” is a Cole Porter number from 1934 about the fictional lynching of a social woman who murders her unfaithful lover.
The contemporary numbers help one realize what a large impact the relatively small country of Ireland has had on rock music. Local rock band Arbor Creek will perform a couple songs by Thin Lizzy, a quartet that rocked American airwaves during the peak album era of the 1970s.
Audience members will hear performances of songs by The Boomtown Rats and The Pogues, fun bands that helped define punk and new wave sounds of the 1980s. The show features a couple songs by The Cranberries, a wonderful ensemble led by the late Dolores O’Riordan.
Irish rock music heavyweights Van Morrison and U2 are featured, of course. The show delivers a couple hours of sensational family entertainment in the majestic setting of a 1920s vaudeville theater.
I’m amazed at how
Ireland has produced so many famous singers, musicians and composers. Condron hosts a weekly gathering of locals who create traditional Irish music every Monday night at Hughie McClafferty’s pub and restaurant in downtown Lemont.
I’m of Polish descent. With a population of more than 38 million, Poland is nearly eight times as large as Ireland. Yet it seems Poland hasn’t produced a musician of worldwide fame since the days of pianist Frederic Chopin (1810-1849).
Polish cuisine tastes great, we have colorful traditional garb and celebrate our cultural heritage like every other nation. We have a large presence in the Chicago area, which helps explain why Illinois celebrates Pulaski Day in March. But Poland can’t hold a candle to Ireland in terms of popular music and culture.
I have to hand it to Ireland. The country has produced many talented performers and composers who have spread joy throughout the world through the gift of music.
In addition to showcasing local talent and celebrating Irish heritage, Friday’s event will benefit the Rialto Square Theatre Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the historic venue and its outreach activities. Sponsors include the Irish American Society of County Will, which presents the annual Manhattan Irish Fest. Visit rialtosquare.com for tickets and more information.