I'm sure many of you have a great interest in Irish culture, and
specifically its music, in addition to genealogy. That's why I wanted to
alert you to a group of Irish musicans that most Americans haven't heard of,
but are well known in Ireland and will soon be touring the U.S.
The band is The Cassidys (of Na Casaidigh in Irish). They are the sons of
Sean Ó Caiside, the chieftain of the Cassidy (who is 93 years young!). The
Cassidys have released several albums in Ireland, and have performed at
music festivals and venues throughout Ireland and Europe. The Cassidys also
have the distinction of having performed for both Presidents Reagan and
Clinton during state visits to Ireland.
Their most recent album is "Singing from Memory" which was originally
recorded for Ireland's National Radio and Television Network. The
ablum has been widely acclaimed by both traditionalists and contemporary
Celtic music followers and critics, and achieved platinum record status in
Ireland.
One of the members of the band, Feargus Cassidy, has commented that "Much of
the band's tradition comes down to us through our parents. Music was always
part of our family life. One of my brothers has said that his earliest
experience was hearing an O'Carolan [the greatest Irish harpist in history]
concerto in the crib." As described by the band, Singing From Memory
contains "the songs we grew up with -- traditional Irish tunes we used to
sing in school or hear on the streets of our town. The songs we recall our
parents and grandparents singing. Because our world has changed so much
from those early years in Donegal and later in Dublin we put a little
something new into these tunes. We added a contemporary beat and mixed a
few more instruments into the blend."
You can hear the Cassidys perform selections from Singing from Memory and
classic Irish ballads and compositions when they tour the U.S. in early
2000. Of note on their tour, the Cassidys will be performing with the Grand
Rapids Symphony Orchestra in Grand Rapids, Michigan and at the Pennsylvania
State University Center for the Performing Arts in March. Here is the tour
schedule:
January 2000:
16 Troy, MI 7.30pm Athens High School Aud.
17 Mount Vernon, OH 7.30pm Knox County Memorial Theatre,
18 Seymour, IN 7.30pm Seymour High School Auditorium
19 Washington, IN 7.30pm Washington H.S. Auditorium
20 Sullivan, IN 7.30pm Sullivan High School Auditorium
21 Lincoln, IL 7.30pm Lincoln Christian College
22 Waukegan, IL 7.30pm Waukegan High School Auditorium
25 Miami, OK 7.30pm Fine Arts Center
27 Bartlesville, OK 1.30pm Bartlesville Community Centre
27 Bartlesville, OK 7.30pm Bartlesville Community Centre
28 Hutchinson, KS 7.30pm Memorial Hall
29 Liberal, KS 7.30pm Liberal High School Auditorium
30 Johnson, KS 3.00pm Stanton County H.S. Auditorium
31 Borger, TX 7.30pm Borger Senior High School Auditorium
February 2000
01 Hereford, TX 7.30pm Hereford H.S. Auditorium
03 Plainview, TX 7.30pm Harral Memorial Auditorium
04 Midland, TX 7.30pm Midland High School Auditorium
06 Vernon, TX 3.00pm Wilbarger Memorial Auditorium
07 McKinney, TX 7.30pm Faubion Middle H.S. Auditorium
08 Cleveland, OH National Folk Alliance
09 Cleveland, OH National Folk Alliance
10 Cleveland, OH National Folk Alliance
11 Cleveland, OH National Folk Alliance
12 Cleveland, OH National Folk Alliance
13 Cleveland, OH National Folk Alliance
14 Greenville, TX 7.30pm Greenville Municipal Auditorium
15 Paris, TX 1.00pm Paris High School Auditorium
15 Paris, TX 7.30pm Paris High School Auditorium
17 Athens, TX 7.30pm Cain Center
18 Tyler, TX 1.00pm Caldwell Auditorium
18 Tyler, TX 7.30pm Caldwell Auditorium
19 Port Arthur, TX 7.30pm Thomas Jefferson H.S.Auditorium
20 New Iberia, LA 2.30pm New Iberia High School
21 St. Francesville, LA 7.30pm West Feliciana H.S.
22 Biloxi, MS 7.30pm Biloxi High School
23 Bay Minette, AL 1.00pm Owen Performing Arts Center
23 Bay Minette, AL 7.00pm Owen Performing Arts Center
24 Cleveland, TN 1.00pm Conn Center-Lee University
24 Cleveland, TN 7.30pm Conn Center-Lee University
26 Ocala, FL 7.30pm Forrest High School Auditorium
27 New Smyrna Beach FL 3.00pm New Smyrna Beach H.S.
March 2000
01 Homestead, FL 7.30pm South Dade High School
03 Lompoc, CA tba The Lompoc Museum
10 Grand Rapids MI w/ Grand Rapids Symphony Orch. tba
11 Grand Rapids MI w/ Grand Rapids Symphony Orch. tba
12 Grand Rapids MI w/ Grand Rapids Symphony Orch. tba
15 York PA tba Strand Capitol PA Center
17 Penn State University tba Center for the Performing
Arts
For further information, please contact:
Dates 16th January to 1st March: Charlotte Britton, Britton
Management, Tel.: 610-828-7537, e-mail: brittonmgt(a)pipeline.com
Dates 3rd March to 17th March: Carol Bresner, Bresner
Management Intl., Tel.: 212-686-5454, e-mail: bresnermgt(a)aol.com
The Cassidys can also be contacted at TheCassidys(a)hotmail.com
I hope some of you have the chance to see the band next year. If you do,
you'll have a great time. Also, feel free to pass this message onto any of
your friends that live in the areas where the band will be touring. All the
best,
Stephen Cassidy
P.S. If you would like to purchase their album Singing from Memory, it's
available for sale from the gift shop on the Cassidy Clan web site:
http://www.cassidyclan.org
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