THE BROCK MCGUIRE BAND IN CONCERT
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - 7pm
The Paul & Sheila Wellstone Center
179 Robie St. East St. Paul, MN 55107
The Brock McGuire Band is here in the U .S. for the Chicago Celtic Festival and we were fortunate enough to get them to come to St. Paul for a night. This is a rare Minnesota appearance with internationally acclaimed traditional artists. This is the first time this band has been here and who knows when they’ll be back. So we hope you put this rare concert on your calendar and tell all your friends!
Residing in County Clare, button accordeonist/melodeonist Paul Brock and fiddler Manus McGuire have been at the forefront of Irish music for many years through their joint work with ‘Moving Cloud’ (which they formed in 1989). Manus is also a founding member of ‘Buttons & Bows’, and both bands, ranking among Ireland’s finest, have helped to introduce international audiences to the virtuosity of their playing. Paul and Manus are joined in the band by the brilliant Galway musician and All Ireland Champion, Enda Scahill, and by accompanist Denis Carey.
A multiple All-Ireland champion born in Athlone, County Westmeath, and now residing in Ennis, Paul Brock pursued a solo career through the 60’s and 70’s by mastering the single-row, two-row, three-row, and five-row button accordeons. Paul’s collaborations with fiddle player Frankie Gavin during the 70’s and 80’s culminated in their 1986 Gae l-Linn recording ‘Tribute to Joe Cooley’, regarded by critics and fellow musicians as one of the outstanding 20 traditional albums of the modern era. Paul’s solo album, ‘Mo Chairdin’ (Gael-Linn), was described in the Rough Guide to Irish Music as a ‘modern masterpiece of accordeon music.’
Born in Tullamore, County Offaly, raised in Sligo Town, and now residing in Scariff, East Clare, Manus McGuire is an Irish fiddler who blends dazzling technique with faultlessly far-ranging taste. In Sligo, Manus instinctively developed the local fiddle style made famous by such legendary Sligo fiddlers as Michael Coleman, James Morrison and Paddy Killoran. Manus’s musical mettle became apparent to all in 1970, the year he won Sligo’s prestigious Fiddler of Dooney competition – at age 14. Since then, he has recorded ten albums, including three with Buttons and Bows, two with Moving Cloud, and two solo albums.
Galway born banjo player Enda Scahill is one of the mos t cr i ti ca l ly acclaimed banjoists in Ireland today. Enda has long established himself as one of the finest exponents of traditional Irish banjo playing and is widely recognised for his banjo teaching abilities. His solo album Pick It Up was widely acclaimed. Enda has been described as “just about the strongest banjo I’ve have ever heard” (Art Ketchin, Celtic Beat) and Irish American News in Chicago said “[Enda] does things on the banjo which should be impossible”. Irish Music Magazine has described his playing as “simply divine.” Enda recently released the album Humdinger with Paul Brock which was awarded Album of the Year in the Irish Times and Instrumental Album of the Year in Irish American News. Paddy Maloney of the Chieftains hailed the album’s “incredible virtuosic playing.” Enda has performed with The Brock McGuire Band, The Frankie Gavin Band, The Furey’s and Sessions fr om the Hearth.
A native of Co.Tipperary, Denis Carey is a musician/composer/arranger with a diverse musical background from Irish traditional to classical, jazz and pop. He has performed and recorded with leading international artists. His compositions have been performed by various international groups and orchestras, including Symphony Nova Scotia and the Scottish National Orchestra. Denis runs his own Academy of Music based in Limerick.
The Brock McGuire Band has been voted “Instrumental Group of the Year” by LiveIreland.com and Irish American News. (Photos & more information at www.brockmcguire.com).
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Tickets: $12 advance/$15 at the door. Half price for children 6-15 & seniors 62+. Children under 6 are free. Advance tickets & information available at www.centerforirishmusic.org, 651-493-2022 or irish.music@comcast.net.
This concert is sponsored by the Center for Irish Music, www.centerforirishmusic.org and the Minnesota Folk Arts Alliance (www.mnfolkarts.org). The Center for Irish Music is a non-profit, 501c3 organization teaching traditional Irish music to students of all ages on a variety of instruments. It is the Center’s vision to support the traditional Irish music community in the Twin Cities into the future.
Additional sponsorship is provided by the Global Institute of Home Based Business (www.GIHBB.org) helping people to be able to work from home, part time or full time. Also sponsored by the Best Tea on Earth (www.bestteaonearth.com), improving our energy and long term health.
Please help us get the word out about the upcoming events by sharing this information with your friends, and we look forward to seeing you at the Brock McGuire concert!
Kate Dowling, Executive Director
The Center for Irish Music
651-493-2022 irish.music@comcast.net
www.centerforirishmusic.org
Dedicated to Handing Down the Tradition
