Line-up Includes Scotland Music Showcase and Several Must-See Acts
www.irishfest.com

Milwaukee Irish Fest, the world’s largest celebration of Celtic music and culture, announces their entertainment lineup for the 2014 festival taking place August 14-17 along Milwaukee’s lakefront. With more than 100 acts ranging from fan favorites to emerging talent – plus a Scotland Music Showcase – festival goers will be treated to the “ultimate Celtic playlist.”
“To assemble the ultimate Celtic playlist, we travel the world in search of the finest in Celtic entertainment,” said Patrick Boyle, executive director of Milwaukee Irish Fest who visited Scotland earlier this year. “After seeing many phenomenal bands perform in their home towns, we cannot wait to share their talent with our guests.”
Entertainment highlights for the 2014 festival include:
Fan Favorites
Featured fan favorites back by popular demand include:
·         The Red Hot Chilli Pipers have fast become a global phenomenon, taking their signature “Bagrock” sound to the masses.
·         Gaelic Storm, who is celebrating their fifteenth anniversary of appearing at Milwaukee Irish Fest and is famed for their rousing, energetic shows.
·         The Willis Clan, a family of artists and musicians who merge their Irish roots with other music and dance genres to create a unique blend of the old and new.
·         Carlos Núñez, a master showman and groundbreaking artist from the Galician region of Spain who remains undisputed as the tradition’s greatest piper.
·         Award winning Irish banjo band, We Banjo 3 is renowned for their incredible technical virtuosity and musical innovation.
·         Glasgow-based Manran brings a powerful blend of Gaelic and English traditional music and is the only band to use the Highland and Uillean pipes in one lineup.
·         Scythian, classically trained musicians who began as a group of street performers and went on to become one of the most energetic groups around.
·         The High Kings come from accomplished musical pedigrees and showcase their incredible versatility and skills while bringing a rousing acoustic flavor to new songs as well as old favorites.

Other fan favorites include: Beoga, Black 47, Creel, Different Drums of Ireland, Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine, John Carty, Liz Carroll, Seamus Kennedy, Sean Callaghan, McLean Avenue Band, Skerryvore and Tallymoore.

Bands from Ireland and Northern Ireland
Special bands coming from Ireland and Northern Ireland range from emerging artists to true legends in Irish music. Performers include: Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny, The High Kings, John Carty, Sean Callaghan, Sharon Shannon (new), Socks in the Frying Pan (new), We Banjo 3, Beoga, Different Drums of Ireland and Gráinne Holland (new).
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www.dervish.ie

Legendary Sligo band will perform at the iconic music festival for the first time in their 25 year career

Approaching their 25th year in the music industry Dervish are confirmed to perform live at Glastonbury for the very first time.   The North West based dynamic ensemble have been a formidable festival attraction worldwide for almost a quarter of a century sharing stages with some of the world’s most noted artists.

They say “the older the fiddle the sweeter the tune”, Dervish have built their legendary reputation from humble roots playing at Trad music sessions in their native Sligo to becoming one of the most sought after festival bands in the world today.

Liam Kelly from Dervish said, “There is huge excitement in the band at the thoughts of performing at Glastonbury, it seems that the older the band get the more exciting the offers are that come in and the next year is very exciting with lots of different projects developing for us. In fact we were asked to play at Glastonbury about 17 years ago but we could not take the booking as we had another commitment. We are really looking forward to performing at Glastonbury, roll on the next 25 years” Kelly added.

Just recently Dervish spent the weekend at The Orkney Folk Festival with BBC TV’s Glastonbury presenter Mark Radcliffe who featured Dervish on his show on BBC Radio 2.  Radcliffe also presents a show on BBC Radio 6, and he invited Dervish back to the BBC in August to record a special session to mark the band’s 25th Anniversary.

Other noted artists appearing at Glastonbury this year include, Ed Sheeran, Dolly Parton, Arcade Fire, Robert Plant, Paulo Nutini, Metallica, Massive Attack, Lily Allen the list goes on…………

Dervish perform at The Glastonbury Festival on Saturday June 28th on The Avalon Stage at 15.45pm

Watch this space as Dervish are planning lots of surprises to mark a quarter of a century together later this year

For further information www.dervish.ie

MUSIC NETWORK TO HOST DUBLIN LAUNCH EVENT WEDNESDAY 2 JULY 2014

www.webanjo3.com

“Ultra-talented Irish performers … freshness and finesse bordering on magical” Wall Street Journal

To celebrate the recent release of Gather The Good, the second studio album by the award-winning band We Banjo 3, Music Network are hosting a Dublin launch event in Powerscourt Theatre, Dublin on Wednesday 2nd July 2014. The event is free but has limited capacity. Email admin@musicnetwork.ie for tickets.

Consisting of two pairs of brothers from Galway – David and Martin Howley and Enda and Fergal Scahill – We Banjo 3 have been impressing audiences around the world since the release of their 2012 album Roots of the Banjo Tree (winner of The Irish Times Traditional Album of the Year).
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