Irish Band Lunasa To Perform at The Jefferson Center With Tim O’Brien

Tim O’Brien (center) performing with Lunasa.

Irish band Lunasa, celebrating twenty-one years of touring together, will perform with songwriter and bluegrass master Tim O’Brien on Thursday, March , 21, at 8:00 p.m. Lunasa has a new CD, Cas (Irish for “something different”).  It is their first studio recording in seven years, and the first time ever they have invited guest vocalists on to the recording, including Tim O’Brien, Natalie Merchant, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and more.

Music is one of Ireland’s most celebrated exports and Lúnasa has been at the forefront of that musical migration. Since the release of their 1997 recording debut ‘LÚNASA’ and the band’s first tour of the U.S., when word-of-mouth led to SRO shows and rave reviews, “This is the hottest Irish acoustic group on the planet,” said The New York Times, the all-star quintet has become one of the most popular bands on the international Celtic music scene.

In the years since those early concerts and albums catapulted the band to the forefront of traditional Irish music, the members of Lúnasa have gathered a long list of credits and honors in addition to the legion of fans that spans the globe, fitting achievements for a band that takes its name from the old Celtic harvest festival in honor of the god Lugh, patron of the arts.

Lúnasa have sold more than quarter of a million albums in the course of the band’s career and boast an impressive back catalogue of 9 highly acclaimed and award-winning studio albums.

In 2018, Lúnasa  released their first new studio album, Cas,  in seven years.  For the first time, the band included guest vocalists on this recording, including  a stellar group of singers who have recorded and toured with Lúnasa over the years.

They include Natalie Merchant and Mary Chapin Carpenter, top bluegrass singer/songwriter Tim O’Brien, Blues recording artist Eric Bibb and Daoiri Farrell, a young Irish folk singer star who recently won the BBC Radio 2 Folk contest.

Band member   Cillian Vallely says, We took a break from the studio and when we came back, we wanted to do something a bit different.  We were becoming increasingly involved in live concert collaborations and from these projects we invited some of our favorite singers to guest on the album.”  The new release also celebrated the band’s 20 years of performing together.

Lúnasa’s inventive arrangements and bass driven grooves have steered Irish acoustic music into surprising new territory. Their recordings have been hailed as some of the best and most important world music albums anywhere, while their blend of intelligence, innovation, virtuosity and passion has brought them to the forefront of Celtic music.  The new recording continues this tradition while bringing the listener forward.

Band member Kevin Crawford added, “Twenty years is a big deal in any relationship, being in a band is certainly no different. We needed to justify our existence and also mark the occasion by stepping up and creating something worthy of an anniversary celebration. We’re so proud of this new recording, we’re so lucky to have all these amazing friends come join in the party.   It feels really good to be out there making music with the extended Lúnasa family on into our third decade.”

For more information on the band go to: http://www.lunasa.ie/

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest Articles

- Advertisement -

Related Articles