* THE CELTIC SOCIETY OF THE MONTEREY BAY PROUDLY PRESENT THE MOST ACCALIMED IRISH FIDDLE & GUITAR DUET OF OUR TIME, CELEBRATING THEIR NEW COMPASS RECORDS CD, ‘WELCOME HERE AGAIN’

MARTIN HAYES & DENNIS CAHILL

What Teri Hatcher said in a classic Seinfeld episode about a pear-shaped pair, could also be shaped to suit the peerless pair of Hayes & Cahill; 'They're real and they're spectacular.' As Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid were to the Wild West, so too are the gabby Hayes & Cahill, U.S. Marshall to the wild music of the West of Ireland. Like Butch & Sundance, Martin & Dennis seem to break all the laws of what to expect from an Irish music concert. Where at most concerts, instrumental medleys last usually a few minutes, at Hayes & Cahill's concert, once they begin to play, the music may flow uninterrupted for a half hour or longer. Where most performers churn out an album every year or so, Hayes & Cahill are celebrating at this concert the release of their first CD in 8 years, entitled 'Welcome Here Again,' on the Compass Records label. As with Butch & Sundance, you can't but loving Martin & Dennis for their captivating charm & charisma and being so darn good at what they do. Don't miss this opportunity to witness their art, which becomes alchemy, transforming the base metal of simple Irish tunes into pure gold. (Incidentally keep an eye out for this week's Metro Santa Cruz which should include an in-depth article on the lads.)
Also, Martin & Dennis are scheduled to be on the syndicated radio show, West Coast Live, that airs from 10am to noon earlier on Saturday. The closest radio station that carries this program is KALW, 91.7 fm, but there is an internet broadcast on the program's website at www.wcl.org.

For more, visit the website at www.martinhayes.com.  

THE KUUMBWA, 320 CEDAR ST. in SANTA CRUZ

ADMISSION: $20 or $18 for Celtic Society members

Tickets on sale from 1/30 at More Music, 512 Front St. in Santa Cruz

Reservations: (831) 336-9810, (408) 847-6982 or celtsoc@aol.com

Rancho Rico at Lygia's Barn

Suggested donation: Adults $20, Kids $10, or if small, free. For reservations & directions, call Grace at (831) 667-2398.

The Community Music School presents the outstanding instrumental trio from Sweden, Vasen, at The Star of the Sea Church, 515 Frederick St. in Santa Cruz at 7:30pm. Admission is $15 in advance/$20 at the door.
For more on this extraordinary ensemble, visit www.vasen.se.

* The Celtic Society of the Monterey Bay proudly present our first theatrical production, the acclaimed one-man show ‘Cry of the Dreamer’ written by & starring the Irish singer & performer Sean Tyrrell at The Kuumbwa, 320 Cedar St. in Santa Cruz at the early start time of 7pm.

Debuting in 2007 to much fanfare & sold-out houses in Ireland, with an engagement on tap for the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the show maps the amazing life & incredible work of one of Ireland’s lesser known heroes. Through the medium of song & story it paints a vivid of picture the John Boyle O’Reilly journey from his boyhood in 19th century Dowth, Co. Meath, his enlistment as a Fenian, his imprisonment & great escape from the penal colony in Freemantle, to his settlement in Boston where he became one of the most important Irishman in the America of his day. As Sean writes, ‘It is theater, it is great songs, storytelling & history; it is now, it is relevant. It is the funny, tragic, heroic life of a majestic visionary soul; a poet & a rebel who had the courage of a freedom fighter & the commitment of a civil rights activist.’ The visionary aspect permits Sean to imagine what O’Reilly would make of the world today so among the 14 songs & 5 instrumentals linking the piece are songs from Oscar Wilde and John Lennon. This show is the culmination of Tyrrell’s discovery of several of O’Reilly’s works in the book ‘1000 Years of Irish Poetry’ which led to Sean setting three to music & recording, including the title track, on his debut CD, ‘Cry of a Dreamer.’ There’ll be much, much more on this show & Sean in our March issue but I’ll leave you with a quote from the Academy Award-winning Irish actress Brenda Fricker, ‘If you’re lucky, you come across a talent like Sean’s once or twice in a lifetime.’ (I’d not be one to bicker with Fricker). For more, visit www.seantyrrell.com.