Tag: jigs

Islay Mist Ceilidh at Colebrook Country Club

Get ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in grand style at the Colebrook Country Club beginning at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, as the region’s largest Celtic ensemble gathers in town to celebrate the music of the Emerald Isle.

That’s the night that Islay Mist Ceilidh comes to Colebrook bringing in a host of Irish tunes–and then some–with a successive blast of jigs, reels, airs and some familiar tunes to sing along with. The Great North Woods Committee for the Arts will be hosting this lively St. Patrick’s Day gathering.

Islay Mist Ceilidh is a group of musicians from all over northern New Hampshire who first started out playing Celtic music for fun. That fun has grown to include numerous gigs at various venues and events; the band plays several times a year at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Highland Center Inn in Crawford Notch, at the Lancaster Fair, and for the past three years has been among the headliners at the annual First Night-North New Year’s Eve celebration in St. Johnsbury, Vt.

Islay Mist Ceilidh includes fiddlers, guitarists, bodhrans, flutes and penny whistle. The group recently recorded its first CD, which will be available for purchase at the show.

Come along and join the fun and don’t forget to wear your green–and join in the singing to some old Irish favorites, including “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” “Danny Boy” and more. Whether you’re of Irish heritage or just Irish for the day, you will have a great time–and that’s no blarney.

Tickets for the St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the Colebrook Country Club on Rte. 26 in Colebrook are available online at www.gnwca.org, at Fiddleheads on 110 Main St. in Colebrook or at the door on the night of the show. General admission prices are: adults, $15, children under 12, $5.

For more information on this and other GNWCA shows, find the Great North Woods Committee for the Arts on Facebook, visit www.gnwca.org or you can call (603) 246-8998.

Prince Edward Island Duo at Rialto Theatre

Prince Edward Island fiddler Richard Wood and guitarist Gordon Belsher will be performing in concert on Tuesday evening, Jan. 15, at the Rialto Theater in Lancaster.

The Great North Woods Committee for the Arts in Colebrook is hosting the show, which begins at 7 p.m. Wood and Belsher have performed three times in the region over the years, but not since 2014—and in fact, it has been eight years (2010) since they have performed in Lancaster. The duo is looking forward to their return to northern New Hampshire and the many fans who follow their music. “We’re delighted to have these two dynamic musicians back in the North Country,” said GNWCA President Charlie Jordan.

For more than two decades, Richard Wood has impressed audiences all across Canada, as well as in the Unites States, Europe, Japan and Australia. Highlights include TV guest appearances with Shania Twain on “David Letterman” and “Good Morning America,” Carnegie Hall with Irish legends The Chieftains, a featured performer on CBC’s Canada Day on Parliament Hill, “Rita MacNeil and Friends,” and with Jean Butler of Riverdance on “Celtic Electric.”

A fiery fiddler from Prince Edward Island, Richard has played for Canada’s Prime Minister and Governor General, the Queen of England (in Toronto), and for the Emperor of Japan in Tokyo. He’s played at  Lincoln Center in New York City, Epcot at Disney World, and was a featured performer in the touring fiddle spectacle “Bowfire.” He has won three Canadian East Coast Music Awards. MacLean’s Magazine named him one of the Top 100 Canadians to watch in the 21st Century. Most recently, he performed for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their Canadian visit to his home Province.

Prince Edward Island’s Gordon Belsher has been entertaining audiences in Canada and around the world for more than 40 years, performing at concerts, ceilidhs, conventions, and pubs. His solo CD “Past & Present,” won Roots Traditional Recording of the Year at the Music PEI Awards in 2013. He received a Music PEI Lifetime Achievement Award and has been the Artistic Director for Prince Edward Island Mutual Festival of Small Halls. Whether playing before large festival crowds or intimate folk club settings, Gordon’s engaging personality, charming voice, and versatility on a variety of instruments are a recipe for a memorable evening.

Over the last few years, Richard and Gordon have been performing and touring as a duo. Enthusiastic audiences have been taken on a roller coaster ride of exhilarating–even exhausting–jigs and reels, strathspeys and hornpipes, and beautiful airs, many composed by Richard himself. This is complimented by Gordon’s engaging songs, some humorous and some poignant, warming things up for the next fiddle blaze.

Tickets for this  show are $15 per person and on sale at the Rialto Theater in downtown Lancaster or Fiddleheads, 100 Main St., in Colebrook. Tickets are also available online at www.gnwca.org and at the door on the night of the show.