Danny Cox

Way back in 2003, the year of the first Kansas City Irish Fest we had a guy scheduled to play the trad stage named Danny Cox. Danny Cox has been buzzing around Kansas City's music scene since my sisters were hippies hanging out in Westport coffee houses. And though you wouldn't know he was Irish to look at him, Danny is one of those walking talking singing musical atlases. He could sing you a down home blues one minute and break your heart with a traditional Irish lament the next.

Danny Cox's house and just about everything in it burned to the ground on the 6th of January. He and his family escaped uninjured, though his dogs weren't so lucky. Now, as they often do, the community of musicians to which Danny belongs are rallying to his aid, and they need your help. Irish Festers The Elders, along with Brewer & Shipley and Bob Walkenhorst are playing a benefit show on January 20th at All Souls U.U. Church at 4501 Walnut. The show is at 7:00. Twenty bucks gets you into the performance, $50 will add on a pre-show reception at 6:00. Get those tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com.

Additionally, The Elders, those big hearted boys, will play a second set to benefit Cox and his family at Knuckleheads in the East Bottoms. That show will be February 17th and will run you $15. Call 816-483-6407 for info on that performance. And the show at the Unicorn Theatre that Cox is currently starring in, called appropriately "A House Without Walls", will donate 50% of their gate receipts between January 30th and February 6th to Danny and his family. Call the Unicorn for tickets at 816-531-7529.

Though the 2003 Irish Fest was rained out, Danny Cox is still part of our extended family. Please attend one or both of these shows if you can, hear some great music, and help a fellow Irishman get back on his feet.