Check it out and by all means, let us know what you think.
Friday August 29
Crown Center Terrace Stage
- 5:30-7:00 - O'Riada Academy of Irish Dance
- 7:30-9:00 - Millish
- 9:30-11:00 - Gaelic Storm
- 5:30-6:30 - The Kelihans
- 7:00-8:30 - Bad Haggis
- 9:00-11:00 - 2U
Crown Center Terrace Stage
- 12:00-1:00 - Jim Cosgrove
- 1:30-2:30 - Jim Malcolm
- 3:00-4:30 - Pogey
- 5:00-6:30 - Damien Dempsey
- 7:00-8:30 - Scythian
- 9:00-11:00 - Gaelic Storm
- 12:00-1:00 - The Kelihans
- 1:30-2:30 - Beoga
- 3:00-4:00 - Millish
- 4:30-6:00 - Barra MacNeils
- 6:30-8:00 - Bad Haggis
- 8:30-10:30 - Slide
- 12:00-12:45 - Jonathan Ramsey
- 1:00-2:00 - Wild Clover Band
- 2:30-3:30 - Bob Reeder
- 4:00-5:00 - Jimmy Crowley
- 5:30-6:30 - Kelly
Crown Center Terrace Stage
- 9:30 - Catholic Mass
- 11:00-12:30 - Eddie Delahunt & Friends
- 1:00-2:00 - O'Riada Academy of Irish Dance
- 2:30-4:00 - The Young Wolfetones
- 4:00-6:00 - Damien Dempsey
- 6:30-8:30 - Enter The Haggis
- 9:00-11:00 - Scythian
- 11:30-12:30 - Flannigan's Right Hook
- 12:30-1:30 - Slide
- 2:00-3:00 - Millish
- 3:30-4:30 - Barra MacNeils
- 5:00-6:30 - Beoga
- 7:00-8:30 - Pogey
- 9:00-11:00 - The Elders
- 12:00-1:00 - Jonathan Ramsey
- 1:00-2:00 - Wild Clover Band
- 2:30-3:30 - Jimmy Crowley
- 4:00-5:00 - Jim Malcolm
- 5:30-6:30 - Creel*
Posts
15 comments:
my only suggestion would be to put Gaelic Storm on the Terrace Stage one night and on the Boulevard Stage the next night. Mixes it up a bit for the crowd and the vendors/sponsors. Just a thought. Otherwise, it looks great.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see any listings for The Fuchsia Band, who in past years have been a huge part of the KCIF, between regular performances, heritage stage, etc. PLEASE say you've just given them their own stage this year or something, because it certainly wouldn't be the same without them there!!
The Fuchsia Band won't be joining us this year. Though we know it's going to disappoint some people, we like to move our out-of-town bands on and off the schedule every few years to keep things fresh and keep new bands coming into the market. We love the Fuchsia boys, and God willing, they'll be back with us in the not-at-all-distant future.
I won't mention, then, how many years in a row this years performance of Gaelic Storm makes.
Two.
No, three. Plus 2003 and 2004.
My memory not being what it used to be, I consulted Dave Shaughnessy, the man who hires all our bands for the definitive answer.
Gaelic Storm were scheduled to play the Trad stage in Berkeley Park in 2003. That stage never opened due to rain. They were not here in 2004 or 2005. They were here in '06 and last year. This will be their third appearance.
It's a faulty analogy anyway. The Fuchsia Band, great as they are, are not in the same league as Gaelic Storm. They'd be the first ones to tell you that, too.
IMHO "In the same league" is a poor choice of phrasing if you are trying to compare these two bands.
I think your prejudice for the cross-over cross-genre pop stuff is showing versus actual Irish Traditional Music.
Personally, I would have worded it the other way around and said that Gaelic Storm is not "in the same league" as The Fuchsia Band.
Does that show my own prejudice for Irish Traditional Music performed by actual people from Ireland who grew up with it and know how it's really done?
You damn betcha.
The policy that Dan is describing is common to almost all BAIF ( Big American Irish Festivals ). They all pretty much adhere to the "no more than two years in a row" rule for out-of-town headliners.
Local bands are always another story and that's why it's not relevant to point out that bands like The Elders and the Kelihans have, AFAIK, never been "rotated out" of KCIF. They will probably always be there. Every BAIF has it's own local "fixtures" and I suppose that is as it should be.
How much stage time the locals get considering they have access to that same market all year long is another story altogether. That also varies a lot from BAIF to BAIF. That could be a whole 'nother thread, however.
My only question would be this...
If the Fuchsia lads are NOT going to be at KCIF then when do we find out who is going to take up the slack and do ALL of the other important things they do so easily and so well?
Who will be doing all the workshops and the Storytelling and the dance lessons and the Gaelic language instruction and who will be calling the Ceili(s)?
Is Gaelic Storm going to be doing ANY of that? I doubt it. I think Patrick is actually capable of calling a Ceili but I've never seen him do it.
Even if he does... it certainly won't be, to coin the already used phrase, "in the same league" as a Mairtin de Cogain.
It's billed as an IRISH FESTIVAL and not a Cross-Genre Pop Rock Concert. The 'other stuff' is just as important as the on-stage music presentations.
Can the "Slide" lads ( from Ireland ) help fill in the "Fuchsia void"?
When do we get to see THAT part of the schedule?
Also... is anyone going to do the wonderful "Learn an Irish Tune" thing that Fuchsia started last year? Is Gaelic Storm or Slide or the Elders or any other band going to let folks get up on the stage and share the limelight with them for a moment?
I doubt it.
Pity, that.
Good points, Kevin. Rest assured that while all the Fuchsia input will be sorely missed this year, workshops and ceili dancing will all continue. That part of the schedule, the Heritage Stage is being worked on and will be coming soon, as I said.
As far as the "same league" comment goes, I would actually agree with it on this point. Few bands, including Fuchsia, are in the same league as Gaelic Storm when it comes to getting people through the gates at a festival like ours. People come from far and wide to see Gaelic Storm. And in my opinion, with good reason. They are a talented, wildly entertaining band and great people. For a festival organizer looking for a draw, they're at or near the top of the peak. That may sound terribly mercenary, but the reality is that to stay in business we have to appeal not just to knowledgeable traditional music fans like you, Kevin, but to the community at large. And even if you're not a fan, think of it as a means to an end. If they come to see 2U and discover Slide, fantastic. If they can't miss The Elders and go home with a Beoga CD, wonderful. The Fuchsia Band really got their "big break" if you can call it that here at KCIF. The first year they played here, I guarantee nobody came just to see them. Well, Mitra, maybe. What if we'd kept the schedule static and not opened up a spot for them that first year? What if we'd decided, well we have a solid line up, let's stick with it.
And before we continue too far down this particular path, this whole Gaelic Storm vs. Fuchsia thing is spurious. It's not like we were going to book one or the other and went with US Steel over Mom & Pop.
The Fuchsia Band will be back at KCIF if we have any say about it. But for this year, as is our policy, and you're right, all major festivals work in a similar fashion, the door's been open for some new names. Let's keep minds open.
Nothing mercenary at all there Dan.
In fact... nothing there I don't think everyone doesn't already know about the decision making process for KCIF band selection(s).
It's not a House Concert.
There are (BIG) bills to pay and Gaelic Storm and other name bands are the sharpshooters that keep the turnstyles turning, fer sure.
I just didn't want the "In the same league" comment to pass by without some balancing comment, that's all.
It all depends what your definition of "league" is.
Your definition is "what draws the crowd". My definition ( and other people's in this genre ) is a little different, that's all.
I don't go to BAIF to participate in or watch the "who can whip the crowd into a bigger frenzy" contest. Sure, that's fun, but not why I travel hundreds of miles and spend hundreds of dollars.
I live in hope that American Irish Festivals can always remember that a lot of us EXPECT to see some real "quality" Traditional Irish Music and Culture at these things. To us, THAT'S what it's SUPPOSED to be, not how many pints of beer sold and how big the mash-pit was.
Mind is completely open.
Thank God you DID "take a chance" on the Fuchsia Band. The American Irish Music scene would have been pretty dull for the last 3 years without them. Here's hoping that the 'open mind' on YOUR part ( and the Entertainment Director D.S. ) will lead to more chances for them and for folks LIKE them. They need to be there even if the turnstyles aren't spinning so predictably off their tracks as with other cross-over acts.
I am NOT casting any asparagus or any other vegetable at Gaelic Storm or the Elders or any other crossover group. They are VERY GOOD at what they do, that's fer sure.
God love 'em. Keep packin' 'em in,
lads.
I think you knew this discussion was going to take place, though, when people heard that Fuchsia wasn't going to be there this year.
It was bound to happen.
They are a legend in their own time at this point and many people had, in fact, started to view them as a 'local KCIF fixture' equal to Elders or Kelihans or Eddie and Friends.
They WILL be missed.
Well, I guess planning my volunteer shifts just got easier, since I don't have to block out the Fuchsia shows. I understand the reasoning behind the policy, but I am still disappointed, since they have made such a positive impact on KCIF in the past. I'm with Kevin - I really prefer the trad music - but I guess that's more of a niche thing maybe.
Lest every comment you get seem to disparage the incredible effort the board puts into the KCIF, I do thank you for putting on a great weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to find some other artists (new to me) to watch so I can get my trad fix . . . . at least until 2009, when hopefully the Fuchsia boys will have an opening in their schedule for KCIF!
Thank you. I think this is our most trad-friendly schedule ever. I'm sure you'll find plenty to love.
I too was a little dissapointed at seeing Fuchsia would not be back. But there a lot of other bands I'm glad are back. Like Enter the Haggis, and Jim Malcom. I'm thrilled Jim Malcom is going to be back. Overall I think the lineup is amazing, great work. As always the Fest is one of the major highlights at the end of summer.. : D
I think that by leaving the door open to different kinds of Irish music and keeping an open mind is what allows Irish/Celtic music to evolve. Take a look at Flannigan's Right Hook for example. I'm not even sure how they arrange their stuff to sound country/Irish, (if I am correct) and even old standards sound like a new tune. That's just me. P.S. And they're cute.
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