10...

TEN DAYS!!

Sorry, didn't mean to shout at you so early in the morning. Ahem. Ten days until Irish Fest opens. So as I did last year, even though absolutely nobody asked for it, I'll begin today my annual list of Ten Things Not To Miss At Irish Fest This Year. This is my list. It doesn't necessarily represent the thoughts or opinions of anybody else at Irish Fest, whose lists would be wrong anyway. The order is random, as are most things I do. 

10.Slide. When a few of us traveled to the Dublin Irish Fest earlier this month, one of the items on our agenda was to preview bands that were playing both Dublin and Kansas City, especially those who are new to our festival. Slide was one of them. So I made my way to the big tent where they were playing their first show of the weekend and settled in to a front row seat. The band started, my jaw dropped. There's a phrase we use in the festival biz when we're evaluating a band that applies here. It's pretty technical jargon, but I think it'll translate to you laymen. The phrase is "Holy Crap!" Slide, not to put too fine a point on it, blew me away. Musically stellar, amazing energetic (you'll lose weight just watching fiddle player Daire Bracken jump around), funny and engaging, they're everything you'd want in a festival band.

The music? Top-notch trad, played in some nontraditional ways, how's that? I'll let you listen for yourself. But take my word for it: Slide should be on your short list of must-sees for this year's Kansas City Irish Fest.