“St. Brigid was a light in the darkest of times, a peacemaker, a woman who provided sustenance and a safe haven for all,”” notes Ivers, a Grammy Award-winning Irish American fiddler. “I’m thrilled to be joining other female artists as part of a livestream concert honoring this beloved Irish saint. May the perpetual flame that St. Brigid ignited so long ago, which still burns in Kildare Town’s Market Square today, live in our hearts and shine through the gift of music and community.” The livestream concert can be viewed on The Association of Irish & Celtic Festivals’ Facebook page.

Along with Ivers and Madden, a flutist and tin whistle player who has been at the helm of the New York-based all-female Irish music ensemble Cherish the Ladies since its inception in 1985, the following artists will be showcasing their musical talents:

The Bowtides (a trio of fiddlers who spent 14 cumulative years – never at the same time – in Gaelic Storm), Ashley Davis (an eclectic American singer-songwriter), Goitse (a multi-award-winning traditional Irish ensemble), Dani Larkin (a singer-songwriter and folk musician from the Armagh-Monaghan border whose music is inspired by the folktales she was raised with, intertwined with elements of traditional melodies and rhythms from around the world in a timeless tradition), Susan O’Neill (SON, an enigmatic singer-songwriter who fuses traditional Irish folk with rock, soul, gospel and blues), Cathie Ryan (an award-winning Irish-American vocalist and songwriter who was the original lead singer with Cherish the Ladies), Clare Sands (a versatile Cork-born fiddler, multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer-songwriter with deep family roots in Northern Ireland and County Wexford, whose sound is rooted in Irish traditional music), and Aoife Scott (a Dublin-based folksinger-songwriter who is part of the legendary Black Family).

The Association of Irish & Celtic Festivals (AICF) is a collective of more than 170 festivals throughout The United States and Canada that aims to bring the Irish culture – via music, education, food and dance – to those not in Ireland in the hopes that those traditions are never lost. Referring to the concert as “a celebration of the female spirit,” Erin O’Rourke from Indy Irish Fest in Indianapolis and an AICF executive board member, said: “We hope that by highlighting this Irish patron saint and her holiday and stories, we can entertain and educate audiences with a program that celebrates her, and some of the best female Irish musicians and dancers across the world.” More information about the St. Brigid’s Day Concert and AICF may be found at irishcelticfestivals.org.

Local, national and international touring artists whose performances are slated to stream @ https://facebook.com/michiganirish over the extended weekend include (in alphabetical order) The Alt, An Dro, Blackthorn, Ruth and Max Bloomquist, Bohola, Daimh, Doolin’, Ian Gould, Shane Hennessey, Seamus Kennedy, The Kreelers, One for the Foxes, Peat in the Creel, RUNA, Scythian, Sharon Shannon, Trout Steak Revival, and Uneven Ground. Singer-Songwriter Ashley Davis will host a songwriters circle featuring Dave Curley, Doolin’, Colin Farrell, and Shane Hennessey, while Shannon Lambert-Ryan, RUNA’s lead vocalist, will host a family-friendly presentation on “Baking with Babies.”

The schedule for the virtual festival appears below. Videos may also be posted on the festival’s Facebook page for replay later if you miss or want to see any of the acts again.

Thursday
5-7 pm Sounds Like Ireland Radio Program
8 pm Runa
9 pm Seamus Kennedy
10 pm An Dro

Friday
6 – 9 am Michael Patrick Shiels The Big Show radio show broadcast live from downtown Muskegon
5 pm Ruth and Max Bloomquist
6 pm Ian Gould
6:30 pm Songwriters Circle with Ashley Davis (featuring Colin Farrell and Dave Curley)
7 pm Dave Curley
7:50 pm Five Farms
8 pm Best of Scythian on Dan’s Wedding Day!
9 pm Shane Hennessy
10 pm The Kreellers

Saturday
12 pm Conklin Ceili Band
1 pm Peat in the Creel
1:30 pm Cathy Jo Smith Storyteller – Seanín the Piper
2 pm Kennedy’s Kitchen
2:30 Bob Harke with Kennedy’s Kitchen
3 pm Baking with Babies
4 pm Songwriters Circle with Ashley Davis (featuring Doolan’)
5 pm the Alt
5:30 pm Cathy Jo Smith – Questions about the Irish Wake
6 pm Friel Sisters
7 pm One for the Foxes
8 pm Daimh
9 pm Doolin’
10 pm CrossBow

Sunday
11 am Uneven Ground
11:30 am Deb O’Carroll’s Irish Magic Show
12 pm Runa featuring Eamonn and Cormac de Barra
1 pm Songwriters Circle with Ashely Davis (featuring Shane Hennessy)
2 pm Trout Steak Revival
3 pm Bohola
4 pm Best of Sharon Shannon
5 pm Blackthorn

The grassroots, musician-run, multi-generational winter music festival will feature a mix of established artists and new and emerging acts residing in the Boston area or active in its Celtic music community. BCMFest kicks off Jan. 8 with a Friday night concert at Harvard Square’s famed Club Passim and a Celtic dance party, the Boston Urban Celidh, at Springstep in nearby Medford, Massachusetts. The festival continues on Saturday, Jan. 9, with performances on four stages at Club Passim and the nearby First Parish Church of Cambridge, which also hosts the finale concert that evening. Set for 8 p.m., that concert will feature the Makem and Spain Brothers, Kimberley Fraser, and Barbara McOwen with Anne Hooper.

Other artists slated to perform during BCMFest include Gordon AuCoin and Lloyd Carr, Bento Boxty, Boston Highlands Ceili Band, Kate Chadbourne, Flynn Cohen and John McGann, The Gobshites, Catherine Joyce, Tina Lech and Ted Davis, Catherine Joyce and Tess Ruderman, Colm O’Brien, David O’Docherty, Michael O’Leary, Cedar Stanistreet and Max Newman, Parcel of Rogues (Calum Pasqua, Dan Houghton, Susie Petrov), Travel (Laura Cortese, Nic Gareiss, Anna Lindblad), Tri, Tullochgorum, and the trio of Laurel Martin, Kieran Jordan and David Surette, and more. A family-oriented production entitled “The Fiddler’s Wish” and a special ensemble recreation of the classic Dudley Street Boston Irish Dance Hall Era of the 1930s-1950s also are on tap.

“During its first six years, BCMFest has reached out to the area’s diverse Celtic music community through the festival as well as events during the year, such as the monthly Celtic Music Monday series at Club Passim and our annual music cruise in Gloucester,” says Shannon Heaton, who co-founded BCMFest with Laura Cortese. “And every year we’ve seen more and more musicians, singers and dancers come up with some great ideas and collaborations that really speak to the BCMFest mission,” continues Heaton, a talented artist in her own right, along with her husband Matt. “What’s especially encouraging… is that when we issued the call for performers to apply we made a point of stating the ‘core traditions’ theme, and it clearly generated a response.”

Recognizing that traditional music and dance is not merely something to quietly watch and listen to, festival organizers also have arranged a number of participatory events.
In addition to the Boston Urban Celidh, which festival organizers describe as “contra dance meets mosh pit,” participatory events at BCMFest will include an “All Chorus Songs, All the Time” sing-along, as well as open Irish and Scottish tune and singing sessions on Saturday.

More information and updates on the festival are available online at www.bcmfest.com. For tickets, which can be ordered through Club Passim, log-on to www.bcmfest.com/tickets.html.

On the East Coast, two Irish festivals of note are slated for July 24-26: The Great American Irish Festival in Central New York and the Greater Hartford Irish Music Festival in Glastonbury, Connecticut.

The Great American Irish Festival takes place at the Herkimer County Fairgrounds in Frankfort, New York (just east of Utica). Artists scheduled to perform include Barleyjuice, Marc Bernier, The Blarney Rebel Band, Cassidy/McCale, Vince Colgan, Gerry Dixon, Dublin City Ramblers, The Elders, Enter the Haggis, The Fenians, Glengarry Bhoys, Hadrian’s Wall, Hair of the Dog, Inisheer, Pat Kane, Seamus Kennedy, Donal O’Shaughnessy, Pogey, Rathkeltair, Rattlin’ Bog, The Stoutmen, Syracuse Session, Tannahill Weavers, Traonach, Trinity, and Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfetones. Inflatables and games for children, as well as some family-oriented entertainment also is on tap. Advance tickets for the full weekend, which benefits the planned establishment of a Mohawk Valley Irish Cultural Center, are $20, while daily tickets will be available at the gate. For more information, visit www.gaif.us.

Enter the Haggis also is on the bill for the Greater Hartford Irish Music Festival, which also will feature performances by Celtic Cross, Flynn 529, Highland Rovers, Jameson’s Revenge, Colm O’Brien, The Rising, U2 tribute band 2U, and Celtic rockers Young Dubliners. Presented by the Irish American Home Society, the festival also boasts a cultural tent featuring displays and traditional music, song and dance (set, step and ceili), an expansive food tent, children’s area, carnival rides and games of chance. For more information, log-on to www.irishmusicfest.com.

The following weekend, July 31 – August 2, some 65 acts are expected to perform on seven stages during the Dublin Irish Festival at Coffman Park in Dublin, Ohio (just northwest of Columbus). The festival will be serving up what organizers refer to as Celtic music with a side of salsa and a French twist, plus traditional and rock music, and is expected to draw more than 100,000 people. Artists slated to perform include Brigid’s Cross, Bua, Cape May Ceili Band, Celtic Tenors, Clancy League (with Aiofe Clancy and Robbie O’Connell), Dervish, Gaelic Storm, La Bottine Souriante, Trey MacGillivray, Niamh Parsons and Graham Dunne, Pogey, The Prodigals, Salsa Celtica, Screaming Orphans, Scythian, Slide, St. Louis Irish Arts, Street Dogs and Young Dubliners. Also scheduled are a singer-songwriter circle, a number of local and regional artists, dance performances and instruction, nine pipe and drum bands, and a theatrical performance of Sister Bernie’s Bingo Bash. A weekend ticket is $23, while daily admission is $10. More information can be found online at www.dublinirishfestival.org.

Milwaukee Irish Fest, hailed as “the largest and best Irish cultural event in North America” by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Folklife Program, returns to Wisconsin’s most populous city’s Henry W. Maier Festival Park on Lake Michigan, August 13-16. Founded in 1980, the festival showcases more than 100 entertainment acts on 16 stages, with such musical artists as Brigid’s Cross, A Clancy Pipeline, Gaelic Storm, Colin Grant, Green Tea, Irish Descendants, Sean Keane, fiddler extraordinaire Natalie MacMaster and Donal Lunny, Colm O’Brien, Pogey, Carmel Quinn, Risin Stour, Salsa Celtica, Irish balladeer Tommy Sands, Screaming Orphans, Slide and, inexplicably, Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others. Also slated are dance, drama, a cultural village and marketplace, a children’s area, Jameson Irish whiskey tastings, Celtic games and sports. Visit www.irishfest.com/festival/ for more information.

Kansas City Irish Fest returns to Crown Center Square in Kansa City, Missouri, where there will be music on three stages from Friday night, September 4 through Sunday night, September 6. Among the artists scheduled to perform are The Elders, Ellis Island, Hothouse Flowers, The Kelihars, Makem & Spain Brothers, The McCabes, Jim Malcolm, David Munnelly Band, Robbie O’Connell, Pogey, Scythian, Slide and Vishten. Admission is $10; children under 12 will be admitted free. Festival goers are advised to bring lawn chairs and blankets. More information, including stage schedules, is posted at www.kcirishfest.com.

Other Irish festivals in coming weeks, listed alphabetically by state, include:

Alaska Irish Music Festival in Anchorage, August 1

Augusta Irish Festival in Augusta, Georgia, July 19-24

Iowa Irish Festival in Waterloo, July 31-August 1

Irish Music Festival of Western Massachusetts in Springfield, August 8

Great Lakes Irish Music Festival in Comstock Park, Michigan, August 22

Montana Irish Music Festival in Butte, August 7-9

Buffalo Irish Festival in Hamburg, New York, August 28-30

The Festival of Ireland in Lake Placid, New York, August 30-31

Charlotte Irish Summer Festival in Charlotte, North Carolina, August 14-15

Cleveland’s Irish Cultural Festival in Berea, Ohio, July 24-26

Adams County Irish Festival in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 18

Newport Waterfront Irish Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, September 5-7

The Irish Festival at Blackthorne Inn in Upperville, Virginia, September 5-6

Irish Fest – La Crosse in La Crosse, Wisconsin, August 7-9