FARMINGTON – Two Old Friends will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 12, in Nordica Auditorium, University of Maine at Farmington.

The performers are literally two old friends to area audiences. Mac McHale and Emery Hutchins, known as Mac and Hutch, have recently joined forces to sing and play songs from Ireland, the mountains and the sea.

The pair were the original founders of the Irish band, Northeast Winds. They traveled and recorded with the Winds for nearly 18 years. For the last 17 years, McHale has led the Old-Time Radio Gang, a traditional country music band, and Hutchins has been part of the Angel Band, New England’s premiere Celtic music string band.

Two Old Friends will perform some of their favorite tunes from their days in the Northeast Winds, as well as some old-time traditional country music. The program will also include Irish and sea songs, picking instrumentals and sing-alongs.

McHale and Hutchins play the banjo, guitar, mandolin, concertina, bodran and the octave mandolin. During their performances, they illustrate how the music came to this country with the immigrants from Ireland, Scotland and Great Britain. Although modified, the root of these songs is still evident.

The concert will be presented by the Arts Institute of Western Maine, an affiliate of the University of Maine at Farmington. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, and children under 16, free. For more information, visit the Web site, www.artsinstitute.org.


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