CARTHAGE – Ireland’s David Munnelly Band will bring its exuberant mix of Irish traditional and swing music to Skye Theatre and to Lakeside Theater in Rangeley.
Based in County Mayo, Ireland, Munnelly and his band have exploded onto the international Irish music stage. Their bracing music mix also includes the “gypsy jazz” of Django Reinhardt, klezmer music and lively Quebecois dance tunes.
The band has won a number of awards, including Concert of the Year by LiveIreland.com for its 2007 show-stopping appearance at Milwaukee’s IrishFest. The group has had three acclaimed albums in Europe, Japan and North America; television and radio specials on PBS, BBC and NPR; and concert dates throughout the world, including The Kennedy Center in Washington.
Munnelly, an Irish button accordion virtuoso, was raised in a musical family, learning traditional tunes from his grandmother. He toured with The Chieftains from age 21 to 25.
His one-of-a-kind style of playing has been called a living link between two centuries of West-of-Ireland culture and the Golden Age of Irish American music, incorporating the sound and feel of the Irish-American dance halls of the 1920s and 1930s.
The band’s new vocalist, Shauna Mullin, was named Newcomer of the Year by LiveIreland.com. An All-Ireland champion from County Donegal, Mullin is a young singer with a distinctively rich, earthy alto. She and Munnelly will be joined on stage by David’s younger brother Kieran Munnelly on flute, percussion and backing vocals; Paul Kelly on fiddle/mandolin; Seanan Brennan on guitar; and the dancing of “foot percussionist” Nic Gareiss.
“Their jazzy, innovative approach to traditional music make the David Munnelly Band one of the more fascinating groups coming out of Ireland these days… the band to see if you can,” said Paul Keating in The Irish Voice.
Concerts featuring the David Munnelly Band will be presented by New England Celtic Arts at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, at Skye Theatre at 2 Highland Drive; and at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 24, at Lakeside Theater on Main Street in Rangeley. Tickets are $10. Call Sky Theatre at 562-4445 and Lakeside at 864-5000.
For details, visit www.david munnelly.com or www.my space.com/davemunnelly.
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