PORTLAND — The Maine Irish Heritage Center, 34 Gray St., will host top-rated Irish-American Folk ensemble Makem & Spain at the Center in Portland on Saturday March 19. Curtain is 7:30 p.m.

 Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door and can be purchased at Bull Moose locations, or http://www.maineirish.com/event/makem-spain to purchase online, or by calling 207-883-5182 for information.

Not in the past 30 years has a group taken the international stage with such vocal power and stage presence, capturing the essence of their genre, while standing out as something truly unique. A host of various instruments and three male vocals, using precise three-part harmonies blend perfectly for what many have described as a wall of sound. 

Rory Makem was born in Drogheda, County Louth, about an hour north of Dublin. He continues the lineage of one of Irish music’s dynasties, begun by his grandmother Sarah Makem, who was sought after by song collectors for her store of traditional Irish songs. His father, Tommy Makem, was the modern day Bard of Armagh. Now considered an icon, he helped to bring Irish music out of the corner and into the international spotlight, where it has remained ever since.

Mickey and Liam, too, learned Irish songs at their father’s knee. Mickey’s rich, baritone voice and Liam’s mastery of stringed instruments quickly found a home when Rory met the Spains and they realized the power of their combined talents. But folk songs are engrained in both families and their songwriting contains the timeless qualities of folk classics, songs of the worker, songs of the sea and Irish culture. They tell the tale of Ireland and its people – a culture that has undergone terrible strife, but remains strong.

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