Once again, the Green Willow Folk Club is proud to collaborate with Wilmington’s Grand Opera House to co-sponsor several of the Celtic/British Isles music and dance events in their current 2016-2017 season at their main venues on Market Street in Wilmington, as well as The Playhouse on Rodney Square.
Green Willow patrons can score a discount on tickets for these events by using the code ‘WILLOW‘ when ordering tickets online or by phone. The information below on each of these shows includes a direct link to order tickets online. To see all the upcoming offerings at The Grand, visit their main website at thegrandwilmington.org.
Thursday, January 19, 2017 – 8:00 pm
Enter The Haggis
We Banjo 3
Copeland Hall, The Grand Opera House
818 North Market Street
Wilmington, Delaware
The best and latest Celtic music from Ireland and Scotland, these
two bands will delight with their stunning combination of tradition and innovation. Direct from Galway, We Banjo 3 delighted Grand audiences as openers for Gaelic Storm two years ago, and came back for a headline show in the baby grand. The group does not have 3 members, and they don’t all play the banjo; but they do entertain
with a program that is offbeat, funny, and incredibly well-performed. After all, the band includes three all-Ireland music champs. The Irish Echo hails We banjo 3 as “freshness and finesse bordering on magical.” Enter The Haggis, a Toronto-based band, performs contemporary Celtic music with a rock edge. Imagine bagpipes and fiddles backed up with a rock n roll rhythm section! Festival circuit favorites for more than 20 years, Art Voice says Enter The Haggis is “innovative yet true to tradition” and the Washington Post exclaims “no one can anticipate the level of energy they throw down.”
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February 21 thru 26, 2017 – (Evening & Matinee Performances, check website for times)
Riverdance: 20 Years
The Playhouse on Rodney Square
1007 North Market Street
Wilmington, Delaware
The international Irish dance phenomenon—and one of the highest
grossing shows in Playhouse history— is back by popular demand in Riverdance – The 20th Anniversary World Tour. Drawing on Irish traditions, the combined talents of the performers propel Irish dancing and music into the present day, capturing the imagination of audiences across all ages and cultures in an innovative and exciting blend of dance, music and song. Of all the performances to emerge from Ireland—in rock, music, theatre and film—nothing has carried the energy, the sensuality and the spectacle of Riverdance.
Riverdance – The 20th Anniversary World Tour is composed by Bill Whelan, produced by Moya Doherty and directed by John McColgan, and comes directly to North America from a sold-out run across Europe and Asia.
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Saturday, February 25, 2017 – 8:00 pm
April Verch
the baby grand, The Grand Opera House
818 North Market Street
Wilmington, Delaware
Fiddler, singer, and stepdancer April Verch knows how relevant an old tune can be. She took the leap into professional musicianship at a young age, and has been quietly leaping into new, nuanced places for
more than two decades. Now on her milestone 10th album The Newpart, released in April 2015, Verch digs deep into songs and tunes for the era before the often-mined mid-century heyday of bluegrass and folk. Harkening back to vaudeville and beyond, Verch and her fellow trio members pare down their arrangements, highlighting the simple pleasures of upright bass, guitar, clawhammer banjo, mandolin, voices, fiddle, and stepping in intimate conversation. At the heart lie Verch’s delicate voice, energetic footwork, and stunning playing, a trifecta of talents she brings together simultaneously for the first time on stage. Verch keeps the community-fired celebratory side of her music at the forefront, honing a keen awareness of how to engage contemporary listeners. Even as she plays with the tradition she inherited in her native Ottawa Valley, Verch’s energetic and breathtaking performances speak to the heart of roots music with mature and reflective songwriting, interpreting, and storytelling.
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Thursday, March 2, 2017 – 8:00 pm
Gaelic Storm
Copeland Hall, The Grand Opera House
818 North Market Street
Wilmington, Delaware
After nearly two decades and more than 3,000 live shows, Gaelic Storm — the chart-topping, multi-national Celtic band — is looking sharper than ever with their latest release, Matching Sweaters. The new album mixes traditional Irish music with modern influences, creating a sound that’s as wide-ranging as the band’s own audience.
From bluegrass fans and country cowboys to Deadheads, rock &
rollers and Celtic fanatics, Gaelic Storm has built one of the most diverse fan bases in modern music. Matching Sweaters helps explain the broad appeal. Rooted in the songwriting of founding members Patrick Murphy and Steve Twigger, the album moves from drinking songs (“Another Stupid Drinking Song”) to energetic instrumentals (“The Narwhaling Cheesehead”) to rootsy pop/rockers (“Whiskeyed Up and Womaned Out”), gluing everything together with the spark and spirit of a band that’s spent close to 20 years on the road.
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Thursday, March 9, 2017 – 8:00 pm
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas
the baby grand, The Grand Opera House
818 North Market Street
Wilmington, Delaware
The musical partnership between Alasdair Fraser, known as Scotland’s premier fiddle ambassador, and the sizzlingly-talented young California cellist Natalie Haas may not seem an obvious one. But the pair displays dazzling teamwork, driving, dancing rhythms,
and their shared passion for improvising on the melody and the groove of Scottish tunes. Their two instruments duck and dive around each other, swapping melodic and harmonic lines, and trading rhythmic riffs. Fraser, who has been called “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling,” has a concert and recording career spanning 30 years, with a long list of awards, accolades, television credits, and feature performances on soundtracks like Last of the Mohicans and Titanic. Natalie Haas, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, wasn’t even born when Alasdair was winning national fiddle competitions on the other side of the Atlantic. Now regularly touring with Fraser and creating a buzz at festivals and in concert halls throughout Europe and North America, Natalie is in the vanguard of young cellists who are redefining the role of the cello in traditional music. The duo’s debut recording, Fire & Grace, won not only critical acclaim, but also the coveted Scots Trad Music “Album of the Year” award, the Scottish equivalent of a Grammy.
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Thursday, March 16, 2017 – 8:00 pm
The Five Irish Tenors
The Playhouse on Rodney Square
1007 North Market Street
Wilmington, Delaware
A unique program that blends Ireland’s traditional musical vocal
heritage with a modern, vibrant contemporary Ireland. Featuring classics such as “Danny Boy” and “My Wild Irish Rose” alongside Bono’s “In a Lifetime” and Brendan Graham’s “You Raise Me Up”.
The Five Irish Tenors in “Voices of Ireland” presents a thrilling,
dynamic program of joy and passion, spirit and love, performed by this magnificent group of Ireland’s leading tenors.
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Friday, March 31 thru Sunday, April 2, 2017 (Evening & Matinee Performances, check website for times)
ONCE
The Playhouse on Rodney Square
1007 North Market Street
Wilmington, Delaware
Winner of eight 2012 Tony Awards® including BEST MUSICAL, ONCE is a truly original Broadway experience. Featuring an
impressive ensemble of actor/musicians who play their own instruments onstage, ONCE tells the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician who’s about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. As the chemistry between them grows, his music soars to powerful new heights… but their unlikely connection turns out to be deeper and more complex than your everyday romance. Emotionally captivating and theatrically breathtaking, ONCE draws you in from the very first note and never lets go. It’s an unforgettable story about going for your dreams… not living in fear… and the power of music to connect all of us.
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