Irish Band Skipper’s Alley at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center on Friday, Oct. 20

Tickets for the show are $21 in advance, $25 on concert day.

By Irish Cultural and Heritage Center - Sep 1st, 2017 02:38 pm

Skipper’s Alley. Photo courtesy of the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center.

A modern Irish folk band with an old-school approach, Skipper’s Alley will being their gritty, high-octane Irish tunes, along with occasional detours into the dark, somber melodies of the Irish song tradition, to the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center, 2133 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee at 7:30 on Friday, Oct. 20.

The six-piece ensemble described as “gloriously three-dimensional” by the Irish Times,

came to prominence in the summer of 2103 after winning the Loic Raison Trophy at Brittany’s Festival Interceltique de Lorient, an award previously won by well-known groups including Danú, Clannad and the Bothy Band. Since that time they have appeared on national and international TV and toured on four continents.

One of the four band members from Dublin, multi-instrumentalist Macdara Yeats has worked in live TV, radio and theater including performing before President Michael D. Higgins in 2016 under the artistic director of Martin Hayes and Iarla Ó’Lionáird. From County Monaghan, harpist Eilís Lavelle has won numerous awards including All Ireland Fleadh, Oireachtas and is working on a Ph.D. in Irish harp music from the 1800s at Queen’s University, Belfast. Flute player, guitarist and singer John Flynn teaches music and works with a number of acclaimed theater groups. Uilleann piper Fionnán MacGabbann won the 2013 Oireachtas piping competition and has also studied with master whistle players including Seán Potts and Seán McKeown. A mostly self-taught banjo player and multi-instrumentalist tutored by Kieran Hanrahan among others, Patrick Cummins graduated with first-class honors from the University of Limerick’s Irish Music. Fiddle and violinist, Ultan OBrien from County Clare, works in performance, composition and education and graduated with a bachelor degree’s in music education from Trinity College, Dublin.

“(T)his group will have an impact on the future of traditional Irish music.” – Kieran Hanrahan, Stockton’s Wing

Tickets for the show are $21 in advance, $25 on concert day, $10 for students with ID and free for ages 12 and younger. To order online, visit www.ichc.net. Tickets may also be ordered by calling (414) 345-8800.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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