An Irish Christmas Lunasa & Karan Casey
Sunday December 6, 2015  7:30pm - 9:30pm (2 Hours)
Music

 gm@kingstheatre.ca
 (902)532-7704

Music is one of Ireland’s most celebrated exports, and Lúnasa, a band like no other, has been at the forefront of that musical migration. Since the release of their 1997 recording debut LÚNASA and the band’s first tour of the U.S. - when word-of-mouth led to SRO shows and rave reviews (“This is the hottest Irish acoustic group on the planet” said The New York Times) - the all-star quintet has become one of the most popular bands on the international Celtic music scene.

Comprising Seán Smyth (fiddle and low whistles), Kevin Crawford (flute, low whistles and tin whistles), Cillian Vallely (uilleann pipes and low whistles), Trevor Hutchinson (double bass) and the group’s newest member Ed Boyd (guitar), Lúnasa delivers music with a passion that informs every note and continues to define and redefine the genre. Their innovative arrangements and unique approach to the music create a singular sound that has propelled Irish acoustic music from familiar ground into surprising and exciting new territory.lunasaOrcsm

“Lúnasa is a very different Irish band in many ways,” explains Cillian Vallely. “It’s an all instrumental band. We have a double bass. We play a very diverse selection of music, including our own compositions, melodies from other Celtic regions such as Brittany, Galicia, Asturias, and Scotland, and slower melodies, often involving three-part harmonies. The melodies are played on the traditional instruments of pipes, fiddle and flute, but the rhythmic and harmonic style—the bass and guitar style—give the band a very contemporary sound.”

It’s a sound that moves beyond the long established boundaries of traditional music, and it has earned the group a following that encompasses music fans of all ages and tastes around the world. Lúnasa is also a collective that courts opportunities to grow and change, to try something different. With eight albums already in its discography, as well as solo CDs and recording and performing credits with many of Ireland’s and the world’s most well known talents, the quintet will introduce a rarity in the traditional music world with the release in April, 2013 of “Lunasa with the RTE Concert Orchestra”.

“Lunasa with the RTE Concert Orchestra” is a glittering collection of tunes sparked from a brilliant union of two of Ireland’s brightest musical stars—a remarkable traditional Irish music band and Ireland’s treasured national orchestra which has long prided itself on its dynamic programs and stylistic range. Their first joint effort was a sold-out performance at Dublin’s National Concert Hall on June 19, 2012 that was later broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 and followed by the recording of the album.

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra, whose credits include seven Eurovision Song Contests and projects with talents as diverse as Luciano Pavarotti, Cleo Laine and Jon Lord of Deep Purple and Ireland’s Sharon Shannon, Sinéad O’Connor, Imelda May and The Coronas, is conducted by David Brophy.

Karan Casey


Karan Casey has long been one of the most innovative, provocative and imitated voices in Irish traditional and folk music. Her career has spanned twenty five years from the early days as a jazz performer in George’s Bistro in Dublin to her heady days in New York with the band Solas to her now established solo career and she has sold over half a million albums.

Karan released her first album with the group Solas, which quickly became the most celebrated Irish band in the U.S., and her four years with the group were pivotal. Since embarking on her solo career Karan has released 6 solo albums, a duo album (with John Doyle), an album for children and numerous contributions to other artists' projects – appearing on more than 50 albums in total. She has toured constantly throughout North America, Europe and Japan, performing solo, with her own band and with many other diverse artists. Recent years have seen Karan appearing with Folk legends James Taylor, Liam Clancy, Peggy Seeger, Mick Moloney and The Dubliners and Imelda May as well as performances with Solas, Lunasa, Tim O’Brien and Capercaillie’s Karen Matheson and collaborations with pianist/composer Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin and with Breton guitarist Gilles le Bigot’s "Voix de la Terre". Other ventures have included The Vallely Brothers Big Band and Niall Vallely's “Turas na dTaoiseach/Flight of the Earls” event, which was premiered in Belfast's Grand Opera House and later performed in Louvain, Belgium. She was also involved in Tommy Hayes’s “Apples in Winter” multimedia project. She presented a program on Irish National Television exploring the songs associated with the Irish Labour Movement.

Karan has won awards for “Best Folk Album” and “Best Folk Female” from Irish Music Magazine and been nominated for the BBC Folk Awards and the Danish Grammys and was a key member of Paul Winter’s Grammy-award winning “Celtic Solstice”. She has appeared at festivals in Europe and the US such as WOMAD USA, the Cambridge Folk Festival, Celtic Connections, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Festival Cornouaille, Festival Interceltique Lorient, Milwaukee Irishfest and Merlefest as well as appearing at many prestigious venues including the Kennedy Centre (Washington DC), New York’s Symphony Space, Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, the Hollywood Bowl, Dublin’s National Concert Hall, the Cathedral of St John the Divine, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and many others. She has made many TV and radio appearances on both sides of the Atlantic and has been a frequent guest on nationally syndicated radio and TV shows such as Garrison Keillor’s ‘A Prairie Home Companion’ and “Mountain Stage”.

Karan recently completed a sold-out Music Network tour of Ireland with Maura O’Connell and a tour of the US with Lúnasa as well as performances with A Stór Mo Chroí (featuring John Spillane, Lumiere and Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh). Upcoming performances include concerts in the US with her own band and with Solas as well as two appearances at Boston's Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops Orchestra.


PRESS QUOTES
"The most soulful singer to emerge in Irish traditional music in the past decade."
THE GLASGOW HERALD
“Karan Casey's latest solo venture is a thing of rare beauty.”
SING OUT
“….the Irish equivalent of Emmylou Harris.”
WASHINGTON POST
”Casey’s voice is among the loveliest in folk music and she’s a wonderful interpreter of both contemporary and traditional material.”
BOSTON GLOBE
“Setting her clear voice in arrangements that mix traditional and modern instruments, she maintains the taut, quivering ornamentation of old ballad style, singing tales of love, war and murder with a gentle gravity.”
NEW YORK TIMES
“Casey has the unique ability to make every song sound true and impassioned.”
GLOBAL RHYTHM
" Vocalist of the rarest quality... "
HOT PRESS
“If ever any doubt existed about who's the best Irish traditional woman singer today, "Exiles Return" sweeps aside all pretenders. As gloriously evident on this new CD, Karan Casey has no vocal peer.”
IRISH ECHO
Pricing & Tickets
Pricing
$42
Tickets available online or by calling or visiting the box office. (902)532-7704
Poster
209 St George Street
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

 boxoffice@kingstheatre.ca
 902-532-7704

       

View Full Venue Info



Other Events at Kings Theatre
Thu Mar 28, 7pm
Dune: Part Two
Sat Mar 30, 7:30pm
Kim Doolittle & The Doctors
Sat Mar 30, 10am
Brave
Wed Apr 3, 3pm
500 Days in The Wild
Fri Apr 5, 7:30pm
Epic Eagles
Sun Apr 7, 3pm
Perfect Days
Wed Apr 10, 7pm
One Life
Fri Apr 12, 7:30pm
Altar
Sun Apr 14, 3pm
Kung Fu Panda 4
Wed Apr 17, 10:30am
Butterfly Tale
See More...