Make your Irish eyes smile with Celtic music at Apple Tree Arts
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at a festive evening of toe-tapping music with Banda Gan Ainm (Band without a Name) March 7, 7 p.m. at the Great Hall, One Grafton Common in Grafton.
The popular Celtic group will perform traditional Irish and contemporary music. Spontaneous dancing is encouraged. Irish beer, wine, soft drinks and light refreshments will be available to purchase. Tickets cost $20 and are available at https://app.donorview.com/xKKw3 or www.appletreerarts.org
“We’re excited to present a St. Patrick’s Day celebration with a high-energy band like Banda Gan Ainm,” said Donna Blanchard, executive director. “We want to thank our sole sponsor, Gaudette Insurance Agency, for their generosity.”
Banda Gan Ainm returns to the intimate performance venue of the Great Hall after a successful debut last year. Their music is often described as bursting forth with the sounds of fiddle, cello, bass, flute and penny whistle and heartfelt vocals. The group performs at local breweries and restaurants such as the Tree House Brewery, Greater Good Brewery Company, Mill Street BBQ Company and Stone Cow Brewery.
Band members include Mike Ladd, vocals and guitar; Myra MacLeod, fiddle; Tim Loftus, flutes and Irish whistles; Carolyn Pitisci, fiddle; Mary Carfagna, cello and fiddle; John Guertin, percussion and Steve Harnois, back-up vocals and bass guitar.
The celebration will feature Irish tunes and songs like “The Torn Jacket,” “Galway Girl” and “Fisherman’s Blues.” Guitarist Mike Ladd sings beautiful renditions of rock’n roll songs such as “Wagon Wheel,” “Wild Night,” and “Rocket Man” with the band.
Prior to creating Banda Gan Ainm, Guertin, Harnois, MacLeod and Ladd were members of Blackstone Cuil, a band known for its contemporary folk sound blended with Irish Celtic music. The group’s music is featured on Pandora and iTunes.
“We’re thrilled to be back on the stage in the Great Hall playing our favorite music,” said MacLeod. A viola, violin and fiddle teacher, MacLeod taught private music lessons at Apple Tree Arts, a nonprofit community school of the arts for about 15 years. A former longtime resident of Worcester, she is well-known in the city’s music scene for her teaching and playing fiddle, organizing Contra dances and as founder of The Worcester Folk Orchestra.
Musicians Loftus, Carfagna and Pitisci have a rich musical history, too. Loftus is a guest guitarist for the community choir Wings of Song and performs as an instrumentalist with several Irish bands and as a soloist. Carfagna has been a principal cellist for New England Symphony Orchestra, Boston Civic Symphony and Lexington Sinfonietta and performed with the Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra. Pitisci plays with local Irish bands and was a command leader of the Worcester Folk Orchestra.
