9th Annual Berks Co. Celtic Oyster Fest
Saturday August 13, 2011 - Noon - 9pm
ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE
This year the festival will feature two entertainment venues for your listening pleasure. Brendan's Pavilion will be the main stage, and The Highland stage will be the large tent adjacent to the Vendor area. Each performer will be scheduled to entertain at each location, and there will be continuous entertainment at all times.
For your convenience we have added a printable list of the entertainment schedule. If you desire, you can print out a copy of the schedule for future reference. The schedule is in PDF format therefore Adobe Acrobat is required.Click here for a listing of the performers and the times they will appear on each stage.
HEADLINERS & ENTERTAINERS SCHEDULED FOR 2011
Take four individually accomplished traditional musicians and singers with fresh attitudes. Combine them, and you have the rich, soaring four-part vocal arrangements and high energy dance tunes that are Long Time Courting. Bringing together the talents of Sarah Blair on fiddle/vocals, Liz Simmons on guitar/vocals, Shannon Heaton on flute/vocals, and Ariel Friedman on cello/vocals, this Boston-based band shares a love of traditional Irish, Scottish and American folk music as well as contemporary material. They bring elements of these various genres to their repertoire in a way that is seamlessly innovative, inventively arranged, and skillfully rendered.
Sarah Blair - Sarah began playing Irish fiddle in Providence, Rhode Island's thriving traditional Irish music scene. She honed her playing as a sought-after session leader in Boston and in the world of American contra dancing. With her band The Sevens and with other ensembles, Sarah has played at festivals, concerts, and dance weeks from Alaska to Quebec to Florida. Her most unusual gig was filling in for fiddler Liz Carroll for a portion of The Eagles' singer Don Henley's 2000 tour. In 2001, the Sevens were featured on NPR in an interview with Noah Adams. She is included in "Handy with the Stick: Fiddler Magazine's Best of Irish fiddling," a forthcoming book profiling top Irish fiddlers by Brendan Taaffe.
Liz Simmons - Liz grew up listening to her mother sing traditional songs from Ireland, Scotland, England and Appalachia, as well as the rock and New Orleans styles about which her parents are also passionate. Since then, she has developed a unique style that incorporates the sounds of traditional and contemporary music. Her performance credits include North Cregg, The Sevens, and The John Whelan Band. She performs in a duo with English singer Hannah Sanders, and is also the lead singer of Annalivia, a string-band that fuses Celtic and Americana musical styles.
Shannon Heaton - Shannon is a veteran performer, having toured nationally with her husband, guitarist Matt Heaton, for over ten years. She developed her love of folk and traditional music early on, having lived in music-rich Nigeria and Thailand. It was in Chicago, IL that she discovered the local Irish music community and began learning tunes at Comhaltas and pub sessions. Since then, her keen melodic and arranging sensibilities, discerning ear, and exquisite Irish flute style has been featured with numerous Boston area ensembles.
Ariel Friedman "...adventurous and lyrical... a unique style and approach..." Ariel is an inventive folk and classical cellist from Boston, and a winner of the American String Teachers Association's 2009 Alternative Styles Award. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University where she studied with cellist Hans Jørgen Jensen. She works as a duo with her sister Mia, and also performs, tours, and records with Scottish National Fiddle champion Hanneke Cassel and New England's highly acclaimed fiddle band, Childsplay. She teaches at her own private studio, and is in demand as an instructor at fiddle camps around the country.
Over the past 16 years, The Hooligans have taken their live performances from the smoky pubs in Philadelphia to major Celtic festival stages, where they've quickly established themselves as crowd favorites.The group released its third full-length CD, Sheep Up or Ship Out, to critical acclaim, showcasing its Irish roots-meets-American rock influences in an eclectic mix of traditional tunes and instrumentals. The second CD, Houses of the Hooley, was a follow-up to Another Fine Mess, a live-in-the-studio recording.The true impact of this band can be best experienced by seeing them live. Backed by a solid, talented group of musicians, front man Luke Jardel is an explosive personality whose energy is second to none. Add that to the band's mix of upbeat, rootsy, rocking Celtic sounds, and you've got a mix of music that appeals to all ages and backgrounds.
IRISH & CELTIC ENTERTAINMENT
CHARLIE ZAHM WITH TAD MARKS AND MARK SULLIVAN
Charlie Zahm is one of the most popular soloists at Celtic music festivals, Maritime and Early American music events anywhere east of the Mississippi. With a baritone voice some described as "coming along once in a generation." Charlie has become one of the most successful performers on the Celtic festival circuit, wearing magical moments of Scottish and Irish history for the listener and viewer, with passion for the performance and a chosen repertoire pleasing to all members of the family.
Keenly awareof his pown heritage, which includes healthy doses of Scottish and Irish blood on booth sides of his family, Charlie has collected several hundred popular (as well as beautiful and obscure) selections and performs them for thousands of fans up and down the Eastern Seaboard and across America.
Charlie will be joined by fantastic Baltimore fiddler Tad Marks. Tad has toured extensively across the U.S. and Europe with top-name groups and is considered one of the finest fiddlers on the East Coast. Joining Charlie and Tad will be percussionist Mark Sullivan who has been playing with this duo for years providing the rhythm and drive that takes this trio's music to a higher level
For more information please visit Charlie Zahm
Flynn Cohen & Matt Heaton are two of he most sought after Irish music accompanists in the Northeast United States. They each keep a busy calendar of performing & touring dates with various projects: Cohen is the guitarist in the fiddle band Annalivia and with Irish accordion legend John Whelan. Heaton performs with the award-winning flutist/singer Shanon heaton. But since 2008, the pair have been performing as a duo, bringing their considerable experience to this unique pairing.
Whether on guitar, bouzouki or mandolin, Cohen and Heaton draw inspiration from classic recordings of the 1970s while bringing in bucket loads of modern arranging sensibilities. Flat picked jigs & reels learned from the master Irish and Bluegrass fiddle players nestle comfortably alongside original composoitions. Songs are drawnm from tradition and from songwriters like Richard Thompson.
Celtic Spirit - For over a decade Celtic Spirit has been entertaining countless people in Eastern Pennsylvania, bringing their lively mix of Irish and Scottish music along with American folk and contemporary songwriters with a "
Celtic Spirit features the collective talents of Terry Algier on Accordion, Whistles and Electronic Pipes, Jim Oldham on 6 and 12string Guitar and Octave Mandolin, and Jack Rickenbach on Guitar, Tiple, Banjo and Ukulele. these three lads have been performing music since their teens, with a broad range of musical experience that shines through in each of their performances.
They will have your feet tapping, hands clapping and loudly singing along to their lively songs as they take you on their journey Down the Winding Road.
THE MARTIN FAMILY BAND - from south-eastern Pennsylvania is an exciting, energetic group that features traditional Celtic music as well as Irish step dancing. A performance by the Martin Family Band will feature the musical ability of five of the Martin children, ranging in age from 18-9, accompanied by their parents on guitar and bass, and drummer Earl Pyles. Although the fiddle is the dominant instrument in a performance by the Martin Family Band, shows also include several other instruments such as the Irish Whistles, Concertina, Mandolin, Bagpipes and Percussion. Their shows also feature some Irish step dancing by the Martin sisters, which is a crowd favorite.
The Band members are: Nelson on Guitar; Elaine on Bass Guitar; Emily on Fiddle/concertina/Bagpipes/dance; Melissa on Fiddle/Mandolin/Irish Whistles/dance; Brian on Guitar/percussion/dance; Christy on Fiddle/dance; Zach on Fiddle and Earl Pyles percussionist.
IRISH & SCOTTISH DANCERS & PIPERS
BROESLER SCHOOL OF IRISH DANCE - the dancers performing at this year's festival are from the world renowned Broesler Scool of Irish Dance, established in 1986, with classes in NJ, NY and MD. All dancers that will be performing at he Oyster Festival have qualified and competed in this year's Irish World Dance Championships.
In 2004 Kevin Broesler was honored by the Irish American Magazine as one of the top 100 Irish Americans. In 2005, the Broesler School was named the top Irish Dancing School in the U.S. by Irish Dancing and Culture Magazine.
their dancer have won the Great Britain, All-Ireland, All Scotland and North american National Championships, as well as the World Championships. Former and present dancers are currently touring with the Riverdance and Lord of the Dance shows.
REID SCHOOL OF HIGHLAND DANCE
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The non-profit Philadelphia Highland Dancing Association was founded by Marguerite Reid over 60 years ago. The School, the Reid School of Highland Dance performs at various venues such asthe Green Lane Scottish Irish Festival and Philadelphia St. Andrew's Society events such as the Tartan Ball.
Their dancers also currently compete throughout the Eastern Region of the U.S. and historically have competed throughout the U.S., Canada and Scotland. A special memory for the school was performing with the Davidson School at the Kennedy Center Gala for Sir Sean Connery, the President and other distinguished guests when Mr. Connery received the honor in 1999.
Click here for additional information
HAMILTON CELTIC PIPE BAND
In the spring of 2006 Pipe Major Sara H. Kent, invited three of her pipe students to assist her with several upcoming engagements. The students, appearing as the Hamilton Pipers, were rewarded for their outstanding performance by winning the approval by all in attendance.
The small group found there were other opportunities to share the proud traditions of their Celtic Heritage. New members joined, and the Hamilton Celtic Pipes and Drums of Pottstown, PA were formed.
Individual members wear traditional kilts of their own choosing. The colorful tartans are representative of their family, clan, memorial, national, provincial or district tartans. Pipers play many traditional Scottish, Irish, American, and Patriotic tunes, many of which are recognizable song tunes.
The Hamilton Celtic Pipes and Drums are under the direction of Pipe Major Sara H Kent with Richard G Clark, Drum Major.
Email: sarahkent@comcast.net
RYELAND HARP RING
The Ryeland Harp Ring of Robesonia, PA will be performing and discussing the history of the Harp in the Celtic Heritage Glen area of the festival. Stop by for some wonderful music and to see and hear more about the harp which is the national emblem of Ireland.
The group is composed of members who have been meeting once a month for over two years. For more information contact Cathleen Sauber at 610-589-9644. Lessons are available.