MARK CLAVEY

December 24th

To our family, our dear friends, and our wonderful fans... The happiest of holiday wishes to you - the deepest peace, profoundest joy, and all the love you could ever want. It is our greatest pleasure and privilege to touch and be touched by you, to share with you, and be connected with you all just by doing what we love doing. Your company and support are the greatest gift we could ever receive in this season of giving. Thank you all!!
 

November 7th-8th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

On what would be a most auspicious weekend, we made our way up to O'Malley's Pub for our 90th engagement there in over 18 years. After having taken a shot at a live-recording session there just over a month ago and throwing up an air-ball, we redeemed ourselves this past weekend... putting one up to beat the buzzer, and it was nothing but net! The recording-session was for the second installment of The O'Malley's Sessions trilogy - Two To Get Ready. And it was all magic - the buzz from the crowd, the unveiling of some new pieces, and even the synchronicity.

Back on November 6th, 2004… the first Saturday of that November… we found ourselves up at O’Malley’s for another memorable evening – the celebration of the release of our second CD and the first installment of The O'Malley's Sessions trilogy, One For The Road. Ten seasons and 62 engagements later… nearly ten years to the day… we were now back up at O’Malley’s in the thick of recording round-2. The weekend was a fusion of some experiences that were worlds apart. Capturing the recording was, of course, thrilling... AND was also occurring in Rachel's imminent departure from the band. Bittersweet turned up to 11.

The new toys went over like gangbusters... Culloden's Harvest - Alastair McDonald's predictably melancholic song about the ill-fated battle and the aftermath; The Rangers of Gonzales - Bruce Clavey's Texas-Irish poem (set to music by Mark) about the Gonzales Ranging Company, their sacrifice at the Alamo, and the Battle of San Jacinto; Geordie - Robert Burns chronicles of the amazing misadventures of George Gordon; Brezhoneg'Raok - Alan Stivell's lament and indictment on the near-demise of the Breton language; and Run Rufus, Run - Dale Ann Bradley's dark, dramatic tale of her moonshine-running, 12-year-old cousin Rufus.

Mike Coakley expertly handled all the extra recording requirements AND the crowd. And it was just great. We expect to get around to the third installment in another 10 years. Shout-outs to Phyllis, Mike and Allie, Kevin and Michele, Teresa and Mark, Bryan and his throng, David and Jaimie, Brian, Mike and Gayla, Marion and Diane, Anna and Amy, Jen, Joanna, and Curtis.
 

October 10th-12th
WESTON IRISH FESTIVAL / WATERFIRE KC

When the leaves turn yellow and red, it's the time of the year to head up to Weston for one of the little town's biggest attractions - the Weston Irish Festival. This was their 15th anniversary season, and they had plenty of great musicians around to help celebrate it - Searson, the Screaming Orphans, Barleyjuice, Connie Dover, Rathkeltair, the Wild Colonial Bhoys, the Mickey Finns, Jiggernaut, Eddie Delahunt, the 3 Dollar Band, Bob Reeder, Flannigan's Right Hook, Chance the Arm, the Kelihans, and (of course) Tullamore.

Friday was an off-night for us. We showed up at O'Malley's Pub late Saturday morning (11:00-ish) as we would be opening the Hall Stage in the bottom cellar. The stage was full of rock-band accoutrement that had to be rearranged into the keg-elevator before we could set up Mary's massive dulcimer. Eventually we pulled it off, set it up, and kicked in. The crowd was already in the swing by the time our set began at 1:00... and a great set it was. We wrapped up to clear the stage for our good friends Deanna, Matthew, Richard, Rodger, and Garren (Jiggernaut) - it's always a treat to hear them sing. We had a fairly quick turnaround before our second set upstairs in the top cellar's Pub Stage. We had the occasion to swap sets with the Kelihans so as to be able to finish for the day early enough to get back to KC for another festival! We made it upstairs, gear in tow, to catch the last 15 minutes of a set by Eddie Delahunt - Kansas City's adopted son of Erin's Isle. Once he wrapped up his set, we shoehorned ourselves into the performers' corner and played our second set of the day - which was very much loved by the crowd. We played for an hour-and-a-half finishing at 4:3o, wrapped up, packed up, and handed off the stage to Bob Reeder - the cornerstone of Kansas City's Irish musicians' community. Then we made our general farewells to all and sundry, piled in the van, and sped off to Kansas City.

We arrived at the Country Club Plaza at about 6:00 for our first-ever performance at Waterfire KC - an annual music and arts festival drawing on traditions from around the world and represented by Kansas City performers, and marked by lighted braziers sent floating down Brush Creek. It's a two-day festival (Friday and Saturday), and we earned a set Saturday evening. Rachel B joined us for this performance - always a treat. The evening began with a set of Brazilian jazz by the Sons of Brasil; the lighting of the braziers; a set of incredible singing from Vinson Cole; then some Flamenco music and dance from Ensemble Ibérica; and some operatic performances from Trio Forte. Then we took the stage and gave the audience a taste of the traditional music of Ireland and Scotland. After our set, we dug in for the remainder of the evening for some more great performances - some beautiful singing by Rebecca Achtenberg; a great set by Los Musicos Mariachi Band; some classical music by the UMKC String Quartet; some very tasty English folk music by the William Baker Festival Singers (where Rachel B made her second appearance of the evening onstage); and the Borderline Brass Quintet performing some contemporary classical music to wrap it all up. Most satisfying! Then we made our goodbyes to Rachel B and headed home.
 

October 3rd-4th
'MALLEY'S PUB

The first weekend of October found us returning to O'Malley's Pub, with not just one Rachel but two of them. Rachel B came along this weekend and brought her drummery with her to the delight of all. This was actually the performance originally slated to record the second of our O'Malley's Sessions trilogy (really? just three?)... but as fate would have it, a couple of the numbers we wanted to include were still not ready so we fobbed off the recording until our November O'Malley's weekend. It was a pleasantly cool weekend, unusually so for early-October - coming in at just over 50°. Friday was a bit on the raucous side... the pub was mostly full by the time we kicked off our set, and filled up presently, staying full for the majority of the night. Saturday early-evening, we met in the America Bowman for a tasty dinner before heading downstairs to play. (If you've never eaten at the Bowman, we HIGHLY recommend it.) Saturday night would be another big night. As we said - we had promoted it as the night for our live-recording, and a big crowd showed up in support. AND we had also hired friend and photog-extraordinaire Kathy Disney to come up and photograph the band for the CD (check back here for the eventual gallery link). Overall it was a really great weekend.
 

September 27th-28th
McPHERSON SCOTTISH FESTIVAL

For just the third time ever, the band made the drive out to north-central Kansas for an appearance at the McPherson Scottish Festival and Highland Games. Our last appearance there was in 2006 and, thankfully, not a lot has changed - which is a great thing because it was a great festival in 2006. The Friday evening performance appears to have fallen by the wayside in the past eight years, so the band drove out Saturday morning. With a first set at 11:00 and wanting to arrive by 9:30. we left Mary's at mind-numbing 6:30am and made the 3-hour drive right smartly. It was beautiful all weekend... just about 80°. We arrived to discover that the format of four bands in two tents had also given way to three bands in one tent, and were happy to learn that we would be sharing the Glasgow Tent with friends Al Cofrin and Kristen Jensen (Earl Grey In the Morning) and Dudley-Brian Smith, Bob Smith, and Jan Smith (Smithfield Fair) - whom we haven't seen in years. We arrived toward the tail-end of Al and Kristen's set, said hello to the Smiths, and began setting up. Smithfield Fair took the stage and started into their set and we visited with Al and Kristen, and then took over the stage when SF was done. There was a small handful of folks that remembered us from our 2006 appearance, the rest were completely new faces. Chuck Vetter (the sound-coordinator) and his son Nelson came by toward the end of our set. When we were finished playing and selling CDs, we visited with them, then caught EGITM's second set, and then turned in our own second set. Afterwards, we went on walkabout with Nelson, grabbed some late lunch at Krehbiel's, and brought it back to the tent to catch SF's final set of the day.

We packed it up and headed over to Best Western to unwind a little, clean up, and get gussied up for the concert that evening over at the McPherson Museum. All three of the bands would be turning in sets that evening for the crowd that came out - EGITM kicking it off, Tullamore playing second, and SF wrapping it up. It was a great evening! Then it was over to downtown McPherson for a party at the most exceptional home of Chuck, Taryn, and Nelson Vetter... above Sounds Great Music, the family business. Folks from both of the other bands were there as well, and it was a great evening overall - company, noshing, libations, and a tour of the home. Then it was back to the hotel and bed.

The next morning, we grabbed some McBreakfast and then headed back to Lakeside Park for day-2 of the Festival. We got there an hour ahead of our first set, unpacked, set up, and tuned. We took the stage at 10:30, played a nice, easy-going, Sunday-morning set and turned the stage over to SF. We took in half their set, then walked back down to Krehbiel's for another outstanding lunch, and brought that back to the tent to catch EGITM's only set of the day. They finished up and made their goodbyes so as to get on the road as soon as possible. We played our second set, and made our own goodbyes to SF, as we would be hitting the road before there set was done... which we did. It was really great to see those three again after so many seasons. Shout-outs to Mike and Jarrett, Darrell, Bill, Jan, Joshua, Garrin, Thomas, Joshua, Brian, Connie, Tom, Rachel, Debora, and Stephen.

Chaucer said, "There is an end to everything, to good things as well." And so it is for the current line-up. On the way home, Rachel announced that the six- or seven-week stints away from Kip were too burdensome, and put in her notice that she would be leaving the band. It was hard to hear - given her history and great fit. She graciously agreed to work with the band through the end of the season, and until we got a new fiddler and vocalist up to speed. That's all for now...
 

September 19th-21st
SCOTFEST

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of returning to Oklahoma’s capital city for another go-around at the Oklahoma Scottish Festival. In addition to being one of our more rapidly-developing audiences, the Festival is a real gem. Eric Robertson and Steve Campbell have an uncanny knack for making just the right tweaks and adjustments that improve the Festival year by year (this year, it was doubling the size of the Folk Tent – which made for some hefty crowds for the bands down our way). We tore out of Kansas City around 2:30 on Friday afternoon, and pulled into River West Festival Park just as Ed Miler was singing his final song of the opening set. the Flowers of Edinburgh were beginning their set. We made some quick ‘hello’s to the ladies from the Flowers as they were making their way to the stage, and then visited a little with Ed Miller while we got ourselves said up. A new-to-us band followed the Flowers - As the Crow Flies – which included Malia and John from the Flowers, as well as Allison Taylor and Matt McCoy. The had a great set, and then we went up to finish the evening. By then, the very pleasant 70° weather we drove down in had become a slightly nippy 60°. We finished our set, chatted with friends and fans while we packed up, and headed back to the Southern Hills Marriott for some shut-eye.

The next morning was fairly easy-going as we didn’t play until 11:00. We piled in the van and stopped for some McBreakfast on the way over to the Park. We arrived to greet Jed Marum and Hugh Morrison – who were kicking off the day at the Folk Tent. We followed their set with one of our own, and were followed by the Flowers Of Edinburgh and, in turn, Ed Miller. We stayed through those sets, and then headed off to the Hospitality (VIP) Tent to grab some lunch as Jed and Hughie took the stage again. We played a second set in the mid-afternoon, and then finished off the music at the Folk Tent with a third mid-evening set. After packing up, we headed off for our annual pilgrimage to Lanna Thai for an incredible Thai dinner with Ed, Jed, and the Harmon Boys. After closing down the restaurant, we headed back to the Marriott – where the girls went to bed, and Mark stayed up with Jed down in Remington’s for a beer and some karaoke… and then off to bed.

The weather was beautiful Friday and Saturday, and Sunday was no different. It was in the mid-70°s as we arrived at the Park, another bag of McBreakfast in hand. It was another easy start with an 11:00 set at the Rock Tent (y’see, rock bands legally can’t perform before noon). We arrived as the Flowers Of Edinburgh were beginning their sound-check, and got all our gear set up while grooving to their performance. We took the stage for our own sparsely-attended set (most folks in Tulsa were still at church), and then headed over to the Folk Tent where we’d turn in our other two performances. We missed Jed’s only set of the day there, and by the time we got to the Tent, he and Hughie were already on their way back to Dallas. Ed, the Flowers, and the Tulsa Troubadors all turned in a couple sets with us in the rotation… and, once again, our last set of the day closed out the Folk Tent.

We would be remiss to not mention the incredible rock-bands that kept it moving over in the Rock Tent – the Kildares, Cleghorn, the Wicked Tinkers, Seven Nations, and Celtica. We didn’t get to see those guys as much – they being at the other end of the Festival. But we did get to hang out with the periodically in the VIP Tent, and even played some bocce with some of them. We’d likewise be remiss in not giving a big shout-out to all our friends and fans (too numerous to name) who turned out – Missouri down to Texas… Thanks! and it was great to see you ALL!

A great weekend all-around.
 

September 6th
SOUTHWEST MISSOURI CELTIC HERITAGE FESTIVAL

Last weekend, we made our annual pilgrimage down to Buffalo to headline at the Southwest Missouri Celtic Heritage Festival – a wonderful yet modest affair that takes place at the Old City Park and Fairgrounds. The highlights are the Heavy Competitions, the performance by Central High School Kilties, and two stages full of music all day long. Although there is a Friday-night ceilidh, we made the very early drive down, arriving (along with a bare drizzle) just as Sarah Hook was beginning her set. Kevin met us in the parking lot and helped us schlep our gear to the pavilion. We set up and tuned quickly, and took the stage after Sarah wrapped up her set. Our set concluded with the Calling of the Clans and then the Parade. We took that opportunity to lunch it on some fine Buffalo barbecue (buffalo the place, not the meat) while the Kilties dazzled the crowd with their parade routine. The Bonniest Knees competition followed where a dozen be-kilted men lined up onstage and had their knees (and manliness) fawned over and judged. Then we took the stage for our second set., After we played, there was some ceilidh dancing, and then sets by EznDil, and Jon and Heidi Reneau. The day was wrapped up with a musical jam that included all of the musicians PLUS Tom Meehan, Turtle and the Hair, and Deryl Dickerson. As always, a treat to see Kevin and Michelle, and Johnathan; Darryl and Stephanie (and all the weans); Emily; John; Nick; Linda; and Cheryl (and more, of course). Lee and Lee Ann arrived late in the day and we continued our annual pilgrimage over to the Maple Street Grill for dinner with the two of them, Kevin and Michelle, Johnathan, and Amie and Jeff. It was a wonderful dinner (as always) with plenty of great conversation and laughs… and great food! When the time came, we made our goodbyes to all but Lee and Lee Ann, and the pilgrimage continued to their farm. We sat around and visited a while, watched some music videos in their den of entertainment, and the went to bed. The next morning we got up, continued the visiting, had a farm-fresh breakfast, and headed home. A great weekend! 
 

August 30th - September 1st
KANSAS CITY IRISH FESTIVAL

Our eighth appearance at the Kansas City Irish Festival this past weekend kicked off our Fall run with Rachel driving out for what would be a seven-week slew of gigs... and what a weekend it turned out to be. In the run-up to the weekend, and as a presage to how excellent the weekend would turn out, we got an eleventh-hour call from entertainment director David Shaughnessy letting us know our Saturday noon-time set on the Atrium Stage inside Crown Center was moving to the Boulevard Stage – which was quite the escalation. Saturday began with Mark's 9:00 arrival at the Westin Crown Center to watch Kaitlin O’Malley competing at the Feis ("As God as my witness, I’ve never seen so much curly hair"). He missed her set-dances, but got to see her compete in individual competition dancing a reel and a slip-jig… and then headed down to the Boulevard Stage to begin setting up for the set.

The day had started out at a mild 76… but by the time we began setting up, the temperature had climbed into the mid-80s. We set the instruments up in the sun knowing they would shift as they got hotter, and got everything else set up before tuning. Rachel B joined us for the Saturday set, bringing some extra drive and punch with the bodhrán and cajón. We sound-checked, were introduced by Peter and Sean, and off we went. We had a great, albeit sweaty set. The most entertaining aspect of the set, for us, was the lengths the audience went to to avoid sitting in the sun. The sun beat down on Grand Avenue – where the entirety of the chairs were. A couple dozen folks sat in the 6-foot strip of shade on the east side of Grand while another 100 folks took chairs out of the street and carried them over under the shade of the trees on the edge of Washington Square Park – leaving four people in the audience proper who clearly enjoyed being in the sun. So while we were playing to about 120 folks, it looked like we were playing to just four. It was a great set – kudos to the crew there (Chris, Mark, Matt, Shawn, Kent, Derrek, and Darryl) as well as to Marsha (stage-manager extraordinaire) and Sean and Peter (who graciously introduced us). Shout-outs to Mike and Allison; Gayla and Mike; Keith, Jen, Duncan, and Rowan; Kaitlin and Megan; and Jim for supporting us at our Saturday set.

After we wrapped up and packed up, we caught a good bit of the set by Chance the Arm before heading over to the Green Room for lunch and a really great visit with Joseph, David, and Daniel (from Flashpoint); Jonathan (Mary’s former band-mate); Jerry; and Ian. From there, we hooked up with Phyllis and Karen and headed over to the Culture Café to catch a great set by Bill Morris (whom we haven’t seen perform in forever). Then we caught a little of Eddie Delahunt, and then Ashley Davis, before packing it all in and heading out.

Sunday morning had a lazy start as we wouldn’t be performing until 4:00. All the same, Mark was out at the site by 11:00 and set out to visit and listen – first a little of Scarlet Town and Chance the Arm on the Boulevard Stage, then Seamus Kennedy on the Park Stage, then a little visiting with Sheryl Bussell – Queen of the Park Entrance, and then back to the Atrium Stage inside Crown Center where we would be performing later. Bob Reeder did a few numbers and handed the stage over to Jonathan Ramsey. By this time, Mary and Rachel had arrived, and we were in the thick of setting up and grabbing a bite to eat before taking the stage ourselves. We had another great set under the watchful ear of our sound-man Ian. Shout-outs to the many folks who came and caught our Sunday performance – Michelle (grrrr!) and Ana (Lizzie and her friend were too cool to actually sit in the audience); Roger; Jim; Mike and Karen; Joe and Mary, and Vicky; Rob; Kelsey; Scott and Louise; Jean, Holly, and Emily; Mike and his family; Terry and David; Deb; George; and Jim. All in all, it was a great weekend! The Festival had their second biggest attendance day ever! The music and the dancing was grand, as was the camaraderie! As ever, it was a privilege to perform there this weekend, and an extra big shout-out to David Shaughnessy for bringing us out there yet again, and to all of the staff and volunteers that make Kansas City proud by putting on one of the best Irish festivals in the nation!
 

August 1st-2nd
O'MALLEY'S PUB

Another weekend, another performance at O'Malley's Pub. Okay, it's not exactly like that anymore (there was a day...), but it was a GREAT weekend at O'Malley's, made all the greater by being joined by our original Rachel (Bowerman). The weekend began with a small, composed Friday-evening crowd that waxed to absolutely large-ish and animated-adjacent. It was actually a wonderful crowd - being one willing to listen to the off-tempo material we don't do when it's a big, noisy crowd that's only in the mood for big, noisy songs. Minor sound glitches peppered the evening, but all in all it was a good evening. We had the privilege of joining in the celebration of two anniversaries - the 19th anniversary of friends Jason and SueAnn, and the 17th anniversary of new friends Nate and Ann. And right after midnight, we had a last minute birthday song for Josh. Shout-outs to Bryan, Elizabeth, Suzanne, and Portia; Jason and SueAnn; Big Steve; Glenn and Marianne (new friends down from Lincoln); Nate and Amy; Nick and Patrick; Rel and Trich; Matt and Susan; Jesse, Danielle, Liz, and Josh; and Dana and DeLinda (two of Rachel B's friends).

May 2nd-4th
TEXAS SCOTTISH FESTIVAL

We turned in another performance a the Texas Scottish Festival this past weekend, our eighth there in as many years. The festival is the largest Scottish music festival in the country drawing about 40,000 in attendance, and this year's show featured a stellar line-up that included Brian McNeill, Rathkeltair, Ed Miller & John Taylor, Clandestine, Jiggernaut, Jil Chambless & Scooter Muse, Cleghorn, Murder the Stout, Jed Marum, Piper Jones Band, Scotland Rising, Kendall Rogers, Margaret Lyle Gravitt & Jim McCrain, Seamus Stout, and Rickey Pittman in addition to Tullamore.

And the beginning of a new era for the band - that of operating as a band from two locations (no doubt old hat for many bands, but new to us). Mary and Mark took a lunchtime flight from Kansas City down to Dallas. Rachel, on the other hand, who now lives out in Norfolk with her flyboy Kip, took some zero-dark-thirty flight that bounced around half the eastern-US until she ended up in Dallas. As it turned out, however, her fiddle didn't arrive on the same flight as did she... so we had to improvise, overcome, adapt. Bob (Harmon) was there to pick all of us up, and we piled in his car and took off. On the drive over to UTA and Maverick Stadium, we reached out to Deanna and Ros (two very-resourceful women in Texas' Celtic-music community) to locate a fiddle to be borrowed, and in minutes Rachel had the blessings from John Taylor and the use of his fiddle for our Friday evening set. We arrived at about 4:30 as David Shaw was completing setting up the sound-gear at the Glen Finnan tent. We got all unpacked, set-up, and tuned - with John arriving in the middle of that and getting his fiddle for Rachel. We took the stage to sound-check, and played an extra-long hour-and-a-half set for the folks who came to the early Friday set. We ended our set as the Opening Ceremonies and the Calling of the Clans began down on the field. Then Ed (Miller) and John began their set for the evening. Somewhere in the middle of that, we headed out to the car, packed up, and headed off to Pappadeaux for a great late-dinner of Cajun food and peach bellinis. Then we drove back to Bob's and bed.

The next morning, we were up bright and early for a 10:00 AM set, off to run through McDonald's for breakfast, and then over to the stadium. We set up and played our morning set for a good crowd, and then turned the stage over to Margaret and Jim. The other Glen Finnan musicians began to arrive, and we visited with all of them in turn. Margaret turned the stage over to Jil and Scooter - who played a great set and handed off the stage to Ed and John in turn. Somewhere in between the Jil/Scooter and Ed/John sets, the Great Musician Melange began (which would last all weekend). We played another set after Ed and John, and then Jed took over. And so we would rotate like this all the way through Jed's 8:00 PM set - the last set of the day on our stage. By that time the Lassies Galore set had begun on the Glen Coe stage... and Rachel and Mary went over to participate and do a couple numbers. But seeing as how Mark wasn't (and still is not) a lassie, he got onstage with Jed, and they did a lot of the duet material we played on their Ireland tour. Afterwards, we all went over to the Glen Coe stage for Fiddle Faddle - the closing jam of the night. There, all the acoustic musicians at the Festival crash the stage and play for two stupendous hours. Then we packed it in, headed back to Bob's and hit the hay.

Sunday morning, we had a slightly later start (by an hour)... giving the opening set to the Kirking of the Tartans service. We took the stage for the first of our two Sunday sets, performed a great set, and then Margaret and Jim came on. For the next six hours, we would rotate through all the musicians twice, with everybody sitting in on each others' sets - a great afternoon. We made a couple more passes around the grounds - visiting with some folks and some vendors, listening to some bands on the other stages, and in search of food. We came back to steal some stage-space from Ed and John, and did half a set with Jed and his son Jamie, then we played our second set - joined by Jil, Scooter, John, and Jed. Jil and Scooter played one more set, then John Taylor hosted a set by himself. In the middle of John's set, Brian McNeill came over from the Glen Coe stage with a parade of patrons and we all conspired for one more big grand jam to end out the day. After making all the appropriate goodbyes, we packed up and headed off to the airport... and flew home as a threesome.
 

April 4th-6th
NORMAN MEDIEVAL FAIR

This past weekend, we made our annual pilgramage to the Norman Medieval Fair, the 17th time we've performed there. We got an unusually-early, Thursday-afternoon departure out of Kansas City - hitting I-35, fed, by the time we are usually meeting at Mary's in Raytown. We made it to the home our friend and host, Ron Deluca, by about 10:30, and had a nice visit before turning in.

We began our Friday morning with our typical MedFair routine of running by Homeland for lunch foods, then McDonald's for breakfast, then on to Reave's Park. This year's line-up included Tullamore, Bob, the Incredible Juggler, and Smee, the Singing Executioner on the Unicorn Stage; Brizeus, Barely Balanced, and Black Oak Shillelagh on the Gryphon Stage; the Bilge Pumps, Royal Gauntlet, and the Talents of Avalon on the Camelot Stage; and Arabesque, Fugli, Emerald Flame and the Merry Sisters on the Troubadour Stage. Friday was (unofficially) Kids' Day (a dream-come-true for a Celtic band). The sound-man was just setting up his equipment as we carried our instruments and our own gear to the stage. We said hello to Brian (Bob) and Al (Smee), and to Ann Marie (the director) who took a few minutes to arrange getting our tent located and put-up. Smee led off the stage, then Bob, and then us - which we did four times around over the day... and Saturday and Sunday as well. The day turned out to be fairly lucrative for Kid's Day, and when it was all over, we went out to dinner at O Asian Fusion with Dennis, Jenny and Jay, Tanya, and Ben. Then, after everyone was fat and happy, we went back to Ron's.

Saturday began in the same fashion - with stops at Homeland to McDonald's. It was a fairly chilly day, one that required a stop at Walmart to purchase sweatshirts before heading out to the site. Friends and fans turned out right and left - and would all weekend long. The day was spent, in equal parts, performing, walking around the site and checking out various performances, playing Stretch and Bocce, and hanging out in the tent relaxing and eating. After our final performance of the day, we got a group of us together - the three of us; Ron and Richard; Delbert and Sherri; and Amie, Jeff, and Kaylee (from Turtle and the Hair) - had dinner over at Johnny Carino's. It was a great dinner with a lot of great visiting, at the end of which we followed Ron back to his house for some shut-eye.

Sunday morning saw one last reply of the morning routine before ending up back at Reave's Park. It was still chilly, but only slightly less so. We spent the day trading sets with Smee and Bob, dropping in and watching friends perform, visiting with our favorite crafters, and hanging out with our favorite friends and fans. We only had three sets for the day as Ann Marie had bagged our last set so we could get on the road early to get back to KC at a decent time... but the day had gotten so blustery that the fair was called shortly after our third set ended (such is the risk with outdoor festivals). With the assistance of the handful of folks hanging around, we packed up, loaded the van, and made the six-hour drive home.
 

March 29th
SPRING HOOLIE

We got our uallach on this weekend with our performance at the Kansas City Rogues Gallery Spring Hoolie. The twelfth installment of this tradition was the largest, and brought in many folks who have never been to the hooley before. Mark made it a two-guitar night to minimize on capo-switches for the benefit of moving from one side of the set-list to the other as it made its way around the room. We arrived around four... the Rogues Gallery was already there in conclave (as it were). We busied ourselves with setting up. The Hoolie had long ago outgrown the small room at VFW Post #7397, so the folding-wall divider was left open and it didn't take long for the crowd to spill into the bar. It was great to see so many folks there from the Kansas City Renaissance Festival... while we don't perform there anymore, it IS where we got started, and it's a treat to be able to stay connected to that group of fine folk - both as friends and performers. We played for a couple hours, took a small break while Scott Garten did a few a capella folk songs, did our obligatory solo pieces (Dan's perpetual request/demand), and then finished up the night with another hour-or-so of music. Then we packed it all in and hit the road.
 

March 17th
ST PATRICK'S DAY @ O'MALLEY'S PUB

Monday, we were back at O'Malley's Pub for their colossal St Patrick's Day celebration - the biggest in the Kansas City area. This year's bash would feature Tullamore, the Kelihans, and Chance the Arm downstairs on the Hall Stage; and Bob Reeder upstairs on the Pub Stage all evening long. Rachel Bowerman joined us for the afternoon, and we played to a big, animated crowd. There were plenty of friendlies there, even in the early afternoon... Jacob and Megan (celebrating their 14th anniversary); Kim and Adam; Mike and Gayla; Marion and Diane; Randy... and it turned out to be a great set. We turned the stage over to the Kelihans, and packed our gear up. We made our goodbyes, and headed back into Kansas City, stopping for dinner at Kato Sushi (what else would we eat on St Patrick's Day?), and then heading home.
 

March 15th-16th
O'MALLEY'S PUB / ST PATRICK'S CHURCH

To say it was a busy St Patrick's Day weekend is the understatement of the year coming from a Celtic band. The weekend began with a special Saturday-afternoon appearance at O'Malley's Pub... a totally off-the-cuff performance borne out of a chance conversation between Mike Coakley and Mark while he was bemoaning the misfortune of the Emma Chase Music Hall - a venue in Cottonwood Falls KS where we've performed the last couple years in conjunction with St Patrick's Day, and which has fallen on tough times. Mike was ready, willing, and able to pick us up for an afternoon-set prior to the evening performance by Chance the Arm. We happily snatched up his offer and turned up Saturday afternoon. They had played Friday night, and their gear was still out on the stage when we arrived. Mark Tetris-ed it into the keg-elevator/missile-silo behind the stage... and with them being a 7-piece band with a drummer, that was no small feat. We played a great set to an audience that started out loud and went up from there. Mega-kudos go out to Dennis Fulks who came up from Hellngone OK to see us for the weekend - what a treat!

Sunday saw us making another visit to one of our favorite 'venues' of our season - St Patrick's Church in the farm-community of Emerald KS. This would be our tenth such outing to perform for their annual fundraiser - a dinner (corned beef and cabbage) and raffle. It was 2004 when Joan Gagnon first contacted us to come play for them, and we fell in love with the event and the community of folks... and with the exception of one year, we've been there every season. We've made a lot of friends there, and eaten a lot of excellent farm-cooking. This year was no exception. There were plenty of people who came to dinner, and there was plenty of great music, singing along, and dancing. When we were done, we wrapped it all up, packed the van, and drove home.
 

February 28th - March 2nd
NORTH TEXAS IRISH FESTIVAL

Our performance this past weekend at the North Texas Irish Festival was our seventh at the Southwest's banner festival... and it was their 32nd anniversary of the Festival. We flew out of Kansas City late Friday morning and arrived at Love Field in the early afternoon. Super-friend/fan/roadie/shirpa Bob Harmon picked us up and hustled us over to the hotel. We missed out on staying at the Festival-hotel - there was a huge response to the announced line-up that caused an unusual run on the hotel, so we ended up at the Holiday Inn (and we barely got rooms there). Kip is back from deployment in Afghanistan, and accompanied Rachel in from Norfolk, so seating in the Pilot was tight. We dropped off our gear, changed, and then headed over to Fair Park. We arrived with enough time to carry on with a leisurely set-up... checking in to Instrument Check-In, taking our gear over to the Shanachie Stage and setting it up. We were the first band to perform on the stage so we were able to leave our instruments and gear there to acclimate while we roamed around the site and said hello to people. David (Harmon) turned up at some point, and joined the entourage. We returned to the stage and played a nicely-attended set. It was our first time to perform on that stage... theatre-seating, far away from the noise of rock bands and concrete floors... one of the most concert-hall-ish stages at Fair Park. It was a great set, and we were followed by Don Gabbert - who turned in a great set of his own. Afterwards, we visited a while, then packed up. checked our instruments and gear into Instrument Check-In, and headed back toward the hotel. We stopped at In-N-Out Burger for a late dinner on the way, and then hit the hotel and the hay.

The next morning we got up, got ready, and headed over to one of our favorite Dallas restaurants -Henk's European Deli & Black Forest Bakery - for a leisurely breakfast. And then over to the Festival - where the crowds were huge. We had two sets - at 3:30 and 8:00 - on the Cashel Stage, so our day was spent zig-zagging back and forth between the stage and checking out the music. We took a few minutes to detour over to the southeast gate to meet up with Bruce (Mark's brother) who had driven up from Austin for the day to hang out... and then began moseying around the site, taking in the music of BEHAN, Flashpoint, Jiggernaut, Nuala Kennedy, Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy, and Ed Miller. Both of our sets came off nicely (they rocked), and with that we were done performing for the weekend. We continued meandering around, and visiting with folks and listening. Eventually, Bruce headed off for his return trip to Round Rock, and we checked most of our stuff in to Instrument Check-In and headed back to the hotel. Mary kept her dulcimer with her for reasons that will soon become obvious. When we returned to the hotel, the girls (for various reasons) begged out of heading over to the Festival Hotel for getting in on the sessions and socializing, so Bob drove me over there and dropped me off. I spent most of the night hanging out in the lobby, having drinks with Ed and Nora, Craig and Deanna, Jil and Dan, Ros and Paul, Matthew, Rodger, and Albert. It was a great visit that eventually thinned out, and Jil and Dan and I milled about listening in on some sessions. We finally found one Jil wanted to join. I listened for a while and then headed downstairs and caught a ride back to the Holiday Inn.

The next morning, we had breakfast over at IHOP, and then went in different directions. As we had finished performing for the weekend on Saturday, Mary opted out of being at the Festival on Sunday and David took her to the airport. Mark, Rachel and Kip went with Bob to the Festival. After all... it's not every weekend that you get to hang around at the biggest Irish festival in the Southwest and listen to some of the best bands in the Celtic music... on a totally free day. The down side was that the day turned out to be a blustery one, and the temperature shot down to the low 40°s... what folks WERE there crammed indoors, and other folks stayed home. Fortunately, between Saturday being so gorgeous and the impending bad Sunday weather, it seems everybody turned out on Saturday. We listened to the Trinity River Whalers, the Town Pants, the Máirtín de Cógáin Project, the Makem & Spain Brothers, Solas, and some more Ed Miller, before having to pack it in and head to the airport. We thought we would catch a bite to eat on the way... only to find that great intention thwarted as every place we stopped at was closed. We eventually ended up just getting dropped off at the airport and grabbing some food there before flying home.

The DFW Metroplex comprises our second-largest fanbase, and they all turned out this weekend. There are far too many names to remember, let alone list. Suffice it to say - it was great to see you all, to visit with as many of you as we had the chance to, and we hope to see you again ASAP! (That would be at the Texas Scottish Festival in nine short weeks!).
 

February 16th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

We just can't stay away from O'Malley's Pub - this past weekend was proof enough of that. It was a fairly mild mid-winter's, Valentine's Day weekend... and of course where else would we be than playing at the pub we LOVE to play at? It was a fairly slushy drive - while there was no snowfall, we had just gotten a few inches. Friday night's crowd was a surprisingly big one - punctuated with the appearance of some old-reliables and some brand-newbies. Shout-outs to Michelle (grrrr!); Garry, Lloyd and Bob (down from Cedar Rapids); SueAnne and Jason, and Mike; Gib and Melissa; Rich and Kathleen, and Ron; Marion and Diane, and Mike and Gayla; Big Steve; Andrew and Katie; Amy; Jolene and Bobby, and Suzanne; Adrienne and Sean; Megan; Aaron; Todd; Doyle and Victoria; Jim and Debra; and Emily. And to Aaron, Kristen, Holly, Laura, Steve and Dillon - who ably took care of the crowd. The end of the night was extra-special as Suzanne came up on-stage, took the guitar, and whipped out a few songs of her own... on-and-off accompanied by Mike (Coakley). Bob came home and spent the night in the guest room.

Saturday night was a big night, with a rambunctious crowd. Mark was battling a tired voice and an over-indulgence in last night's audience-generosity (rounds sent up to the stage). But the crowd was eating it up and singing along all night long. The special events of the evening were a pre-arranged song requested by Tom Alger for his fiancee Mary, to whom he proposed afterwards... and the celebration of FOUR birthdays up on the landing with Mary and Rachel. Shout-outs to Dan and Norma; Larry and Sandy; JR and Dana; David and Jaimie; Bob (again); Fred and Angela; Sonya and Kurt; Brian and Amie; Amy, Jake, (both celebrating birthdays), Mikey and Monica (who danced all night); Jessica and Kimberly (the other two birthdays); Tom and Mary; and Jack (who gave Rachel a CD). And kudos to the wonderful bartenders and servers - Aaron, Austin, Kristen, Meredith, Steve, Dylan, Hollie, Big Steve, Mike, and Corey. A great weekend altogether! AND we'll be back up at O'Malley's twice in a month - on Saturday night, March 15th, and again on St Patrick's Day. See you all then!!

And in a shift in business as usual for the band, Rachel - who is on the verge of getting married to Kip - is finishing off the weekend by moving to Southeast Virginia's Hampton Roads. Kip is stationed at Langley Air Force Base and, having returned from deployment, moving out to the area to make a life together is the thing to do. So this begins a new chapter in functioning as a band - namely Rachel commuting to Kansas City for 7-week stretches twice a year for our Spring run and Fall run. Huzzah!
 

January 27th
ROBERT BURNS SUPPER

This past Saturday, it was once again our delight to make our way down to Tulsa to perform at the Scottish Club of Tulsa's annual Robert Burns Supper. The black-tie gala is hands-down one of our favorite gigs of our season (let's be honest... every gig is one of our favorite gigs!), and it was the eleventh time we've played for them. For late-January, it hardly seemed like winter at all as we made the four(-ish) hour drive to Tulsa, pulling up to the Homebuilders Association at just about 3:00. Steve and Eric were there with a few others handling various aspects of set-up. Roger arrived as we were loading-in, and we finished setting up with his help. We tuned, sound-checked, and hustled off to change in time to get back to the stage by 6:00.

We began playing an easy-going set to underscore the cocktail-hour, then we wrapped up and took our spot at one of the tables. There were maybe eleven or twelve of them (including three or four VIP tables), with about 100-ish folk there, all decked out in their finest tartans, velvets, and satins. The evening began in earnest with the welcome and the entry of the City of Tulsa Pipes and Drums, who played a rousing set (and loud) set. Then there was some more speechifying, and then the presentation of the haggis - replete with a parade of honor accompanied by piper and chef, whickey galore, and a recitation of the Bard's Address To A Haggis. The presentation signalled the official beginning of the dinner. Table by table, folks got up and joined the buffet-line, and took plates of the most delicious food back to their tables. After folks had gotten a good share of the dining behind them, the ceremonies began. There were introductions and welcomes by both Steve and Eric, a toast to the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns, toasts to the lasses and lads, and toasts to Scotland and the US. The variation this year was a celebrity roast of Rabbie with a stellar portrayal of the Bard by Rick Ewing, and a stunning depiction of a mightily-inebriated Charlie Sherwood by Charlie Sherwood. The last little bit of pomp was the presentation of the Crookit Bawbwee and the Silver Thistle awards, and then we took the stage.

It was a great evening, a fun performance with lots of singing along and dancing, and the now-traditional joining-onstage of the SCOT Men's Choir for the singing of Roy Williamson's Flower Of Scotland, a few Scottish country dances, and the singing of Burns' Auld Lang Syne. We broke down our gear and packed the van, made our goodbyes to all who were still there, and headed to the hotel. Shout-outs to Roger; Charlie and Donna; Eric and Donna; Steve and Aleah; Rick and Chris; Vicki and Michael; Derryl and Mary, and Heather; Richard and Kami; William; Stan; Marlena; and Jamey. Sunday morning, we were up and out early, and made the four-hour drive back home. It was a great weekend overall!
 

January 13th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

This past weekend, we kicked off our 18th season as a band - longer than every Celtic band in the Midwest - with two nights at O'Malley's Pub. It was a mild Winter weekend on the heels of about an inch of snowfall, and the crowd was big and boisterous. As always, Friday night was a very noisy night, with the crowd's attention floating back and forth from the band (especially when the band was doing toasts) to not-the-band. Nights like that are typically worse on the voice for me, and Friday night was no exception - Mark was feeling it by the end of the night and relying on Rachel and Mary to carry the last 45 minutes. Shout-outs to Bob; Lloyd; Brandi; Mike and Gayla; and Marion and Diane. Saturday night was a very big, busy night. Mark was stuck nursing his voice all night long, so we were pulling out all the stops with Mary and Rachel singing as much upbeat material as we have for them. The evening was surprisingly free of special events given the size of the crowd. Beyond that, though, it was a great night. Shout-outs to Bob; Bryan and Erika, and Wendy; Allie and Dustin; Brian and Amy; Jack and Angie, and Teresa; Dan and Norma; and Tamara and Jennie. Come see us at O'Malley's on February 14th/15th.

December 28th-29th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

A few weekends ago, we put a wrap on our 2012 season with a weekend at (where else?) O'Malley's Pub in Weston. It was a COLD weekend, with the temperature getting down as low as 17°. But it was positively toasty in the Pub! Friday had a rather hard start. The crowd was at-capacity by 7:30, and we had barely gotten into our second number when we started experiencing some intermittent signal-loss from the guitar. Bit by bit, we swapped out everything that could be swapped out (and that amounted to EVERYTHING) before we finally got to the culprit - a bad mic-cable (which should have been the FIRST thing to swap out). In all, the process took about 20 minutes but the crowd was good-natured and forgiving. Once we were finally back on-track, it turned into a great night. Holly, Laura, Sean, Tyson, Stephen, and Jesse (and Damien on the door) took expert care of the patrons all night long. It was great to see Bob (down from Cedar Rapids); Mike and Allison; Bryan and Wendy; Stephen and Kendrick; and Rel, Michael, Catherine, Trisha, and Matthew. And a warm welcome to new friends and fans Cannon; Joshua and Nicole (our talented landing-dancers); Jon, Seth, Dale, Paul, Alisha, Cody, and John and his big, friendly-drunk crew of Country Roads singers. Saturday night was a great night from the word go, notwithstanding Mark's voice being a little on the overworked side. It was another full night early on, which was all the more amazing considering that the upper pub was full for Bob Reeder. The crowd was VERY responsive... and generous - over the course of the night, a Black-and-Tan, two shots of Tullamore Dew, and four Irish Car-Bombs made their way to the stage, all for Mark. It was a worthy undertaking (one which would culminate in Bob driving back to Blue Springs), but Mark was up to it. Penny, Meredith, Laura, Ray, Stephen, Tyson, Nick, and Jesse (and Aaron at the door) kept the customers satisfied. It was our pleasure to see Bob and Lloyd; Michelle, Laura, and Heather and Ted; Marion and Diane, and Mike and Cindy; Gloria, Katherine, Sundra, and Suzanne and Gary; and Stephen and Kendrick. And a warm welcome to new friends and fans Jim; Chris and Scott; Francis; Donna; Sandi; Ben; Jim; Francis; and our birthday-celebrants Heather and Adam. It was a great wrap-up for season-16 (THANKS for being part of it!), and we're looking forward to our first O'Malley's weekend of season-17 in February.
 

November 10th-11th
SALADO SCOTTISH CLAN GATHERING & HIGHLAND GAMES

Last weekend, it was our pleasure to make our debut appearance at the Salado Scottish Clan Gathering & Highland Games. It was the 51st anniversary of these Central Texas Games... and after 50 years, it was about time for them to have us down. We had the good fortune of hooking up with George Shott (the President of the Central Texas Area Musem, which holds the Games) this past summer in the Glen Finnan Tent at the Texas Scottish Festival, where he booked us on the spot. The weekend began with a drama-filled flight to Austin. The first leg (KC to Dallas) was delayed fifty minutes on account of the plane arriving late, which would not have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that we only had a thirty-five minute layover in Dallas to get to our connecting flight to Austin. They committed to holding that leg if the first leg pushed back by 4:55... which it did to the minute. When we got into Dallas, we made the mad dash to Gate-8 to be three of the last five passengers on the plane. After a few minutes of bag-shifting, we were able to stow the dulcimer into an overhead bin and buckle in, and then we were off to Austin. Bruce (Mark's brother) met us at the airport and drove us back to his Round Rock home where we unpacked, picked up Lupita, and bundled off to BJ'S Restaurant and Brewhouse for a late dinner. Then it was back to Bruce and Lupita's to crash for the night. The next morning, we took a couple cars and headed out to breakfast at the Corner Bakery, and then drove up to Salado for day-1 at the Gathering. Right off the bat we hooked up with George (and his son Angus) who showed us around. We unloaded at the Bannockburn Tent - which we would share with Jed Marum, Seamus Stout, and Rod Campbell & Tom McKenna. It was a fairly lovely day, and the audiences were nicely-sized and quite receptive. After our first set, we high-tailed it over to the Stirling Tent to catch the one set by Ed Miller that we'd be able to see all weekend. The day was three sets long, and the crowd thinned out as dusk came on. When the day ended, we headed up to Belton for dinner at the Oxbow Steakhouse with Bruce and Lupita, Ed, and Jed. Then we took a walk across the parking lot to check in at the La Quinta (the sponsor-hotel for the Gathering). Charlene, Erin, Jeff and Peter (from Rising Gael) and Sean (Kyle Carey's partner) were lounging about the foyer jamming, so we stayed up with them and Jed and hung out for an hour or so before heading off to bed. The next morning, we had breakfast with Ed before heading back to Salado for day-2 at the Gathering. Deb turned up shortly before our first set (Frank, unfortunately, was dealing with work), and Bruce and Lupita arrived just as the set was beginning. We had one more set that day, and then we were done and heading off to the airport. We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare, and our flights home were (relatively speaking) fairly uneventful. It was great to see Deb; Meghan and Ron; Ed; Jed; Deanna and Craig; George and Angus; Damon, Jan, Billy and Jarrod (Seamus Stout); Brian (and Heather), Jimmy, and John (Scotland Rising), and John, Dylan, Mike, and Paul (Cleghorn). And a warm welcome to new friends and fans Charles; the Shaws; Becca; Vic, Mark, Matt and Jonathan; Tristan and Nisha; Justin and his daughters; Sean and Kyle; Tom (Beadnell); Rod and Tom; and Charlene, Erin, Jeff and Peter (Rising Gael). And a very special thanks to Bruce and Lupita (and Jiggs) for hosting us and driving us around all weekend!!
 

October 12th-14th
WESTON IRISH FESTIVAL

This past weekend, we made our way back up to O'Malley's Pub to perform at the Weston Irish Festival. It was our seventh appearance at this Festival - which was celebrating their thirteenth anniversary... and the rainy weather seemed entirely (albeit unfortunately) apropos. The Festival ran Friday night through Sunday, but both of our sets were on just Saturday. We arrived at about 11:30. just as the Langers Ball was sound-checking on the Courtyard Stage, and headed down to the bottom cellar for our 1:00 set on the Hall Stage. We were pleasantly surprised at how attentive the crowd down there was - unusually so given how big and rowdy it was - and the set was a blast. Kudos to Ken (the Hall Stage sound-man) for his exceptional work downstairs. We cleared out as the Langers Ball came on to follow us, and headed upstairs to wait for Bob Reeder to finish on the Pub Stage to play our 3:00 set there. We lost some time in the transition as the fiddle seemed adamantly opposed to giving any of its signal to the sound-board... but once we got going, the crowd ate it up and that set was a blast as well. We wrapped up and handed the stage off to Eddie Delahunt & Gabriel Reyes. Eddie was the workhorse at O'Malley's in the mid-1990s (when it was just getting going and before Sean had begun the big renovation), and it was great to see him again in his 'natural element'. We stayed as long as we could watching Eddie, and then packed it in and headed off for the van - but the evening was hardly over. It was great to see Dennis (out from Cincinnati), Ellen and Justin; Mike (out from Ft Leonard Wood); Mike and Gayla; Marion and Dianne; Scott and Louise (down from Maryville); Brian; our friends from Jiggernaut (Deanna and Craig, Matthew, Garren, Rodger, and Richard and Janell) and Flannigan's Right Hook (Ben, Matt, and Shane and Abby); Jennifer; and Steve and Kendrick. And a warm welcome to new friends and fans Denise and Lee; Ben and Mark; Mike; Lena; Wayne; Cameron; Steve; Mary and Jack; Mike, Keith, and Victoria; Kevin and Emily; Kevin and Lloyd; Chad; Shannon Marie; and Shannah. And more kudos to the tireless staff - Chris, Jeff, Steve, Justin, and Meredith in the bottom cellar; Penny, Lynn, Carolyn, and Holly in the upper cellar; Ray on the middle landing; Peter and Aaron in the foyer; and Mike and Corey doing what it takes where it takes. But like we said, the evening was hardly over. Driving away from Weston, we headed off to Wyandotte County Park to join in celebrating the nuptials of Rachel Bowerman (our partner from version 2.0) and Dave Deering. They were married at James P Davis Hall (where eleven years earlier, we played at the wedding of Keith and Jen Benjamin). It was a lovely ceremony and celebration, and we got to see a lot of friends that we don't see enough of anymore. A great Saturday!
 

October 6th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

This past Saturday, we played a special Saturday-evening-only at O'Malley's Pub. It was Apple Fest time up in Weston, and the pub was full by the time we arrived - upstairs and down. Mike had just finished clearing the stage and we set up. Whether by way of some feat of extraordinary effectiveness or a rift in the space-time continuum, we ended up all set-up and ready to go in less than 45 minutes, leaving us over an hour before show-time. So we ate, visited with friends, made friends of other patrons, and otherwise dawdled until Mike returned and began the sound-check. The evening started out big and just got bigger. Mark had been fighting off a bad cold, and his voice was mostly shot by 11:15 - leaving the girls to finish the show off as he limped along until midnight. That one hitch notwithstanding, it was an otherwise all-around exceptional night. An off the wall request for a Christmas song led to a performance of Joy To the World (a la Hoyt Axton/Three Dog Night) and the possible addition of the piece as one of our battery of bungee-cord songs. It was great to see Mike (out from Ft Lost-In-the-Woods); Bob (down from Cedar Rapids); Garry; Big Steve; Linc; and Marion and Dianne. And it was our pleasure to welcome new friends and fans Aaron; Quentin and Monica (celebrating their 4th anniversary); Mike and Randy (who was returning to O'Malley's for the first time in 20 years - before Sean began the renovations); Shanna; Angie; Beth; Will; Chad, et al (celebrating Shanna's birthday); and Erik and his big bachelor party. We'll be returning to O'Malley's in a week for the Weston Irish Festival. Come on out and see us then (AND the other fifteen acts as well)!
 

September 21st-22nd
O'MALLEY'S PUB

The Fall run drives on. This past weekend, we came to Mike Coakley's rescue by stepping in for Reverse Cowboy up at O'Malley's Pub. Friday night started out rather subdued, but picked up gradually over the first hour or so. Around 9:45, though, about 50-60 folks came down the stairs and for the next hour-and-a-half, it was standing room only. We trotted out some crying-in-your-beer songs earlier in the night than we usually do in response to a couple of requests to honor the memory of some fallen heroes. It was great to see Garry; Bob (down from Cedar Rapids); Marion and Dianne; and Big Steve. And a warm welcome to new friends and fans Dan and Misty; Mark; Brandon and Carrie; Terri; John; Clark; and Dana. Saturday night was pretty strong right from the word go. It was marked by the phenomenon of celebrating five (count them - FIVE) birthdays in one night. What more can an Irish band do with five birthdays than to line them all up on the landing and have them sing Shel Silverstein's The Unicorn? They were so enrolling that the audience actually followed along with them and all their actions. Big Steve was back as was Bob (who arrived late after attending the Rogues Gallery's Annual Pig Burning and Belly Crawl). It was great to see Jack and Angie, Maggie, and Kaitlin and Megan (O'Malley - no relation). And a special welcome to new friends and fans Brad; Justin; April; Cheryl; and Amy. It was a great weekend overall.
 

September 14th-16th
OKLAHOMA SCOTTISH FESTIVAL

A couple weekends ago, we had the pleasure of returning to Tulsa for the fourth time to perform at the Oklahoma Scottish Festival. It was a busy and utterly enjoyable weekend that started off Friday evening with some authentic Scottish weather - brisk, breezy, drizzly. Roger met us before we were even unpacked, and would be with us the entire weekend. We squeezed in an early set in the Edinburgh Tent between Jed Marum & Hugh Morrison and the trio of Celtic rock bands that followed (Cleghorn, Murder the Stout, and Celtica). And we followed that up an hour later with a mid-evening set in the Glasgow Tent before yielding the stage to Jed. Ed Miller was one of the new acts at the Festival this year, and we stayed until the end of the night to catch his set. We started late (12:00) on Saturday with our first set of the day in the Glasgow Tent. Bob and David were up from Irving and Sherman respectively, and met us at the tent. It was an 'all-business' day with three sets between noon and 6:00 (a second set in the Edinburgh Tent and a third in the Glasgow Tent), so there wasn't a lot of time to cavort. But what we lacked during the day, we more than made up for after we were finished. We stuck around at the Glasgow Tent to catch sets by Jed and Ed, whom we joined onstage for a few songs. Then we headed off, with Ed, Jed, Bob, Dave, and Roger to Lanna Thai for some exceptional Thai food and some unexpectedly great jazz music by Danny Timms and Steve Hickerson. We were up, out, and on early then next morning, playing on the Outdoor Stage at 10:45. Then after a small break, it was over to the Edinburgh Tent for another set. One of Sunday's highlights was joining Kevin and Dave (Murder the Stout) and Harry (Celtica) for a game of Bocce. We played our final set in the Glasgow Tent, bringing Jed up onstage with us... and then the four of us finished out Jed's set (right after ours). It was a great weekend all around. Kudos to Tucker, Colby, and Matt for exceptional sound all weekend long. It was great to see Murder the Stout (Hugh, Jason, Dave, Kevin, David, and Neil) and Cleghorn (John, Dylan, Mike, Paul) again, as well as to meet the gang from Celtica (Gwendolen, Gajus, Duncan, Harry, Lukas, and Josy). It was also great to see Shane; Charlie and Donna; Derryl and Mary, Heather, Rachel and Aiyanna; Jason; and Becky. A special welcome to new friends and fans Denis; Pamela; Damon; LaDonna; Sarah; David; Olivia; Craig; Doug; Mark and Gay; Lynn and Gary; Larry; Gina and Andrew; Michael; Jim; Cheryl; Mariann; Terry; Amy; Jack; Charlotte and Dr Watson; Katie; Emma; Timothy; Christian; Sid; and Matthew. And a SPECIAL thank you to Steve, Eric, and Kory for having us back down again. We look forward to returning next year.
 

September 8th
SOUTHWEST MISSOURI CELTIC HERITAGE FESTIVAL

We spent a great weekend down in Buffalo at the Southwest Missouri Celtic Heritage Festival. It was our third year headlining for the one-day Festival - which was celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. We arrived just as the Lads of Tallymoore were kicking off their opening set. Originally an a cappella quartet, the Milwaukee-based Lads (Matt Voell, Sean Ward, Jason Fricke, and Matt Ecclestone) have been infusing instruments into their arrangements as well as fiddler-lass Erin Hoffman to come up with an enthusiastic sound that made them a hit at the Festival. After their performance, another new addition to the Festival this season - the Farnum Family (Norm, Trish, Daniel, Benjamin, and Hannah) took the stage with their delightful fusion of Celtic and Old-Timey styles. After a parade and a Bonniest Knees Contest, we took the stage for the first of our two sets. Then each of the bands played one more set before the evening ended with an utterly fun jam that included Jon and Heidi Reneau, Tom Meehan, and Two Cents Plain (Kathleen Hilmer and Meg Burns). Kudos to Jeffrey and Amie for the excellent sound-man work. After the Festival, we went out to our favorite Buffalo eatery - the Maple Street Grill - accompanied by Mike (down from Ft Leonard Wood), Kevin and Michelle (down from Osceola), and Lee and Lee Ann. After a big and fun dinner, we drove to the home of Lee and Lee Ann to visit and spend the night. The next morning, we had a leisurely home-made breakfast courtesy of Lee Ann before driving home. It was great to see Jason, Mark and TJ, Kristi and Paul, Kevin, Robin, Derryl and Mary, Heather, and Darby. A special welcome to new friends and fans, Ty and Courtney, Earlene, Rose and Sharon, Pamela, Denis, Damon, and LaDonna. And we're looking forward to returning to Buffalo next September.
 

August 31st - September 2nd
KANSAS CITY IRISH FESTIVAL

We had a great time out at the Kansas City Irish Festival this past weekend. It was the 10th Anniversary for the Festival which has vaulted into the Top-10 list of biggest Irish Festivals in the US. With 28 bands and artists scattered over six stages, plus Irish dancers, music workshops, theatre, comedy, ceilidhs, and Mass, there was something for everyone down at Crown Center Square... including a little bit of authentic Irish weather. We played on the Atrium Stage inside Crown Center both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. A big "THANK YOU!" to all of our fans who turned out to support us - too many of you to name, but we appreciate each and every one of you for being there, and for coming up to say "hi" and visit for a while. We enjoyed sharing the stage with Rob Gavin (always a treat to see Rob), Jonathan Ramsey (St Louis' golden-Bieber-haired treasure who was once a fixture at Harling's), Bob Reeder (the patriarch of Kansas City's Irish music scene), Ellis Island (Omaha's fine duo of Dave Marsh and Mick Doyle), Tin Cup Prophette (Amanda Kapousouz and Jeremy Wheatley - great music), and the Darren McMullen Trio (along with Jason Roach and Colin Grant - truly outstanding music). They all made it difficult to actually get out of Crown Center before the evening began. And there was plenty of great music to be had outside of Crown Center... the Elders, the Young Dubliners, Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul, Gaelic Storm, McPeake, Sprag Session, Scythian, Millish, Pogey, Goitse, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Ashley Davis, Kelly, the 3 Dollar Band, Flannigan's Right Hook, and Eddie Delahunt. It was great to spend some quality time with Kathleen Jackson and Richard Jones (up from Dallas) on OUR turf - for lunch, lunch, and dinner! And also with Mike Moran (over from Ft Leonard Wood) with whom we spent most of the weekend and dined (x2). A special welcome to new friends and fans Jo and Jim, Bill, Jennifer, ZoAnn, and Susan. And a very special "THANK YOU" to David Shaughnessy for bringing us out to KCIF to be part of their big 10th Anniversary year!
 

August 17th-18th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

This past weekend was a really interesting weekend at O'Malley's Pub. Friday night was a busy, noisy weekend. There are these evenings that occur like a paid rehearsal... that no matter how hard you work the crowd, you just don't win them over... THAT was Friday night. Shout-outs to Garry; Heather; Dave; Jon; and Ryan. Saturday was a similarly interesting evening. During the summer, the Pub holds what they call their Third Saturday Concert Series, where they feature performances from jazz/blues bands on the Courtyard Stage... which was what was going on while we were downstairs playing. And on a beautiful Saturday evening, there's a pull to be outside... and there you go. Despite the come-and-go crowds, we did have two birthday celebrations, so we had the celebrants and the girls go to the landing and lead the crowd in The Unicorn. Shout-outs to Allyson; Chris; Brad; Ron; Judy; and John and Carol.
 

July 21st
SUMMERFEST

Thanks to the wonderful efforts of Kelly Hill Dougherty, this past Saturday found us performing the first of two concerts in the Summerfest concert series presented by the Kansas City Irish Center. Summerfest, and its partner Winterfest, are the performing artist series that the Irish Center holds to bring new people in. With a fair amount of rearrangment, enough chairs were put out to be able to accommodate 100-some people - which we were able to deliver without breaking a sweat. It was a great concert for a great crowd in a really great venue... if you have not been there already, make a point to visit the Irish Center. A good opportunity would be Saturday, August 18th, to see William Morris. Shout-outs to Garry; Mike; Marilyn; Claire; Hank; Rita; and Steve.
 

June 16th

For the second time this year, we've had to say goodbye to one of our dear friends - Jeannie Dybdahl-Towns, who succumber to a brain injury she suffered in being thrown from a horse. Jeannie has been a long-standing close friend and fan of the band whom we met out at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival - where she performed, managed, and crafted. A kind and generous, gracious, and perennially-upbeat woman, Jeannie had a positive influence on everyone with whom she interacted. Just nine months ago, she married another good friend of the band - Garry Towns - making them a perfect couple. We had many great times with Jeannie... and our lives are all the richer for having done so. Our hearts go out to Garry and Jeannie's family.
 

June 3rd
TUSH/LANE WEDDING

Yesterday found us performing out at Powell Gardens in Kingsville MO at the reception of Rachael Lane and Daniel Tush. It is an honor and privilege to share in that day for folks. There was a (mildly) humorous aspect to this performance... we did it in costume. Rachael indicated it was medieval themed, and asked if we would be able to follow in that theme... which, of course, we are (so far as Renaissance costumes kinda go). What we discovered was that Rachael's dress, being an Arwen Undomiel wedding gown, did have a slight medieval look... and that was about it. Everyone else - groom, wedding party, and guests - were dressed in conventional clothes. So basically, it was Rachael and the band dressed a la medieval style. It made for a lovely afternoon of... interesting... looks from the guests. AND it was a lovely afternoon.
 

May 12th
SHERWOOD HOUSE CONCERT

Another week, another road-gig. It was a doubly-enjoyable Sunday for us yesterday as we not only got to perform at a house-concert... we also got to do so at the home of two of our favorite friends/fans - Charlie and Dona Sherwood. The Sherwoods are movers and shakers in Tulsa's Celtic music and Scottish communities, and have opened up their home to many Celtic greats... Gerry O'Beirne, Robbie O'Connell, Ed Miller, Long Time Courting, et al. To figure into that list is definitely a compliment. We made the four-hour drive to Tulsa, found their beautiful home, and brought all the instruments in. We visited and noshed for a while, then got tuned up and gussied up, and waited for folks to arrive. We performed to a very friendly crowd of about 40. After the concert, we had a short amount of time to visit and make our goodbyes before getting on the road and making the drive back to Kansas City. We'd say we're looking forward to a return-performance for the Sherwoods... but they're already in the process of making plans to move to Colorado. We guess the next time we play for them, we'll be flying out. Shout-outs to Charlie and Dona; Mariann; Kym; Roy; Tony; Andrew and Rebecca; Karen; Walter and Lois; Mark and Gay; and Jane.
 

May 4th-6th
TEXAS SCOTTISH FESTIVAL

We headed down to Arlington TX for our sixth consecutive appearance at the Texas Scottish Festival - there's very little more rewarding for a band than a big festival adopting you into their slate of regular performers. This year was a BIG year for the Festival in that they shifted their weekend from the first weekend of June (what we lovingly refer to as SweatFest) to the first weekend in May. It was a gutsy move - a shift in schedule always causes a hit on attendance, not to mention rescheduling to a weekend that places squarely at odds with Scarborough Renaissance Festival (which ties up a LOT of Celtic music lovers) and Dallas' Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival (which ties up everyone else). But it was a great move - the weekend was on the warm side of beautiful and the crowds were very good for the first year of a move. We flew in Friday afternoon, and Bob picked us up at the airport and drove us straightaway to... On the Border, where we had a great lunch before heading over to Maverick Stadium, the new home for the Festival over at UTA. We turned in an opening performance in the Glen Coe Tent that ended just before the formal Opening Ceremonies. Then afterwards, we caught a set from Ed Miller (and friends... John Taylor, Jil Chambless, & Scooter Muse). Then we headed back to Chez Bob and crashed. The next morning, we hit the grocery store for lunch-foods, drove through McDonald's for breakfast, and arrived at the stadium early. We would end up spending the rest of the weekend performing on the Glen Finnan Stage with Jed Marum, Margaret Lyle Gravitt, and Jim McCrain. We turned in three performances during the day and spent an amount or time hanging out with the performers over at the Glen Coe Tent (Brian McNeill, Ed, John, Jill, and Scooter). At then end of the day, Rachel and Mary went over and turned in a couple of performances at the Lassies Galore mash-up before all the (acoustic) performers hooked up for Fiddle Faddle. Afterwards a handful of us (including David Shaw and Kendall Rogers) headed over to Pappadeaux's for a late Cajun/Creole dinner. Then once more we headed back to Chez Bob and crashed. Sunday morning was a re-run of Saturday morning, only we slept in a little longer. We turned in two more performances on Sunday, and made our goodbyes (unfortunately missing out on the big finale set). With a late flight, we had time to squeeze in dinner at TGI Friday's before Bob dropped us off at the airport. Then it was home to Kansas City. Shout-outs to Casey; Earl; Carol; Judy; Adam; Kathy; Mark; Leah and the fam; and (of course) Bob and David.
 

April 28th
SPRING HOOLIE

This past Saturday found us driving over to Lenexa's VFW Post #7397 for the Kansas City Rogues Gallery's 10th annual Spring Hoolie. Credit Dan Robertson for originating the Hoolie - which could best be described as "We can put on the show right here in my uncle's barn"! It's a fun show for us in that it's the biggest all-request show we do with the audience choosing 100% of what we perform... which provides some pretty interesting moments when the choose something we haven't performed or rehearsed for... years. The attendance seems to grow year by year. Saturday's audience overflowed into the main room of the VFW... in fact it seemed like there were more people out there than in the room where we were. Again, the palpable sense of absence was prevalent, and there was a bittersweet moment of special acknowledgement of Pat Patterson by his family and friends as well as toasts to our absent friend throughout the night. And as usual, the party ran long, and we had to break down and get out in a hurry.
 

March 17th
ST PATRICK'S DAY @ O'MALLEY'S PUB'S

Saturday, we celebrated Lá Fhéile Pádraig, along with the 3 Dollar Band and Bob Reeder, at O'Malley's Pub. We got there at 11:00, got set up, and kicked the Kansas City area's biggest St Paddy's celebration off at noon. The Hall Stage was already close to full, and filled up within the hour with a very lively crowd. Our set motored along quite nicely along with the crowd. Four o'clock came quickly and we wrapped up our set, packed up, and handed the stage off to the Three Dollar Band's Adam Braunschweig, Keith Van Winkle, and Chris Carr who took the next 4-hour shift. And about 8:00, Bob Reeder kick off his own set upstairs in the small pub. An hour after packing up, we headed out to Kato Japanese Cuisine (I-29 and Barry Road) for the traditional St Patrick's Day sushi-dinner. Everything was right with the world. Shout-outs to William; Adam; Tim; Ted; Marion and Diane; and Mike and Gayla.
 

March 9th-11th
IRISH-AMERICAN CLUB / EMMA CHASE MUSIC HALL / ST PATRICK'S CHURCH

This past weekend was a busy one in our run-up to St Patrick's Day. It kicked off with a performance for the Irish American Club of Johnson County. We made our way over to Old Shawnee Town around mid-afternoon, and had the sound-system set up by the time folks started arriving around 6:00. Friends Damian Stack and Seán Moriarty were the travelling dignitaries from Listowel who came to visit this year. We played a set, and then yielded the floor for the official program - the clubs officers were recognized and honored, as was the Mayor of Shawnee, the Club's VIPs and honorees, and then the visitors from Listowel. And then we played a second set. Afterwards, we headed over to Jake's Place for a very late dinner, and then home. The next day, we piled in the van and drove down to Emporia to the home of Ray and Beth Cole. We had a nice long visit before following them over to Cottonwood Falls for a concert at the Emma Chase Music Hall. The Music Hall operates in conjunction with Sue Smith's Emma Chase Café - which was our first stop. After checking in with Sue, we went over to the Music Hall and set up our equipment and instruments, and then came back to the café for an utterly-tasty dinner of corned beef and cabbage, potatoes, and pie. Afterwards we headed back to the Music Hall for a concert to perhaps 75-80 folk music lovers from in and about Cottonwood Falls. Then it was back to the Cole homestead for some more visiting and then to bed. Shout-outs to Jason and SueAnn; Joe; Kathryn; James; Linda; Jackie; Patty; Alan; Amy; and Kris. The next morning, we were up quite early for a sit-down breakfast with Ray and Beth, and then off to Emerald for our eighth appearance at St Patrick's Church in their annual St Patrick's Day fundraiser-dinner. This gig is an absolute pleasure for us to do. The parishioners there are great and it's a genuine contribution... and the dinner they serve is the best farm-cooking around (no slight to the Emma Chase Café, of course). After the performance, we packed up and headed home. Shout-outs to Stan; "Dancing" Nancy; George; and Arlene.
 

March 2nd-4th
NORTH TEXAS IRISH FESTIVAL

Our appearance at the North Texas Irish Festival this past weekend marked the fifth consecutive time we've been one of the featured performers at the Festival... and what a weekend it was! We started out with a late-morning flight to Dallas' Love Field, where Bob Harmon picked us up and whisked us off to the Doubletree/Campbell Center - new digs for the Festival as host hotel - where we checked in, dropped off our bags, spruced up, and then piled back in to Bob's Nitro to head down to Fair Park and the Festival. We arrived just before 5:00 with more than enough time to set up for our opening set at the Star and Harp Pub Stage. Our friendlies were already arriving, and it was a great set. We wrapped up and handed off the stage to the irrepressible Seamus Kennedy. We sold and signed a few CDs, caught half of Seamus' set, and then headed off to see what else was going on. After another hour, we packed up the van and headed back toward the Doubletree, stopping at In-N-Out Burgers for a late dinner. Back at the hotel, some of us stayed up for some visiting and a couple of beers with the milling-about-ers, and then off to bed. It was a late morning on Saturday give that the day's set was at 5:15. Bob picked us up for breakfast, and we ran around the corner to Henk's European Deli for one of their utterly delicious breakfasts. After breakfast, Bob took us back to the hotel, dropped Mary off (she would come out later by shuttlebus), and took us to the Festival. We headed over to the Star and Harp Pub Stage again (where we'd be performing later), caught a set by Ed Miller and friends (John Taylor, Jil Chambless, and Scooter Muse), and half a set from Seamus Stout before taking a spin around the site. We came back in time to catch half a set from Seamus Kennedy, and then got tuned up and turned in a set of our own to a fairly packed crowd. After breaking down and as we packed up, we were able to catch most of a set from Beyond the Pale, and then most of another from BEHAN before heading off for another tour of the Festival, catching a little each of Eileen Ivers and 5 Second Rule. Then we headed back to the hotel and the plethora of sessions. Mark just drank a few beers, visited with a lot of folks hanging out at the bar, then wandered around listening on a few sessions (having lost track of Mary and Rachel - no reports on them). Then it was off to bed. The next morning, we got packed up and out the door early, hooked up with Richard Jones, and headed off to another great breakfast (Dallas has the BEST breakfasts!) at BUZZBREWS Kitchen. After breakfast, Richard deposited us at the Festival where we headed over to the Trinity Stage (one of the two main-stages!) where we put on the opening set there to an impressing good-sized crowd. We handed off the stage to Dan Possumato & Jamie O'Brien. We caught a little of the Jig Is Up and a little more of Ed Miller (and the gang), and then Bob took us to the airport and we headed off for home.
 

February 17th-18th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

This past weekend, we headed up to O'Malley's Pub for our second weekend of the year up there. And it was quite a different weekend from January's. It was a nicer weekend... and one that saw the return of the Rogues Gallery. Friday night was a big, busy night, with folks turning up from everywhere. Mike; Jack and Angie, and Maggie; Jordan; Kevin and Michelle; James, Nathan, and Jared; David, Jason, and Tyson; Robbin and Brenda; Johnny and Shanley; Peter and Josie; Big Steve; Luke and Anna, and Bill and Gina (who had, curiously, researched us specifically and came out to see us); and Patrick and his (unnamed) friend. Saturday night was another big one that included Dan and Norma; Carol and Mike; JR and Dana; Gary and Jeannie; Jason and SueAnn; Kim and Adam; Sean and David; Bill and Kathleen; Big Steve, Kendrick, and Zack; Karen and Elaine; David "Sicilian" and his lady-friend; Chris and his entire table; and James (who, we've learned, speaks Russian when he's... inebriated. The Rogues were back, on a mission to celebrate the memory of their fallen comrade, Pat, and every favorite song requested and sung.... from the opening of the night to the parting glass. It was a great night.
 

January 28th
ROBERT BURNS SUPPER

For the 9th straight year, we had the exceptional fortune of making the 4-hour drive down to the Home Builders Association in Tulsa for the Scottish Club of Tulsa's Robert Burns Night. The evening is one of our hand's-down favorite gigs. It's a splendid night... handsomely-dressed couples (some of our FAVORITE couples), excellent food, the water of life, good humor (and... eh... other humor), and recitations of works penned by the Man of the Night. We love going down there, and they love having us. Gigs really don't get much better than that. We arrived and met up with our friend Roger - who has become a fixture at the Dinner. Roger helped us get set up, then we dashed around the corner to get ready. We returned to find people beginning to traipse in, and did a small set during cocktail-hour. Then we retired to a table we had staked out and thereal festivities began... a great performance from the City of Tulsa Pipes and Drums and Rick Ewing... a speech and toast to the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns... toasts to the Lasses and to the Lads... and to Scotland and the US... and an incredible dinner. Afterwards, we performed for a couple hours for the listening and dancing pleasure of everyone there... and boy-howdy do those people love to dance! When the evening wrapped up, we sang our Auld Lang Syne, made many long goodbyes and headed off to the hotel. Then drove home the next day. Shout-outs to Roger; Charlie and Dona; Derryl, Mary, Heather, and Aiyana; Rick and Christine; Steve and Aleah; Eric and Donna; Michael and Vicki Cox; Richard and Kami; and Bruce.
 

January 18th

We are deeply saddened to pass along word of the passing of our dear friend Pat Patterson. After a gallant battle against brain cancer, Pat left us all for a new world. We had the opportunity, this past Sunday, to drop by and visit him on last time. Pat (along with his cohorts Dan and Larry) began following Mark and Sean as The McGuire Brothers in 1996. They became regulars - avid fans who attended virtually every performance we did. As we morphed into Limerick Junction and eventually into Tullamore, their fanship evolved with us, and they became our first and most faithful fans and friends. Pat has been present with us for all of our 15 years - with his support, his humor, his wit, his stories (and even his $1 bills!). His friendship, loyalty, graciousness, camaraderie, and service to his country are all appreciated... by many. Our lives are richer for having known him. He will be missed. Our warmest thoughts go out to his wife, family, and friends. Godspeed Pat.
 

January 13th-14th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

This past weekend, we kicked off our 16th season in the pub where we've spent more hours performing than anywhere else EVER - O'Malley's Pub. It was a low-key weekend as far as O'Malley's weekends go... due, no doubt, to the 10° weather and the snowy-slushy mix on the roads. Friday evening began with four tables, and never really got full. There were a couple surges, but other than that it was a fairly temperate evening. Shout-outs to Bob, Steve, and Kendrick (which should tell you how low-key it was). Saturday was a little bigger. Notwithstanding the noteworthy absence of our trio of most ardent fans (the Rogues Gallery) and their wives, the crowd was fairly responsive. The evening was marked with two birthday celebrations (necessitating the use of BOTH the Volga Birthday Dirge and The Unicorn)... but we gives the crowd what they likes. Shout-outs to Bob, Steve and Kendrick, Marion and Diane, and Mike and Gayla. A nice kick-off to Season 16.

November 13th
WAXY O'SHEA'S

This past Saturday night, we put a wrap on our 14th season with another great performance at Waxy O'Shea's. The restaurant was about half-full when we arrived, and ended up just about full by the time we started. In the sense that it was fun-filled night with the right blend of good music, humor, camaraderie, and a guest-performance from Scott, it was unremarkable. Friendly faces in the crowd included Dan and Norma, and Pat and Carol; Scott & Louise; Bob (down from Cedar Rapids); Lloyd; Dale; Jason and SueAnn; and Bill and Kathleen. When the evening was over, the handful of folks who stayed 'til the end of the night helped us break down and pack up. And we were done for the year. (We expect to be back at Waxy's in mid-January... keep it on your schedule.)  
 

October 23rd
SHEPPIES HOUSE CONCERT

Saturday morning, we raced through the sky en route to our first-ever performance in Houston and our first house-concert in just a little over ten years. We arrived at Houston Hobby airport to find Paul Shepherd waiting to collect us (their luggage, and their instruments) and deliver us to the gracious hospitality of the lovely Mrs Shepherd. It was a command performance for Ros who, this past June at the Texas Scottish Festival, extended a generous, special request that Tullamore deliver one of what has become known as Sheppies House Concerts - a very successful burgeoning house-concert series that has featured Brian McNeil, Gerry O'Beirne & Rosie Shipley, Ed Miller, Jim Malcolm, and Jed Marum among others. After settling in, we were treated to a great late-lunch, and then some nice visiting before folks began showing up. A record number of guests attended the performance..,. with no small amount of credit going to Ros as it WAS her birthday. It was a very enjoyable night with the concert running late, and the after-party running even later. But the early Sunday-morning flight brought an end to the night, the crowd slowly filtered out the door, and we trudged off to bed. The next morning, while Ros had a much-deserved late morning, Paul treated us to breakfast, and then delivered us back to the airport where we made our reluctant departure from Houston. We're looking forward to a hopeful return to the North Texas Irish Festival next March when we hope to see the Sheppies again.  
 

October 15th-16th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

For the fourth time this year, we found ourselves descending the three stories to the lower cellar at O'Malley's Pub. It started out a busy, noisy weekend... and just got busier and noisier. There was somewhat of a identity crisis in the works over the weekend in that the Saturday crowd of friendlies and regulars showed up on Friday night, and the younger (and noisier) set that typically shows up on Friday showed up on Saturday night. Friday night's friendly faces included Dan, Larry, and JR; Bob (down from Cedar Rapids); Scott and Louise (down from Maryville); Ellen (from Cincinnati via KAI); Marion and Diane (St Joe); Adam, Kim, Jennie, and Sandra (all of whom will be joining the band on their Ireland Tour next May); Louisa and Luke; Ryan, Mark, Christopher, and Curtis; James, Harliss, Ronnie, and Jessica; Joe and Rachel; Josh, Jake, Nick, and Ryan (the boys from Boston); Phillie and Clay; Mike and John; and Anita (who was there celebrating her birthday); and the sterling service was provided by Sarah, DeeDee, Philicia, Steve, Mike, and Mike. Saturday night's kudos go out to Dan, Pat, Carol, and Norma; Jason and SueAnn, Rusty, Bob (from Cedar Rapids), Scott and Louise; Bill and Kathleen; Erik and Susan; Charlie and Tara; Cliff; Maddie, Dave, Harry, Jonathan, Chelsea, Sharon, and Paul (Maddie's 21st birthday table of awesomeness); and three other birthday celebrants besides Maddie - Tim, Sarah, and Gale.  
 

October 2nd
TECUMSEH ARTS COUNCIL

Our appearance for the Tecumseh Arts Council this past weekend was a milestone for us... in that it was the first time that a fine-arts organization contacted us, unsolicited, to arrange a concert-performance. And we're viewing the development as a happy sign of things to come. The Council's Fall celebration was an outdoor concert on a mild and breezy, sunny Saturday afternoon, and the choice of Celtic music appeared to be an interesting and welcome alternative to what Tecumseh's listeners have become accustomed. New friends from the day's excursion include Bruce, Elijah, Christy, and Spence; Linda, Rosanna, and Chad; Hannah and Ally; Crystal and Jacquelyn; Jim and Sharon; Jim; and Todd, Kindra, Diane, Brad, and Clinton (with whom we shared a great evening, complete with a tasty pulled-pork barbecue dinner).  
 

September 20th
CORBIN THEATRE

As promised, we made our way back to Liberty's historic town square for another installment of Celtic At the Corbin, the monthly concert-series put on by the Corbin Theatre that features the best in Celtic music in and around Kansas City. The concert was modestly attended, and the audience couldn't have been better. Friendly faces included Mike and Karen; Michael and Cindy; Lloyd; Michael, Tenley, and Maren; Bill; Mike and Steve; Ken; Claire, Emily, and Jeff; Ken; Graham and Scott. While we expect to return next Spring (probably March or April), Graham is trying to figure out how to convert the Corbin's jazz-lovers into Celtic music fans. Time will tell...  
 

September 17th-19th
OKLAHOMA SCOTTISH FESTIVAL

Four days after arriving home from Columbia, we were back on the road to Tulsa to appear at the Oklahoma Scottish Festival. We ended a six-year hiatus there while joining Jiggernaut and Needfire as one of the Festival's three headliners. We made a Friday afternoon drive down to Tulsa to arrive in time to begin setting up and catch a performance of Celtic Cheer before taking the main stage ourselves. It was a busy Friday night with us turning in a second set prior to the Fire Ceremony and the Calling of the Clans.

Saturday morning, Rachel shared in the Festival's Opening Ceremonies with a performance of the National Anthem... and the remainder of the day found the four bands trading sets in the Edinburgh Tent while the Glasgow Tent was treated to performances by regional favorites Boru's Ghost, Anam Cronan, the Flowers of Edinburgh, and Moore's Celtic Dance. The enjoyability of the company and visiting was inversely proportional to that of the weather, though, as the city was at the mercy of 95° temperatures coupled with an uncharacteristic 100% humidity. But no number of clammy t-shirts could dampen the spirits and excitement of the 12,000+ patrons in attendance. After we wrapped up our three sets of the day, we went out to dinner at Olive Garden with the Harmon trio (Bob, David and Dan - up from Dallas) before heading back to the Marriott Southern Hills for the night.

Sunday began with our arrival at the Edinburgh Tent to set up just as the Kirkin' O' The Tartans was beginning. Half a day and two sets later, we were in the van heading back to Kansas City. Over the course of the weekend, we benefited from the expertise of sound-men Kyle, Nathan, and Kory; and had the pleasure of hanging out with Mike and Sheryl; Kirk; Colin; Dustin (over from Arkansas); Josh; Steve, Eric, Bruce, and Rick; Danette; Deryl and Mary, Heather, Rachel, and Aisha; Karen; CJ; Josh (at the whiskey tent); Erik (all the way over from Jackson MS); Brian, Bryan, Carl, Dave, Julia, Tim, Marilyn and Wayne (from Celtic Cheer); Ed (from Needfire); and Deanna, Richard, Garren, Rodger, and Matthew (from Jiggernaut). It was a fantastic weekend and return to the Festival, and we're already hoping that the preliminary interest for a return next year materializes.  
 

September 11th
SOUTHWEST MISSOURI CELTIC HERITAGE FESTIVAL / UNITY CENTER OF COLUMBIA

After a couple weeks off, we turned in a couple performances and added two new venues to our CV. Friday night, we wound their way down to Buffalo MO (our drive complicated by fog and an iffy GPS/mapper) to get a good night's sleep in and be able to hit the ground running for an early Saturday debut at the Southwest Missouri Celtic Heritage Festival. It was our first experience headlining a festival, and it was a great experience notwithstanding it being a smaller festival. Jon Reneau had arranged for our appearance there nearly a year earlier. We were joined by regional and local favorites including Emily Wyatt, Nancy Daily Green, Sarah Hook, Jon and Heidi Reneau, Tom Meehan, Deryl Dickerson, the Central High Kilties, and the Flower O' Scotland Dance Troupe. Dinner with friends followed at the Maple Street Grill before heading out on the road for Columbia MO. The last 30-odd miles of the drive was made more dramatic with several stops due to the van overheating. After nursing the van into the hotel parking lot it was off to bed.

Early next morning, it was over to the Unity Center of Columbia where we performed in Columbia for their first time in over 10 years. We contributed to the two morning services, and then turned in a concert-performance after a picnic-lunch sponsored by UCC's YOU-chapter (Youth of Unity). The concert was modestly-attended, but the audience was very receptive and well-rewarded. Lloyd even dropped by (as he was on his way to St Louis), and did us a major solid in giving us a ride back to Kansas City while the van remained at Firestone (to get the radiator replaced, as it turned out). All in all (van expenditures notwithstanding), it was a great weekend.  
 

September 3rd

A brief yet exciting word about the progress of the tour. It was just under two months ago that we sent out the Tulla-gram announcing our Ireland Tour 2011, and letting people know that they could begin registering on it. At the time, John Hammond (of Hammond Tours) reassured the band, "This is a great tour, and we're sure it will fill up. But don't be disappointed if you don't see any real movement on it until after Christmas. People really don't get serious about spending money until after school starts." And with that reassurance, we moved forward. Today, three days before Labor Day (and the beginning of school), and to the utter pleasure and surprise of both Tullamore and Hammond Tours, the tour hit the mark of being 60% full. The Hammonds find it unbelievable, and have declared it their hottest-selling tour. Which points to not only how good of a tour they put together, but to how genuinely great Tullamore fans are. We could not be more pleased with the response of our friends, fans, and family to the tour, and we're excited to actually spend a week with the ones who make it on the bus!  
 

August 21st
WAXY O'SHEA'S

We returned to Waxy O'Shea's this past Saturday for an interesting mix of ups and downs... the down being problems with new sound gear, the ups being everything else. Effective June 12, the FCC annexed the 700MHz band for their 'Public Safety Spectrum'. In English, that means they rendered our wireless gear effectively useless. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to test the new gear (and work the kinks out) before putting it into use at a gig. So the audience was treated to some live kinks-out-working (there's gotta be a German word for that... mühenbeseitigen?), a handful of squeals and pops, cord and mic replacements, and a few jokes and solos to 'cover' all that up, and we were as good as new. This was also the first night for us to play at Waxy's since they installed their new stage in the main dining room... and talk about luxurious! And friendly faces abounded... Jason, Dennis, Ellen, and Justin (in from Cincinnati, and moving Ellen into town for her first year at KCAI!); Lloyd (of course); Dan and Norma, and Pat and Carol; Bill and Kathleen; Beth and Ray (up from Emporia); Scott and Louise (down from Maryville); Jennie (who took a turn behind the mic to with her rendition of "Danny Boy"); Abbey and Kristina (our lovely dancing girls); Barbro and Jeri; Joan; Ervin; and Lisa (who graciously shared her table with us). Sound issues notwithstanding, it was a most enjoyable night and we're looking forward to returning in November.  
 

August 13th-14th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

It was a cooker of a weekend at O'Malley's Pub, where the 90°/90% weather found its way down to the bottom cellar (and a faulty compressor added insult to injury). Friday night was big right from the start. Scott was there celebrating his 53rd birthday with Laurie, Christina, Colton (who joined his Grandpa onstage for the obligatory birthday-dirge), and Barbara; Bryan and Erica were there with their three - JT, Liz, and Kat; Bob was down from Cedar Rapids (of course); Paris appeared for the first time since returning from Iraq; and Scott and Louise were down from Maryville. Other friendlies in the audience included Mike's girlfriend Kenna and compadre James; Tracy; Eric (Chewbacca); Matt; Rebecca; Jeff. Scott took a turn behind the mic, performing a couple of his regular pieces and giving us a small break. Kudos to the staff (who went above and beyond Friday night) - Mike (at the door); Jamie and Steve (behind the bar, with Derrick pinch-hitting); and Sarah and Felicia working the tables.

Saturday night was another big one with plenty of friendly faces - Lloyd, Bob (again), Jason, and Gene; Jason and Kaya, and her dad Obbie (in town from LA); Marion and Diane; Mike and Gayla; Kenna and James (again); Eric (again); Jake and Steve; Josh and Nin; Jenny, Caci, Ellen, and Micaela; and Bill and Mike. And Saturday night saw another great effort from the staff - Mike (at the door); Katie, Penny, and Steve (behind the bar); Sarah, Meredith, and Mandy (waiting tables); and DeeDee (switching back and forth). Sean O' even turned in an appearance! And of course there was one of the proprietor's, Mike, working the sound-board and turning in guest-appearances onstage. We will return to O'Malley's in October... we'll hope it's a little cooler then.  
 

July 2nd

We finalized arrangements today with Hammond Tours for our Ireland Tour 2011. On Saturday, May 7th, we depart with fifty friends, fans, and family on a nine-day, four-concert bus-tour of Erin's Green Isle - their second concert-tour of Ireland. This time, we'll be bringing Hugh Morrison, a Scottish accordionist now living in Houston, who will join us onstage at times. The tour will pass through Limerick, Dingle, Listowel, Galway, Cong, Sligo, Ballyshannon, Enniskillen, Mullingar, Tullamore (of course), Naas, and Dublin. The tour's itinerary includes stops at the Cliffs of Moher, the Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, the 6th-century monastic settlement on Devenish, the Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre, and concert performances at St John's Arts Centre in Listowel, the Abbey Centre in Ballyshannon, the Mullingar Arts Centre, and the Moat Theatre in Naas. The website's tour-page is interactive, so you can explore all the where's and what's of the tour. It also contains links to a flyer for the tour and to Hammond Tours, as well as counters showing how many places have been reserved and how many remain available. More to come...  
 

June 12th
KANSAS CITY SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES

It was hot and wet out at the Kansas City Scottish Highland Games this past weekend, where we turned in their fifth appearance. The weather alternated between sultry and pouring, which kept the crowd and bands guessing. We turned in a Friday-evening set on the Pub Stage ahead of sets by Highland Reign and Mother Grove. Saturday, Bob Reeder valiantly performed an unplugged set at the Amphitheatre while the staff was waiting for officials to arrive and reset the electricity. Then we kicked off the evening run there, and were followed by the 3 Dollar Band, Highland Reign, Tartanic, and Mother Grove. Friendly faces this weekend included Dan and Norma; Pat and Carol; Bruce and Lane; Patrick; Tim and Amy; Brian; John; Tim; and a couple of great visits with good friends Steve (Tullintrain West), Jill (entertainment director) and Goren (Celtic Fashions Midwest). We're hoping for a drier visit next Summer.  
 

June 4th-6th
TEXAS SCOTTISH FESTIVAL

The highlight of our spring schedule was their fourth appearance at the Texas Scottish Festival this past weekend. An early Friday-evening set prompted us to re-schedule our flight down, especially with that set being on the Glen Finnan Stage which we shared with Brian McNeill, Ed Miller, Scooter Muse & Jil Chambless, Smithfield Fair and Seamus Stout. While it was fantastic to have the opportunity to show off our music on the big stage, we had a great time the remainder of the weekend sharing the Glen Uig Stage with Jed Marum & Jaime Marum, Hugh Morrison & Kendall Rogers, and Marc Gunn. The stage turned out to be a regular swap-meet, with a seemingly endless number of permutations of performers on stage -AND- arrangements were settled on to have Hugh joining us as a guest-artist on our 2011 Ireland Tour. Leah and Bob were invaluable contributions throughout the weekend in putting the band up, shuttling them around, and manning the CD-table. Old faces and new popped up over the weekend including Lou and Helen; Ros and Paul (who arranged an October house-concert for the band in Houston); Rickey, Charles, and Joe; Bob and Katrina; Richard; Harry (whom Mark hadn't seen since his days at AIPC); Ed; Kevin, Richard, EJ, Al, Emily, and Gregory (from Teribus and Clandestine) Emilio; Ronnie; Guy, Tony, Dorothy, and Alex; Jerry, Cathy, and Marc; Dan and Anita, Rickey and Tom; Kelly and Julie; Noel; Michelle and Phil; Eugene; Ted; Chester and Marianne; the Redmond family; and our sound-guys Andre and David. The trip included a couple of fun airport visits - one with Kelly Kelley (yes), the TSA-agent who saw the dulcimer through x-ray... and the other with Steven, Zenith, and Cole, in the gate-area waiting to board the flight. Before long we were back in KC looking forward to next season's visit.  
 

May 15th
WAXY O'SHEA'S

Saturday evening, we turned in another crowd-pleasing performance at Waxy O'Shea's - a pub that never fails to deliver, with its great menu, tasty food, personable staff, and their dapper host Vincent. The crowd was perhaps 10% off of the biggest crowd we've had there... which was a minor miracle considering how many regulars were off at the St Louis Renaissance Festival. Friendly faces included old friend and fellow-musician Roy Wilkinson in town from Atlanta, and with him came Victor and Richelle (from Dog Tree) and Rick; Bob was (reliably) down from Cedar Rapids as were Scott and Louise from Maryville; Dan and Norma; Pat and Carol; Mike; Bruce and Lane; and Mike and Karen. Roy took his turn behind the mic to entertain the crowd, as did Scott. Look for us to turn in our next appearance at Waxy's in mid-August.  
 

May 1st
BRIDGEPORT SCOTTISH FESTIVAL & CELTIC GATHERING

After skipping a year, we made our way back to Allegheny Mountain country to perform at the ninth annual Scottish Festival and Celtic Gathering in Bridgeport WV. We took a Friday afternoon flight into Pittsburgh and met Luke (Mark's nephew - check out his band, DoubleShot!), grabbed a rental-car, had a quick bite to eat at a local sushi joint (Ichiban Steakhouse), and headed out for the two-hour drive to Bridgeport. The next morning, we headed over to Bridgeport High School where the Festival was already underway. We had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Highland Reign, Albannach, Colin Grant-Adams, and the Homespun Ceilidh Band. By lunchtime, a few more of Mark's family had arrived - Dawn (mother), young Dawn (sister), and Jennifer (niece) - to connect with us all, and see the Festival. After our final performance, we all (band and family) was off to dinner at Applebee's before heading back for the evening concert at the High School, where each of the performers would turn in a 25-minute showcase. It was a great show and well-appreciated. Goodbyes were said that night as the ladies would be getting on the road much earlier than would we. After a Bob Evans breakfast, it was back to the Pittsburgh Airport, one more round of goodbyes to Luke, and onto the plane for the flight back to Kansas City. This has become a very enjoyable gig for us, hopefully one that will be repeated in years to come.  
 

April 10th
SPRING HOOLIE

We paid a Saturday-evening visit to VFW Post #7397 for the eighth annual Rogue's Gallery Spring Hoolie, courtesy of our self-proclaimed biggest, baddest fan - Dan Robertson. The Hoolie is a four-hour, all-request performance where the rules are anything-goes and there is only one tradition - that each of us does at least one solo number. This year's Hoolie was as successful as its seven predecessors, drawing a crowd of 60 regulars plus the dozen or so veterans who 'manage' to be there this one particular night of the year. Mary sang Ewan MacColl's Tunnel Tigers, Rachel played William Potstock's Souvenir de Sarasate, and Mark sang John Lennon's Across the Universe and Alan Stivell's Breton song Brezhoneg' Raok. The Hoolie dragged on the typical 45 minutes beyond quitting-time, when we were told to get out. Until next year...  
 

March 26th-28th
NORMAN MEDIEVAL FAIR

We returned to the windy clime of Oklahoma for an appearance at the Norman Medieval Fair, our thirteenth in the last fourteen years. There was only 51 weeks between visits this year instead of the standard 52, as the Fair advanced one week into late-March to avoid falling on Easter weekend. We returned to the Gryphon Stage which we shared (along with the big crowds) with the Rogues and Queens Gambit. It was a good weekend overall, starting out mild and turning cold and rainy, and was marked by visits with friends and fans too numerous to name. Highlights of the weekend included playing stretch and bocce with Delbert, Sherri, Jeremy, Randy, and Ken; dinner Friday evening at Johnny Carino's with Ken and Randy; dinner Saturday evening at O Asian Fusion with Danny, Beth, William, Roger, Jeremy, and Brian (almost); and visits with Brian Wendling, the Bilge Pumps, and Arabesque. We drew the short straw on Sunday, playing the last set at the Gryphon before the Last Huzzah and getting on the road an hour and a half later than usual, so the drive home extended into the very early morning. Besides the weather, the weekend was marred by a mishap (ironically involving the weather) with Mark's Guild JF-50 as it was blown out of its guitar-stand and the neck broke just below the headstock. Bruce came to the rescue and let Mark borrow his guitar all day. All that notwithstanding, it was quite the enjoyable weekend, and we're looking forward to next year's appearance - which will return to the first weekend in April.  
 

March 17th
ST PATRICK'S DAY @ O'MALLEY'S PUB

St Patrick's Day found us, once again, playing at O'Malley's Pub. Despite their small-town locale, the pub boasted a line-up that rivaled that of any Irish pub in Kansas City... with Tullamore kicking off the day at noon in the lower cellar, followed by the 3 Dollar Band, and finally Connacht Town who closed out the night downstairs. Unforeseen circumstances left the upper cellar empty in the early evening, so at Mike's request, we pulled a double - heading upstairs and squeezing in another few hours in the upper cellar before turning the mic over to Bob Reeder, who played the night away. The crowd grew from a middling start at noon to full and lively by 2:00, with Mike, Carrie, Dennis, Gene, and Jacob and Megan (celebrating their 10th anniversary) providing some of the friendly faces in the crowd. It was a great St Patrick's Day, made greater with an early performance that left us free to kick back for the remainder of the festivities and still make it home at a decent hour!  
 

March 12th-14th
WAXY O'SHEA'S / O'MALLEY'S PUB / ST PATRICK'S CHURCH / WAXY O'SHEA'S

Friday evening's performance at Waxy O'Shea's kicked off our traditional pre-St-Patrick's-Day flurry of performances which comprised four performances in all. And with all of the Irish festivities going on, all around town, we pulled off a minor miracle in bringing the crowd to Waxy's. Superfans in attendance included Dan and Norma; Pat and Carol, and Mike; Dale; Bob (down from Cedar Rapids, again); Scott and Louise (down from Maryville, again); friendly neighbors James, Richard, and Mike; Sujoy (up from Phoenix) and Richard; Joan; Roc and Lisa; Nikki, Claire and David; Kevin and Ari; Mic and Clint; Bill; and Jason and Annie. The evening included a surprise visit from some of Rachel and Mark's Plaza-YOU crowd - Tom, Cindy and friend, Cathy, Kat and Anna-Marie; and a very pleasant (but predictable) visit from Fred and Linda, and Listowellians Dennis O'Mahony and (The Man Himself) Damian Stack (the four having come late following an earlier evening at the annual mixer for the Irish American Club of Johnson County). We were expertly taken care of by Tina, and it was a grand evening overall.

Saturday found us making a late-afternoon appearance at O'Malley's Pub, where we joined the 3 Dollar Band, Connacht Town and Bob Reeder as part of the Pub's contribution to the Snake Saturday celebration. While the crowd was fairly big (for a Saturday afternoon), it proved to be too early in the day for our regulars. That said, we was delighted to see Bob (who, admittedly, would be with us for the weekend); Marion & Diane; Mike and Carrie, and Dennis; Jill; and Chris, Adam, Keith, and Françoise who hung around and listened for a half hour or so before heading off to another gig of their own. Throughout the day (and night), the patrons were treated to the exceptional service of Mike, Patty, DeeDee, Ray, Meredith, and Penny. Following the set (and some music from Connacht Town), we wrapped up the night over a wonderful dinner with Dennis, Mike, and Carrie at Kato Japanese Cuisine.

The next morning we were on the road early for the hour-and-a-half drive to Emerald, KS, where we would have the opportunity to feast on the most delectable corned beef dinner and finest pies in the Midwest (and play a little music). The event was (of course) their annual pilgrimage to St Patrick's Church, a modest farm-community parish where we've played six of these past seven years as part of their annual fund-raiser. The performance is incidental to us, largely an excuse to go hang out with our east-Kansas friends and fans (including Melodie, Levi, Arlene, Chris and Teresa, Stan, Scott and family, Joy, Rick, Al, and Theresa and Joan, of course), and treat our taste buds to the finest Kansas has to offer. From there, it was a rapid break-down and as quick of a drive as could be managed to get back to Waxy O'Shea's for an early-evening set following Shawnee's own Irish March Madness - the Parade, Awards Ceremony (just after the Parade at the Knights of Columbus Hall), and Duck Race. It was another great evening at the pub, and the huge crowd of friends and fans included Damian and Dennis, Fred and Linda, and Mary; Dan, Pat and Mike; Bruce and Lane; Bob; Lloyd; Bill and Nancy; Mike and Karen; Scott and Louise; Jason and SueAnn; Yale and Michelle; Bill and Kathleen; Adam, Kimberly, Taylor, Jordan, Jim, Keith, John, and Roger; Terry and Maureen; Gordon and Pete; Joan, Mary, Allen, Aggie, and Brett; Joan Moore (who had done some piping earlier that afternoon); and Dennis and LeAnne. Spence and Valerie kept us well supplied (and lubricated). It was a great evening, and an end to a great weekend.  
 

March 5th-7th
NORTH TEXAS IRISH FESTIVAL

With our third consecutive appearance at the North Texas Irish Festival, Tullamore has established itself as a staple in the festival's line-up. Excitement was afoot as we headed to the airport Friday and boarded our mid-afternoon Southwest flight to Love Field. Bob corralled us at the airport and whisked us away to the Radisson (which would serve again as the host hotel). After checking in and dropping off, we turned in a little base-touching in the lobby with some of the other musicians who were in the process of arriving before jumping back into Bob's car and heading on out to Fair Park. Once there, we headed over to the Cashel Stage (where we would be turning in our Friday night set), and dropped our gear and instruments off. Jigsaw had just begun their set, and we caught a few numbers before heading over to the Hospitality Room, where there was a bit of eating and more visiting. After a small spin around the Festival site, it was back over to the stage to catch the second half of a set by Sarah Dinan, and set up gear and tune. Our 9:30 set was surprisingly well-attended for being the last on the stage and opposite the Barra MacNeils and Needfire... but folks like what they like, so who are we to argue? After the set, it was back to the hotel for a late dinner and some visiting with a couple handfuls of folks in the bar. Then it was off to bed.

The next morning, we connected for breakfast with Richard and Kathleen (on sabbatical from the Trinity River Whalers) for breakfast. The attempt was nearly thwarted by unexpected restaurant-closures and big breakfast-crowds, so we finally settled on a meal at Norma's Café (which was quite tasty). From there it was back to the hotel to get ready, and over to the Festival where we dropped off all their instruments and gear at the instrument check-in. We would be performing a 6:00 set on the Cashel Stage again. So with several hours to occupy, we made an extensive tour of the site, checking out all the vendors and taking in sets by Ed Miller, the David Munnelly Band, Poor Man's Fortune, Legacy, and Beyond the Pale before having to head over to get our instruments and gear and hightail it to the stage to set up. We were absolutely elated at what would turn out to be a standing-room-only turnout by the audience... which was conveniently witnessed by SCMA-officer John Hebley. After our set, we stayed around for a visit with Chris and Erin (Rachel's cousin and fiancée) and a couple more sets by Clandestine and Great Big Sea. Then it was back to the hotel. Rachel headed upstairs for a pre-session nap while Mark headed off to the bar for some proper socializing. Mary eventually appeared in the bar and joined the visiting. After a couple hours, Mark gave up on Rachel's appearance and went back to the room and turned in, at which point Rachel got up and headed downstairs. She and Mary hung out at a session for a while before turning in.

Sunday, we were back out to the site fairly early. After a beautiful Friday and Saturday, the poor weather finally caught up and made its debut with some chilly rain. It was still a good crowd though, and after a little visiting with some vendors and performers, it was over to the Star and Harp Pub Stage to catch a set by Jim Flanagan, and then turn in our final set of the weekend. Afterwards, we caught the last set by Ed, Scooter, and Jil before making our goodbyes and joining Bob for the drive back to Love Field. It was a colorful drive that wrapped up a great weekend. A couple hours later, we were in the van heading home from the airport amid expectations for a return-trip for the 2011 Festival.  
 

February 15th
CORBIN THEATRE

Monday evening, we had the singular privilege of kicking off Celtic At the Corbin, a brand new concert-series produced by the Corbin Theatre featuring the region's best Celtic music on the third Monday of every month. The blustery evening made a dent in quite a few dinner-and-a-show plans, and only a few dozen folks turned out. But it was a great show, and we made quite a few new friends. Upcoming appearances in the series will include Kelly in March, the 3 Dollar Band in April, Roscommon in May, Eddie Delahunt & Friends in June, and the Shortleaf Band in July. So make a point on coming to see one of these groups and support the Corbin. AND also make a note in your calendar for September 20th - which is when Tullamore will return to the Corbin for another concert.  
 

January 23rd
ROBERT BURNS SUPPER

In the middle of what has been a fairly stiff winter, the weather turned nice for the weekend as we drove down to Tulsa to turn in their now-annual performance for the Scottish Club of Tulsa's 55th annual Robert Burns Supper. The Supper is a black tie gala and the Club's premiere social event, and was held this year at the Home Builders Association. Our mid-afternoon arrival was preceded only slightly by that of friend and fan Roger Ruffner, who joined us as both guest and roadie. The four had the privilege of joining Richard, Kami, Bill and Hal for dinner. The evening kicked off with some very nice music from Miss Demeanor and the Minor Convictions (a.k.a. Julia Harris and friends) and some fine piping and drumming by City of Tulsa Pipes and Drums. The haggis was ceremoniously piped in, and was promptly skewered at the end of a recital of Burns' Address To A Haggis. Then each table was, in succession, turned loose on the buffet line. During dinner the guests were treated to a tribute to the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns, as well as some good whiskey and great toasts to the lassies, to the laddies, to Scotland, and to the USA. All of that was followed by music by Tullamore complete with Scottish country dancing, and the announcement of the winners of all the fine prizes being raffled off. Kudos to Steve and Eric, Mary, Daryl, Heather, Steven, Alan and (of course) Rick for adding to the overall enjoyability of the evening. It was, as always, quite the party, and we're looking forward to next year.

December 31st
O'MALLEY'S PUB

Our very last gig of the year was performing on New Year's Eve at O'Malley's Pub, a not-unpredictable finish to the year. It had been several years (2003) since the last time we rang in the New Year in Weston. The night was a party from the word 'go'. The pub was mostly full when we arrived, albeit lean on the regulars that ordinarily show up for us. So when the regulars started to trickle in, it got very busy. The crowd was into the show the entire night, which we kept laced with as many high-octane songs that we could manage. Mike wrangled a countdown coordinated with the folks in the upper cellar, where Bob Reeder was performing. After the New Year was officially rung in, we went another 45 minutes before calling it quits. It was a great evening overall.  
 

December 19th-20th
PLAZA PUB / TIPPERARY INN

It was all about pushing the holiday window this weekend as we eked out two more performances prior to Christmas week, this time returning to DFW for our final quarterly appearance of the year at the Plaza Pub and the Tipperary Inn. The weekend began with being picked up by Leah at Love Field and driving straight to the Plaza Pub with only one pit-stop (to pick up music-stands and CD-holders). The crowd started out fair-to-middling but grew over the course of the evening. Ed was his usual incredibly-appreciative self. When the evening was over, it was over to Chez Bob and into bed as soon as possible. The next day began with a fairly late morning, some web-surfing (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, &c), lunch at the Olive Garden (courtesy of Bob) which is quickly becoming its own tradition, and a little afternoon napping before heading over to the Tipperary Inn. The crowd was large, despite it being a few days before Christmas. Toward the end of the evening, there was a brief yet noteworthy moment of elevated tensions on account of some folks who arrived after last-call at a nearby sports-bar (and following a Dallas Cowboys' loss), and who didn't appear to have come for the music. It was nearly like playing behind the chicken-wire at the Double Deuce... but only nearly. The evening ended without incident, and it was back home to Bob's. The next morning saw the traditional send-off breakfast at IHOP, and a just two short hours later, the weekend was over.  
 

December 12th
MVFS SWINNEY VOLKER PRESENTATION

This past Friday, we had our first-ever school-presentation in our career, turning in an hour-long appearance at Swinney Volker Elementary School for an educational performance on behalf of the Missouri Valley Folklife Society. It was a fun and busy evening, with a spaghetti-dinner and PTA-meeting that preceded the concert and a book-fair that ran in conjunction with the evening. There was a good crowd for the performance, and several handfuls of kids stayed afterwards to visit with us and see the instruments up close.  
 

October 10th-12th
WESTON IRISH FESTIVAL

We doubled up gigs this weekend with a Friday-evening appearance at the Weston Irish Festival. And what more is there to say about this unique gem of a festival in historic Weston. We joined an impressive list of national, regional, and local favorites that included the Young Dubliners, the Elders, the Clumsy Lovers, Brigid's Cross, the Mickey Finns, the Wild Colonial Bhoys, Flannigan's Right Hook, Ellis Island, Kelly, Connie Dover, Eddie Delahunt, Bob Reeder, and Tom Dahill. We (quite literally) squeezed in an appearance in the upper cellar on a beautiful Friday night, playing for an enthusiastic crowd before giving the stage over to Bob Reeder. Afterwards, there was a lot of visiting outside while perusing some of the merchandise tents and taking in the music of the Clumsy Lovers before calling it a night and heading home. It was unfortunate to miss out on the remainder of the weekend, but you can't be in two places at once.  
 

August 30th - October 13th
KANSAS CITY RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL

Much like last year, we returned for the entire run of the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. With all the time spent in planning the Scotland tour, not much time was left to plan the second half of the 2008 season. So we created a new experience out at KCRF, joining the Limeybirds down at the Seafarer's Beergarden with an entirely amplified show. We'd made the arrangements earlier in the year when we contracted to do the show, and made the technical enhancements necessary to do a low-profile amplified performance. The changes had the desired effect of getting us heard by bigger crowds (not to mention doubling CD-sales - never a bad thing).

In addition to sound reinforcement, performing at the Beergarden presented us with a couple of challenges - putting up the shade-cloth, and reviving the cabana - the oasis of good times behind the Beergarden stage erected on behalf of MentalPause a few seasons back. While Phyllis would end up joining Krista to perform as the SweetTarts on the Town Hall stage this season, she went the extra mile to help whip the cabana back into shape for use by ourselves and the Limeys, and as a respite for an occasional visit. Sharing the stage with the Limeys was a genuine treat. The line-up this year was Laura, Christine, and Jeanine - all lovely, funny, talented ladies and a joy to spend seven weekends with.

Overall, the weather was great, with only a couple rainy days and a couple cold days. The crowds were good, no doubt due to the amplification. Mick McGuire (Mark) was a regular at the Royal Cigar Smoker and did his share to help out with the Pub Sing - which started out a bit rough but settled into a groove halfway through the second weekend. We got to spend some quality visiting-time over dinner with folks we don't get to see regularly. As for family and friends and fans that came out... there were too many friendly faces to name, so the attempt won't even be made - but it was truly great to see everyone.  
 

August 22nd-23rd
PLAZA PUB / TIPPERARY INN

To continue on what has been an extraordinarily busy August, we made our famous quarterly appearance in the DFW metroplex - continuing our new commuting habit, flying back and forth on Southwest rather than American. The pro to flying Southwest is that their staff doesn't bat an eye about three people walking onto the plane with instruments (one being a hammered dulcimer) to be put into the overhead bins. The con is that one has to make a point of being online the exact moment advance-check-in begins (24 hours ahead of departure time), because contiguous overhead bin space disappears but-quick and boarding is in order of check-in position. Fortunately, we're hip to that, and everything went on without a hitch. Leah picked us up (at Love Field), making a now-longer drive to the Plaza Pub in rush-hour traffic (perhaps another con). Notwithstanding a pit-stop for some Tex-Mex at Los Lupes, a timely arrival was had and we were set up and ready to go by game-time. It was a great evening with a larger-than-average crowd that included David, Casey, Roz, and Kevin (from Echoes From the Glen); Richard and Kathleen (from the Trinity River Whalers); Patrick, Amy and Matthew; and Robert, Charles, Leah and Bob.

Saturday was a wonderfully lazy day that included some morning lollygagging, a big lunch at the Olive Garden with the Tharp family, Mark, Bruce and Lupita, and Bob, and then some afternoon dillydallying before heading over to the Tipperary Inn for another night of great fun. The crowd was huge and stayed late. Regulars included Becky and Stuart joining Pam and Jim (who was attending in spite of having just been released from the hospital the previous evening - a paragon of dedication!); Mike (celebrating his birthday), Bob, Leah, Bill and Wendy; Pierre, Westley and Phyllis (Mark's brother and sister-in-law up from Houston) who joined Bruce and Lupita (Mark's other brother and sister-in-law up from Austin); Ed, Janice, and Alex; and Noel (a new, enthusiastic fan and friend).

The next morning, it was off for the traditional see-you-next-time breakfast with the Tharps, Pritchetts, Claveys, Mark, and Bob at IHOP before flying home.  
 

August 15th-16th
J MURPHY'S IRISH PUB

This past weekend marked our inaugural performance in a mostly-new Irish pub in Shawnee KS, J Murphy's Irish Pub. It was an interesting experiment for us, bringing our music back into a KC-metro-area-proper pub for the first time since performing at the Daily Limit in January of 2005. It was also our first test of running our sound through a pub's house-system, which worked splendidly considering nobody had to get blasted out by sitting in front of mains turned up loud enough to throw the sound across the pub. There was an interesting dynamic at play over the two nights - that stemmed from the fact that the new pub has aspiring, and sometimes competing, dual identities... one being an Irish pub, the other being the local sports pub. That provided only a few interesting moments on Friday night such as when Michael Phelps won his jillionth gold medal and a gigantic cheer erupted from the patrons - in the middle of a song. Of course we were ecstatic, albeit briefly.

Saturday night was where it got truly interesting, with Saturday being the first Kansas City Chiefs pre-season game of the 2008 season. We'll just say that the folks who were there for the game didn't want to yield the floor to the Irish music. Which was fine. Scheduled to start at 8:00, we got to start off the evening with a 50-minute break before the Tullies started getting restless. By then, the Chiefs were taking their shellacking back to the locker-room for half-time, so we started up. The remainder of the game (as much as one could call it) was watched on mute. A sizable number of regulars turned out both nights to support us in our first appearance at the pub, including Dan and Norma, Pat and Carol, Mike and Tammy, Lloyd, Dale, Dawn, "Cedar Rapids" Bob, Phyllis, and Scott and Louise..  
 

August 8th-9th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

We returned to our favorite local haunt - O'Malley's Pub - for a hot, sweltering weekend down in Weston's famous cellars. Friday night was surprisingly busy. Regular Terry showed up with what came to be known that evening as the "Catholic harem", and jammed into the snug right across from the stage. They insisted on a toast germane to their religious sensibilities, and Mark graciously obliged them with a toast to his Holy Father, Pope Benedict. Kudos to Sherrie and Danny, and Sherrie's brother Doug, all of whom having, a month earlier, reserved rooms at one of the town's B&Bs after having learned we'd be there this weekend to play. Boys and girls, being a good fan doesn't get much better than that. Another crowd upstage-right included Marlan, Kelly, Bill, Marcia, and Tara, who all seemed to enjoy the show greatly. Marlan whistled the night away, and enjoyed himself so much that he returned Saturday evening with another friend. Also present were die-hards Lloyd, Bob (down from Cedar Rapids - yay!), and Scott and Louise who were celebrating Scott's plenty-something birthday.

Saturday was another big night with a ton of regulars. Dan and Pat were there shoring up the Rogues contingent with a small handful of folks including Russ, Mike and Tammy, and some friends (one of whom was celebrating a birthday). Mark's mother Dawn was joined by Lloyd and Dale (celebrating his birthday). Rich and Kathleen sat in another snug with Tony, and Dave and his date. Marion and Diane showed up, as did Keith Benjamin (whose seemingly-out-of-nowhere appearance seemed incredibly coincidental as the band had brought him a special souvenir from Scotland). Other appearances worth noting included Marlan and Christine, Tommy Lee (not that one), and John Mooney (there celebrating his 21st birthday). Three birthdays in one night. Imagine the odds. It was like Birthdayapalooza..  
 

June 14th-29th
SCOTLAND TOUR 2008

For the second consecutive summer, Tullamore ventured into the international scene, this time with a 7-concert, 16-day tour of Scotland. Our foursome (including Mary's husband, Kurt) left Kansas City on June 12th, arriving in Edinburgh on the 13th, and immediately launched into tourist-mode.

The tour rambled through Lochgelly, Troywood, Dundee, and Arbroath; Huntly, Keith, and Craigellachie; Elgin, Inverness, and Tain; Fort William, Glenfinnan, and Arisaig; Pitlochry, Dunkeld, and Birnam; Stirling, Falkirk, and back to Edinburgh; Dunfermline, Glasgow, and Irvine; Ayr, Girvan, Newtown Stewart and Wigtown; Castle Douglas and Dumfries; Moffat, Buccleuch, and Hawick; back to Glasgow; and finally St Andrews.

We turned in performances at the Bettridge Centre in Newtownhill, Astley Hall in Arisaig, the Magnum Theatre in Harbourside, the Theatre Royal in Dumfries, the Tower Mill Theatre in Hawick, Gilmorehill G12 in Glasgow, and the Byre Theatre in St Andrews.

We took in such sites as Edinburgh Castle; the Secret Bunker just outside of Anstruther; a tour of the RRS Discovery in Dundee; Arbroath Abbey; Glamis Castle (just from the outside); Dunottar Castle and Stonehaven; Huntly Castle (the outside only); the Speyside Cooperage just outside of Craigellachie; Elgin Cathedral; Fort George; the battlefield at Culloden Muir, Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle; a ride on the Jacobite Steam Train between Fort William and Arisaig; Neptune's Staircase (the series of seven locks at the foot of the Caledonian Canal); the pass at Killiecrankie; the Edradour Distillery; Doune Castle ("You don't frighten us, English pig dogs."); Stirling Castle and the Wallace National Monument; the impressive Falkirk Wheel; Dunfermline Abbey and Palace; Linlithgow Palace; the Burns House Museum and Curling House in Mauchline; a lovely stroll through Wigtown - Scotland's "National Book Town"; Threave Castle and Caerlaverock Castle; a late-night walking tour of Dumfries (guided by our man Robertson Wellen) with stops at the Globe Inn and the Hole In the Wall); Melrose Abbey; Craigmillar Castle; and a tour of Collessie Feeds' Clydesdale ranch. Besides the performances, and all of these wonderful attractions and beautiful sites, there were two high points in the tour that towered above the rest.

One was the incredibly warm welcome we received in the home of Willie and Diane Morrison, in Tain. Willie and Diane are the parents of Hugh Morrison, our friend and fellow musician who now lives just outside of Houston TX. At Hugh's request, Willie and Diane graciously opened their home, and cupboards, to us when we were traveling in the vicinity of Inverness. In addition to a great visit, a hearty dinner, and warm beds, and a brief moment when everyone (Willie included) dragged out their instruments to play some music, there was a lot of loving from Bruce, the Morrison's cute West Highland Terrier.

The other high point was a small diversion to hook up with Ed Miller, and a bus-load of musicians and music-lovers who were taking part in one of Ed's Songs of Scotland tours. We drove cross-country from Fort William to Birnam, unwittingly pulling into the parking lot of the Birnam House Hotel, the very hotel in which Ed and his guests would be staying, just as their bus pulled in. We joined Ed's group for an incredible dinner at the hotel, to be followed by a presentation on the Aberdeenshire music tradition by Tam and Maggie Spiers, and a two-hour session next door at the Tap Inn.  
 

June 6th-7th
PLAZA PUB / TEXAS SCOTTISH FESTIVAL

Less than one month after performing there, we turned up again for a weekend in Arlington. We flew into Love Field (our first foray into the area flying on Southwest). Leah picked us up at the airport and whisked us off to the Plaza Pub in Arlington (with a stop at her house to pick up some gear on the way). Fortunately, it was an early flight, so there was ample time to set up after arriving. Our contact-list was still a mess and we were performing opposite the opening night of a major Celtic music event (just down the road, no less), so the crowd was understandably small-ish. But it was still a rip-roaring evening that flew by. Bob had arrived early-on in the evening, so when we were all packed up, we rode back to Chez Harmon with him.

The next morning, Leah arrived to pick us up (Bob included), and it was off (with a brief stop for some McBreakfast) to Maverick Stadium at the University of Texas, Arlington for the Texas Scottish Festival. It was our second year there, and the reception was very warm indeed. We ended up back in the Glen Uig Tent sharing the stage with Hugh Morrison & Kendall Rogers, Jed Marum & Friends (including Don Gabbert), Colin Grant-Adams, and Seamus Stout. With David Shaw's technical expertise on-hand, it was one great set after another (and a lot of nice visiting). We spent a good deal of time with Jed, Hugh, Kendall, and Don, and their weekend was all the better for it. There was a bit of conversation with Hugh regarding our upcoming Scotland tour, with Hugh suggesting a visit with his parents who live in Tain. There was also similar dialogue with Ed Miller (who was performing in the Glen Finnan Tent) regarding the chance of hooking up in Scotland, as he'll be over there with one of his Songs of Scotland tours - whose schedule will overlap our tour-schedule. Over the weekend, we also got to hang out with Al, EJ, and Emily (from Clandestine) and rub shoulders with Brian McNeill (both of whom were also performing sets at the Glen Finnan Tent). At one point Saturday late-afternoon (24 hours to the minute before the group's Sunday departure-time), we coordinated with Will to jump on-line and check us in for our flight home... otherwise we'd have never been able to locate enough overhead space for the guitar and hammered dulcimer on the jet. When the evening rolled around, Rachel and Mary headed off to the Lassies Galore! performance - which was noticeably thinner with the absence of Kathleen and Marj (from the Trinity River Whalers), so some 'support' guys were invited onstage (Al, EJ, and Mark). Then after the performance, it was off to late-dinner at TGI Friday's, and home to Chez Bob's.

The next morning, there wasn't time for the usual IHOP extravaganza, so when Leah arrived to pick us up, a pit-stop was made at Rock Island Donuts (the next-best thing to breakfast). Then it was back to Maverick Stadium for one more set at the Festival, a little more listening and visiting, several rounds of goodbyes and hugs, and then a nice leisurely trip back to Love Field where we would bid adieu to Bob and Leah until August (when we return for a weekend at the 'Dallas pubs').  
 

May 17th
KEARNEY IRISH FESTIVAL

This past weekend found us giving our first performance for the Kearney Irish Festival, the first performance held at the Kearney Amphitheatre - Kearney's new, state-of-the-art, 4,500-person outdoor venue nestled in the picturesque hills of Jesse James Park. The Festival was sponsored by First Missouri National Bank and Form-Tech. The Lucky Charms started off the afternoon's festivities with a long set, followed by oursleves and Bob Reeder (who also served as Master of Ceremonies), with Connie Dover wrapping up the evening. It was a beautiful day, the sky spotted with big clouds, and the temperature was unusually warm (given how mild it has been so far this season). The crowd was predictably small, what with this being the inaugural year of the Festival and the inaugural performance of a new venue... but where they lacked in numbers, they made up in enthusiasm. Overall, it was a great day, everyone was happy with the turnout (patrons, performers, and sponsors alike), and the sponsors are already looking forward to next year.  
 

May 9th-10th
PLAZA PUB / TIPPERARY INN

The crash of Mark's hard-drive (and loss of their contact-list) prevented us from getting the word out about their quarterly visit to the DFW metroplex, but that hardly put the damper on the good times to be had. Our weekend started with an atypically-earlier flight than we've been accustomed to taking which got us on the ground in Irving nearly four hours ahead of show-time (rather than the ordinary thirty-five minutes). Leah was there to pick us up at the airport and, once the gear and luggage was safely stowed in the van, we were off. We stopped for a nice dinner at Cracker Barrel and still made it to the Plaza Pub with a seemingly luxurious amount of set-up time. Absent the usual Tulla-gram that would give advance notice of the our performance, the crowd was understandably smaller. But the regulars turned out and the evening was most enjoyable.

The next morning started slowly. A visit to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival was our original intent - where we might catch up with our performer-friends we see only occasionally. But with the play-it-by-ear, shoot-from-the-hip manner for which we're famous, we opted, instead, to get some much-needed rest and make the day a more relaxing one. After a lazy morning, we piled into Bob's SUV and headed off to the Irving Mall Cinema to see Iron Man, one of the best comic-book movies ever. Afterwards, it was over to On the Border for lunch, then back to Chez Bob for a siesta, then it was off to the Tipperary Inn for another great night. The Tipp's regulars were out in droves, and were particularly responsive (especially to the news of our upcoming appearance at the Texas Scottish Festival). After a big evening, it was back to Bob's.

But the weekend was far from over. After the trademark mega-breakfast at IHOP, we headed over to Dallas to appear on KNON 89.3 FM's North Texas Polka Radio which is hosted by Rachel's aunt, "Polka Jennifer" Milton. Rachel's grandmother Thea was there as well, but didn't come into the studio. It was a very fun appearance, and we did some live performances on the air. Afterwards, goodbyes were said all around, and it was off to the airport with time to spare. But it wouldn't be long before we were once again in the area...  
 

May 3rd
BRIDGEPORT SCOTTISH FESTIVAL & CELTIC GATHERING

If the Midwest extends as far north as Chicago and as far south as Dallas, then our visit this past weekend to Bridgeport WV for the Scottish Festival and Celtic Gathering would mark our first gig outside of the region in four years. At 870 miles from Kansas City, it is easily the furthest from home we've been (on this side of the Atlantic). It was a spectacular weekend for us, notwithstanding the on-and-off drizzle and humidity. We flew into Pittsburgh where we met Mark's nephew Luke (the lead-singer for Double Shot, Pittsburgh's award-winning all-vocal band) who would be joining us for the weekend's fun. We all piled into a rental and made the two-hour drive to Bridgeport in an hour and forty-five minutes. Once there, we hooked up with Dawn, Mark's mom, who had driven out from Hagerstown MD earlier that day, and who would also be joining us for the weekend.

The next morning, it was off to the City Park to kick off the entertainment on the Main Stage. Over the course of the day, we were joined by the Canadian Celtic rock powerhouse Hunting McLeod, the Washington DC area's excellent pan-Celtic band Iona, and one of Scotland's best singing exports (now a native of Austin TX), Ed Miller. It was a great day of music, and the crowd soaked up every last note. The good times were made even better by a reunion with the Foxes (Dennis, Ellen and Kathy) who drove in from Cincinnati because they just don't get enough of us out Ohio way. Between sets, there were plenty of vendor-tents to visit and plenty of food to eat. We had the chance to visit quite a bit with Ed as well as with Corey, Steve, and Alan (from Hunting McLeod). After the majority of the performing was done, ourselves, Mark's family, and the Foxes high-tailed it down the road to Applebee's for a dinner away from the crowds before returning to the High School for the evening-concert. Ed emceed the show which featured sets by all three bands, Ed, and world-renowned piper Alasdair Gillies. After the concert, it was off to Buffalo Wild Wings to wind down the evening with the company of Ed and the sound-techs. Then it was back to the hotel to crash in Iona's room and visit with Barbara, Bernard, Chuck, Jim, and Cassie for an hour or so before heading off to bed.

Sunday morning, Dawn was up and away early on the road back to Hagerstown. We had already made our goodbyes to the Foxes the previous evening, so all that was left to do was to head off to Bob Evans for a hearty breakfast before beginning the drive back to Pittsburgh. We took advantage of the drive to listen to the Double Shot CD Luke had brought, giving it six enthusiastic thumbs up. Once back at the airport, we made their goodbyes to Luke and headed off to our gate (leaving Luke to sit, forlornly, waiting for his mother to come pick him up).  
 

April 19th
SPRING HOOLIE

We continued the tradition of the Rogue's Gallery Spring Hoolie this past weekend with the sixth installment of the annual event. Our die-hard regulars turned out en masse for the affair along with a handful or so of new additions. The format of the gig returned to being unplugged, the result of which being a much more intimate performance. The set-list made it about 2/3rds of the way around the room with only a few surprise-requests before we took a break. During the break, there was a minor presentation by us to the Rogues of some USMC clan badges. After a break and some R&R, the entertainment resumed, with the 'solo performance' component of the evening - Dan's bemusing request that each of us do a solo performance. Mary led off with a performance of the traditional English folk-song A Maid in Bedlam. Rachel followed with her rendition of the White Stripes' We Are Going To Be Friends. Mark wrapped up the solo performances with Andrew Calhoun's modern folk-ballad My Balls, and Jim Croce's I Got A Name. And then it was back to the music. The second set lasted just another hour or so, by which time the evening was a wrap. Another half-hour of socializing followed before everyone was kicked out. Everybody's already looking forward to RGSH-VII.  
 

April 4th-6th
NORMAN MEDIEVAL FAIR

We returned to Norman this past weekend for another long weekend of friends, fans, and fun at the Norman Medieval Fair. There were a number of differences between this season and the last few, beginning with our Thursday-evening arrival in Norman at the new Best Western, about a mile from the site... the last few years, we had the good fortune to stay with Ron and Donna Deluca (past king and queen), but they were tied up with family business out of state. Friday morning, we arrived at Reaves Park only to find that the amount of shade had been drastically reduced on account of the severe ice-storm that hit in January and destroyed about 75% of the park's trees. While we repeated a year on the Unicorn Stage, there were plenty of new faces. Sandy Lee (Simpkin the Foole) and his sound-system had gone down to the Gryphon Stage while Dirk VanBuskirk brought his rig over to the Unicorn. Returning to the Fair this season (and to the Unicorn) was Istanpitta, the Texas-based early-music ensemble consisting of Al Cofrin, Abby Green, EJ Jones, and Michelle Levy. The two bands alternated sets with Skip Selvey (Harmless T Jester) for the majority of the weekend. Friday evening, we (accompanied by weekend friend/roadie Roger Ruffner) joined Sandy and Mary Kay, and Skip for a long dinner (and dessert) at Applebee's before turning in for the night. Saturday saw even nicer weather than Friday, a massive crowd with a much larger percentage of adults (Friday was 'Kids Day'), and the arrival of the Merry Sisters and their session-in-a-tent ©. Regrettably, it would not be until Sunday that Rachel and Mark would be able to get over to their little oasis of music. It was a great day that ended with a great dinner at Misal of India - with the foursome from Istanpitta, Vicki Farmer, Craig and Alicia Bamford, and a handful of the guys from the Bilge Pumps, which dinner was followed by an utterly indulgent visit to the Marble Slab Creamery (it was, after all, two doors down, so it was virtually an obligatory visit), and an odyssey to Wal-Mart. Then it was back to the Best Western for the night.

Sunday's weather was both the warmest and the windiest of the weekend. The day brought a welcome visit from Delbert and Sherri, their son Jeremy Biggs (who was celebrating his 26th birthday), as well as Jeremy's long-lost sister Kristen (of whose existence we had begun to doubt). Of course, the Biggs family's appearance led to all sorts of fun and games (Stretch and Bocce)... but it would wind up being a wearisomely-long day for us. With our return-trip to Kansas City waiting in the wings, we usually get the early schedule at the stage, giving us the chance to finish our last set and be on the road by 4:30. This year, that slot went to Istanpitta, who had flights to catch (of course flights trump all other requirements). So we were out on the site until 6:00, setting us up to leave at about 7:00 (and get back to Kansas City about 1:00 AM). Something will have to be done about that next season.  
 

March 22nd
LIVE IN CONCERT @ UNITY TEMPLE ON THE PLAZA

Saturday evening was a landmark performance for us as we turned in our premiere concert in the US at the beautiful Unity Temple on the Plaza. We've performed in concert before - on a few occasions (with the Missouri Valley Folklife Society as part of their Metro Artists Concert series), but this was our first exclusive concert-appearance.

Being a self-produced concert, the evening started out earlier that afternoon with us stumbling through the litany of preparations with no semblance of ease or grace whatsoever. We were able to hand off many of the preparations after arriving at Unity Temple and hooking up with a few handfuls of support-staff, including: Ian, Arielle, James, Dillon, and Martin (of the Plaza YOU, UTP's high-school-aged youth group); Charity and Carmen, and Christine, (Mark's daughters); Kelsey (from Rachel's studio); Kurt (Mary's husband); and Gretchen and Sean (Rachel's sister and boyfriend). We finished the sound-check and completed our preparations for the concert (with 20 minutes to spare).

About 175 people turned out for the show, including a dozen or so out-of-towners: Dawn (Mark's mom, from Hagerstown MD); Bruce and Lupita (Mark's brother and sister-in-law, from Austin TX); Joseph and Mary (Mary's father and mother, from St Joseph MO); Bob (from Cedar Rapids IA); Becky and William Grotts (from Parsons KS); Ray and Beth (from Emporia KS); and Scott and Louise (from Maryville MO). Valerie and Mark showed up and manned a table for MVFS. And the Plaza YOUers operated concessions during the intermission as a service-project for the Plaza Uniteens (UTP's junior-high-school-aged youth group).

Steve Denny, a close friend of the band since its inception, hosted the concert, and turned in a gracious introduction. From the first song, the crowd was very friendly, attentive, and appreciative. And we responded with one of our best performances ever. Kurt photographed the concert for us. And Phyllis arranged an after-party at the Tap Room at Waldo Pizza, where at least 75 people went to hang out and visit following the show. 
 

March 17th
ST PATRICK'S DAY @ JAYHAWK TOWERS / O'MALLEY'S PUB

The Day was ill-served by the weather - the chilly downpour put the damper on our inclination to breakfast at Browne's Market to the pleasant grooves of Dog Tree. So we made a late morning out of it before getting ourselves together and heading off to Topeka to perform in the Florentine Room at the Jayhawk Tower for the Topeka's St Patrick's Day Celebration. There was only a slightest drizzle of rain in Topeka (compared with the stiff rainfall in Kansas City), but it was still sufficient to shorten the Parade, and hurry it to an early ending. Consequently, the post-Parade celebratory crowd arrived at the Jayhawk Tower early, and we kicked off our first set early. After an hour or so, we took a break. Hot on their heels were the Pipers of the Plains, Topeka's own pipe and drum band. After a thunderous set from the band, they turned the show over to the O'Shea Sisters - the young, lovely duo from Lawrence whose music could best be described as "cowboy meets Celtic". After a generous half-hour from them, we took over the show for our second set.

From there, we packed up and high-tailed it to O'Malley's Pub, where we joined the likes of Bob Reeder, Ellis Island, Flannigan's Right Hook, and Connacht Town, whom Mike and Corey had rounded up to provide music for the Pub's big St Patrick's Day bash. We to took the stage in the upper cellar at 8:00, and played until midnight (with one break). With St Patrick's Day being on a Monday, there weren't as many no-holds-barred partiers as there were the previous year (when it was on a Saturday, and the Pub was a madhouse). The Pub was still overflowing, but the crowd was very focused on the music and having a great time (rather than merely getting hammered). Kudos to all the regulars who attended - Gene, Dale, Marion and Diane, Phyllis and Wendy, Damian and Seán, Fred and Linda - they all helped to make it a great evening.  
 

March 14th, 16th
IRISH AMERICAN CLUB OF SHAWNEE / UNITY TEMPLE ON THE PLAZA

It would be a profound understatements to say that the long St Patrick's Day weekend was a busy one for us.

The whirlwind ensued as we returned, this past Friday evening, to perform for the group that gave rise to their international touring career, the Irish American Club of Shawnee. But it wasn't to the usual stomping grounds of Old Shawnee Town... this time it was to the Shawnee Civic Center. For the fourth year running, we had the privilege of performing for the annual mixer. As always, Damian Stack was among the honored visitors from Listowel, this time being accompanied by Seán Moriarty. Access to the room was limited to just one hour before the event began, so the music started a little on the late side. After an hour, we set their instruments down to have a bite to eat, and the program began, in earnest, with recognition of (and presentations for) the Club officers, local dignitaries, and the visiting Listowellians. By the end of a second set, most of the crowd had packed it in. A small handful followed the evening with a visit to the Ribbon Room for a little comedy, and then over to the Court of Appeals for a nightcap.

Sunday morning found us over at Unity Temple on the Plaza, performing prelude-music for the Palm Sunday service in anticipation of this Saturday evening's concert there. From there, it was into the van and driving (like the fabled bat out of Hell) to Emerald KS to attend (as visitors this time, rather than performers) the annual fund-raiser dinner and raffle at St Patrick's Church. When we arranged to appear at Unity Temple, we did so knowing we would have to take a pass on the fun of the annual dinner, so we handed over the performance to Dog Tree (the humorously-named phoenix that rose from the ashes of Shenanigans), featuring Victor Dougherty, Richelle Basgall, Rachel Bowerman, and Chris Carr (and, occasionally, Tara McCullough). We arrived with about 30 minutes left in the dinner's agenda (and scooped up the very last of the exceptional corned beef). Much to our satisfaction, Dog Tree ran long, and we were treated to a show as enjoyable as the meal (if not more so).  
 

March 8th
ST PATRICK'S IRISH FEST

This past Saturday evening saw our return, once again, to NKC's St Patrick's Parish for their annual Irish Fest. The new line-up this season featured Jody Watson kicking off the evening with some rousing bagpiping, then a set from us, some ceilidh-dancing by the Clanna Eireanne Irish Dancers, a set by the new kids on the block - the Shortleaf Band (who get two thumbs up for having revved up the quality of their performance by an order of magnitude over the last few months), and a second (final) set by ourselves. The corned beef and cabbage dinner was excellent and the atmosphere of the Festival was boisterous and fun-filled. And as always, sound-tech extraordinaire Lane Turner was present to ensure everyone sounded perfect. Kudos to regulars Scott and Louise, and Charles and Kristine, who always brighten our outings with their presence.  
 

February 29th - March 2nd
NORTH TEXAS IRISH FESTIVAL

The first milestone of our twelfth season came in the form of our debut appearance, this past weekend, at the North Texas Irish Festival, the largest Irish festival in the Southwest. We had a set each of three days the Festival ran, and had the pleasure of sharing a couple of stages with headliners Ed Miller (with John Taylor & Rich Brotherton) and Seamus Kennedy, and regional favorites Jigsaw, Shift, Beyond the Pale, Bounds Street, the Trinity River Whalers, BEHAN, Jim Flanagan, Spriggan, Amberhawke, and the Irish Rogues. It was a beautiful weekend, by and large, and the Festival set record attendance.

The weekend started out with an early-afternoon flight to DFW, where we were picked up by Leah and Bob - who ordinarily serve as our chauffeur and host when we visit the area. However, this weekend we would be staying at the Radisson Dallas and commuting by way of the shuttle. So Leah got to make do with just hanging out. The first stop was at the Radisson to check in and drop off luggage, and then over to Fair Park. John Hebley picked us up and whisked us over to the instrument check-in, where we unloaded our instruments and gear and set off to wandering about the Festival. After some window-shopping and some catching-up, we grabbed our instruments and gear and headed off to the Star & Harp Pub Stage to tune and set-up for their 9:30 (PM) set, and catch as much as they could of Beyond the Pale. We took the stage shortly after 9:00 and had a leisurely sound-check courtesy of the very-capable sound-tech, Dustin. The crowd was surprisingly large (considering that we were performing opposite the Scottish headliner Battlefield Band) as was the response. At the end of the hour-long set, we visited with a couple handfuls of folks who stayed around to meet them. Our visits were so long, in fact, that we ended up getting the bum's rush out of Fair Park by the security personnel (who wanted to go home). It was back to the Radisson, courtesy of Leah and Bob, who dropped us off and headed home. There were no sessions Friday night, so we had a very-late dinner at Vanessa's while visiting with Bob Hayes (with whom we would hang out on-and-off over the course of the weekend). Then it was off to their Sleep-Number beds (ahhhh).

The next morning saw breakfast with Richard Jones and Kathleen Jackson (of the Trinity River Whalers) at the German-styled Black Forest Café and Bakery. It was an Epicurean delight, one which warranted a nap from Mary once we all returned to the hotel. Rachel and Mark went on to the Festival, and did a lot of visiting, listening and shopping. The late set-time (7:00 PM) allowed Mary to get a serious nap in before heading over to the Park and catching up. We followed a very entertaining set by Seamus Kennedy on the In The Tradition Stage where, once again, the crowd was much bigger than expected. It was this set that was attended by handfuls of friends that Mary and Mark had made while performing at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival, and the reunions afterwards (some of months, some years) were many and heartening. After the performing day was over, it was back to the hotel, and then out on the town with Richard for another late dinner at Café Brazil. After dinner, it was back to the hotel to wander around and visit with the fifty-or-so folks in the bar or sit in on one of the six sessions in the hallways or meeting-rooms before heading up to one of the party-rooms on the ninth floor for yet another session. Mark peeled himself away at about 2:00 AM, and the girls followed about forty-five minutes later.

The next morning was, understandably, a slightly later one. We went out to a nearby Panera's for breakfast with Richard. On returning to the hotel, Mark shuttled off to the Festival fairly quickly (having packed prior to breakfast), leaving the girls to finish their packing, check out, and head out to Fair Park one or two shuttles later. The weather had gone overcast and breezy and the temperature dropped 10°, but it was still very pleasant. This would be the day for finalizing purchases and for making sure all the bands we wanted to listen to had been gotten to. We went on at 4:00 (PM) back on the Star & Harp Pub Stage, following a kicking set by Beyond the Pale. Yet again, the response from the audience was incredibly enthusiastic (we've been spoiled by this festival). Afterwards, there was a meal at the Hospitality Room, some loose-end visits and purchases, about 30 minutes of the Whalers' final set, about 45 minutes of Altan's surprise-visit set, and then off to the airport with Leah and Bob. It was an incredible weekend overall, and we counted ourselves lucky to have connected (or reconnected) with every friend, fan, and fellow-performer there. This entry has been fairly devoid of names, but only because they are too numerous to list (and remember). Suffice it to say that from Adam to Wahid (they didn't meet anyone whose names began with X, Y, or Z), the list of friendly faces would look more like the credits for the Lord of the Rings. You all know who you are.

Thanks for a great weekend!

Epilogue: After goodbyes at the airport were said, the remainder of the trip turned into what could only be described as an episode of a poorly-written, one-dimensional sitcom... the plane (on its incoming flight) was delayed a half-hour; it sat on the tarmac, after being boarded, another 20 minutes prior to taking off; the travelers waited at KCI's luggage carousel for another 20 minutes; and we waited for the Blue Bus to economy parking another 20 minutes. By the time Rachel and Mark finally got home, it was 2:45 (AM).  
 

February 8th-9th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

Our lead-off weekend of the year at O'Malley's Pub could hardly have gone better. The February weather was cold but hardly interfered with the prospect of being out. We returned to using the in-ear monitors rather than Mike's new EV wedges, and (to be honest) it truly helped with tailoring the mains for a better sound. The Friday crowd was a little on the thin side until about 8:30 when it began picking up. We played until about 10:00, and a good number of folks went home while we were on our break. The crowd that remained was an attentive one, and the rest of the night was quite enjoyable. Regulars included Jason; Lloyd; Gene; and Scott and Louise. Kurt showed up fairly late in the evening and was persuaded to take Mary home with him.

Saturday was (predictably) a far bigger night from the word go. There was crowd of friendlies there by the time we arrived... Dan and Norma; Pat and Carol; Mike; Ray and Beth; and Carl, Cindy, and Clay (formerly one of Rachel's violin students and his folks). The night started big and got bigger. We played an extra-long first set (until about 10:30), and the pub was still fairly busy when we put a wrap on the night. Friendly faces also included Marion and Diane; Mike and Tammy; Gayla and Mike; and Larry. New faces included JoAnne; Gunther (Saturday's birthday boy); Sarah and friends; and Adam, Steve, and the rest of the Lincoln crowd.

Our next appearance at O'Malley's will be as one of the four bands in their St Patrick's Day gala that will include Flannigan's Right Hook, Ellis Island, and Connacht Town.  
 

February 1st-2nd
PLAZA PUB / TIPPERARY INN

This past weekend saw our first visit to Dallas of the season, and it was nearly perfect. We arrived at DFW a bit late and hit the ground running. Leah was ready with the van, and we were off as soon as all of the gear came off the carousel. A hurried drive and a stop at Taco Bell got us to the Plaza Pub with about 25 minutes to spare before having to start. Of course, there was no way that we were going to make the 8:00 pm start (mental note - Plaza Pub gigs should run from 8:30 to 12:30), so we set up as quickly as possible and launched into song. The crowd was downright huge in comparison to the crowd that was there in November, bigger than one would've imagined possible. Familiar faces included Ed, Devin, and Kyle; Bob; Rickey and Charles; Craig, Terrie, and Sahara Rose; Marita Beth, Leah and Jay, and Tony (who brought Madeline Mary and another two handfuls of folks). New faces included Ron, Joanne, and Patrick; Mark; Bill; Mike; Robert; and Shannon. We told you it was a big crowd.

Saturday started out with a nice, healthy dose of sleeping in, which was followed by an episode of The Soup. After a little more channel-surfing, everybody got themselves together and it was off for an early lunch at the Olive Garden with the Tharps and the Austin Claveys (Bruce and Lupita) who'd driven up to see us that evening. A lazy afternoon nap followed lunch, and then everybody piled into the car to head over to the Tipperary Inn for what turned out to be the best night we've had there. The regulars included Thea, Kathy and Jim, Jenny, Peter, and Christopher and Erin (Rachel's Texas kin); Bruce and Lupita; Bill and Wendy; Leah, Will, Robert, Josie, and Kay-Lee; Bob; Charles, Rickey, and Misty; Steve, Joe, Dave, and Michelle; Eric and Deirdre; Patrick and Beth; Becky and Stuart; and Charlotte, Donna, and Jim. New faces included Lloyd, Sarah, and Tanzie; Cody, Mary, and Judy; and Pierre. And kudos to Jaime and Christy for the incredible job they did taking care of us and the crowd.

With an atypical Sunday afternoon departure, everybody got to sleep in again before marshaling for the customary IHOP farewell-breakfast (which included Mark Whitlock). Then it was off to the airport with Leah. Truth be told, the Dallas audiences are incredibly friendly and accessible... they are why we look forward to our quarterly appearances there with such great anticipation.  
 

January 19th
ROBERT BURNS SUPPER

After having been away from the gala for a couple years, we returned to Tulsa this past Saturday as the featured entertainment for the Robert Burns Supper. The annual black-tie event for the Scottish Club of Tulsa, it was our inaugural performance of our twelfth season. Held at the fashionable Radisson Hotel Tulsa, the dinner featured a moving presentation on the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, a tribute to the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns, some toasts to the lads, the lasses, Scotland, and the USA, piping by the City of Tulsa Pipes and Drums, lots of dancing under the direction of Nicki Phillips, and all the whiskey and haggis you could want. We had the pleasure of sharing a table with long-time friends Roger Ruffner, and Christopher Merle and Melissa Tatum (who was awarded the Silver Thistle, a service award for outstanding contributions to the Club). Also seated at the table were Jerry and Debbie Bryan and Richard and Kami Hoar. An after-party ensued, which managed to get chased out of the party-room that the Club had booked on account of being too loud (hello... it's a PARTY-room...), and winding up in the same ballroom where the Supper was held. It was a truly enjoyable evening, a most welcome return to Tulsa, and a great way to kick off the season.

October 20th-21st
O’MALLEY’S PUB

We found ourselves, appropriately enough, in the bottom cellar of O’Malley’s Pub as we finished off our tenth season. The late-October weekend was predictably brisk. Friday night’s modest-sized audience got a shot in the arm with the arrival of Susi (from Queen’s Gambit, up from Tulsa) and Wendy and Vicki (two of the three MentalPause broads). Mark had been fighting off a cold during the second half of the Fall run and had to pace himself for the entire weekend, so the girls took up the slack... doing a lot of the banter, calling for the toasts, and pulling out songs from [wherever you pull out songs from]. The crowd was sympathetic and attentive, and all was right with the world. Saturday night saw the last assemblage of the year for the Rogues Gallery and Miscreants Table (Dan and Norma, and Pat and Carol). They wasted no time in infusing the big Saturday crowd with their... enthusiasm... and gave no mercy to Mark and his flagging voice. Scott Garten treated everyone to a handful of guest-numbers as did Mike Coakley. It was a big night, and a fun one - a great end to our biggest season to-date. Kudos to all the friendly faces who showed up over the course of the weekend and brightened our evenings, including... Chris and Dave, Scott & Louise, Mike, Larry, Marvin and Connie, Patrick and Missy, Mike and Louise, Greg and Bonnie, Dan & Sherri. And Lloyd (of course).
 

October 13th-14th
WESTON IRISH FESTIVAL / CELTIC HERITAGE FESTIVAL / TIPPERARY INN

This past weekend was the highlight of the year for us. It began with a Friday evening appearance on the Hall Stage at the Weston Irish Festival. By the time we arrived at O’Malley’s, Ellis Island was already taking the Courtyard Stage for their first set of the evening. We disappeared into the deep recesses of the pub to take the stage in the bottom cellar. It was chilly outside, but inside the crowd was warm and we were hot. Sadly, it was to be our only set for the Festival, and we were missed over the remainder of the weekend... but it was a lot of fun while it lasted... and there was a lot of great music to be had, including the Young Dubliners, the Elders, Seven Nations, the Mickey Finns, Connie Dover, Brigid’s Cross, Switchback, and Máirtín Dé Cógáin.

Saturday morning, we hot-footed it to the airport for a way-too-early flight to the DFW Metroplex, where we performed at the Celtic Heritage Festival in Bedford, and the Tipperary Inn in Dallas. We were met at DFW by longtime friend and fan, Leah (who carted us around most of the weekend)... and after a couple of stops at Murphy’s Music (for some gear) and On the Border (for some lunch and some excellent service from Romeo), it was over to Leah’s for a short visit with Will and the kids, and then out to the Celtic Heritage Festival. Notwithstanding the occasional misting, Saturday’s weather was perfect. Our first set was on the FWICA Stage (Ft Worth Irish Cultural Association). We arrived in time to catch sets by Michael Harrison & Linda King, and Paisley Close. After the first set came a great deal of visiting followed by some eating and shopping... then it was over to Leland’s Celtic Stage for another set. Both sets were met with unexpectedly enthusiastic responses from the audiences. After a little more visiting, Leah hustled us off to the Tipperary Inn, where we quickly set up and played for the evening. Again, we were treated to an unbelievably warm reception from the audience. It was a big night for the pub as well, and the staff generously let on that we should expect to be welcomed back whenever we’re in the area. After the night was over, Mark (Whitlock) and Bob chauffered us back to Chez Harmon for a (far too short) night’s rest.

The next morning, it was over to IHOP for the mega-breakfast with the superfan-gang, and then back out to the Festival. Sunday was downright rainy, and we arrived in time for the church service. Then there was just enough time for one more set on the SCMA Stage (Southwest Celtic Music Association) before being hustled to the airport by Leah. It was a great weekend in every context - musical, professional, and (most of all) social. A special thanks to the family, friends, and fans who made this weekend so much fun - Bruce and Lupita, Thea, Kathy and Jim, Peter, Jenny and Wally, Leah and Will (and Robert, Josie, and Kay-Lee), Bob, Mark, Guy, Tony, Wendy and Bill, Roger, Lloyd, Delbert and Sherri, Jay, Stewart and Becky, Charles, Jeff, Linda, Chris and Liz, and Bob. We know there were more of you, but you know what they say about the memory being the first thing to go... And a very special thanks to Craig Lutke and the Bilge Pumps for letting us borrow some of their sound gear for the gig at the Tipperary Inn.
 

September 30th - October 1st
KANSAS CITY RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL

It was back out to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival for us this past weekend, and our final weekend out there for the run could hardly have been more pleasant. It was a beautiful Fall weekend (though lovely as Sunday was, Saturday was far lovelier), and the crowds were huge, responsive, and generous. The flotilla down the road at the Kansas Speedway was going "pedal to the metal" (ha!) all weekend long, and the denizens of mid-16th century Canterbury were regaled with 200+ mph of tire-whine floating through across the site. Scotland Rising was there for the second half of the run, taking the stage where Tartanic had been the first few weekends, and it was great fun to see Bryan, John, and Daniel again. We finally broke down and did some street shows, flexing our muscle and showing that we can clog the lanes with the best of them (a special thanks to Jim for letting us borrow his sweet spot on the bridge between Yorkshire Wharf and the Old North Bramble). There were hijinks a’plenty all weekend long. The Limeybirds’ "My Kitty Cat" song plunged the depths of double-entendre at the Royal Cigar Smoker, as did Chuy’s jokes at the Pub Sing. A nice dinner (at Sakura’s) and dessert (at Coldstone Creamery) with Kurt followed Saturday’s performance. Sunday, the Chiefs proved that the weather wasn’t the only hot thing in Kansas City that weekend with their 41-0 shellacking of the 49ers. News of their win made it through the grapevine, buoying the spirits of performers and patrons alike who double as Chiefs fans. There was a joint Jolly Rogers / Limeybirds / MentalPause photo shoot at the Wharf Stage shortly after the gates opened that was more entertaining than all of their shows put together. And a hot, sweaty day ended with a Pub Sing that broke new ground on tomfoolery, and a pleasant dinner with Phyllis at Jose Peppers. There was some nice visits over the course of the weekend from Michael, Dale, Lloyd, Mike and Kay, Gretchen and Sean, Martin and Arielle, and Jim, Julie, Lauren, Gabrielle, Caitlin, and Starla. Highlights for the weekend included Charity’s chase of Mark at Saturday evening’s Pub Sing, and our Sunday afternoon visit with Rick and Richelle, Mike, Sandy and Mary Kay, and Misty, and Genna’s dancing.
 

September 23rd-24th
McPHERSON SCOTTISH FESTIVAL

This past weekend found us returning to the McPherson Scottish Festival. It had been a little while since their 2002 appearance, but seemed like only yesterday. Notwithstanding a little salt-and-peppering on the parts of Dr Mike and Chuck, it was the same great festival it was four years back. Friday night started out with a Clan Fire Ceremony and the singing of Alex Beaton. Unfortunately, we missed it on account of an equipment snafu (and we owe Kurt Hanover but plenty for his patience, forbearance, long-suffering, and sense of humor in driving to Hellandgone KS to minimize the fallout). Saturday started brisk and turned into a mild, breezy Fall day. We had the great fortune to share the Edinburgh Tent with Masters of the Celtic Harp (William Jackson and Gráinne Hambly). We had met Billy a few years earlier at the Swannanoa Gathering, and the reunion was a pleasant one. Billy and Gráinne delivered the most spellbinding music at the Festival by far. Meanwhile, the Glasgow Tent was buzzing with the music and charm of Alex Beaton, and the magic and expertise of Shadow Creek (Nikki, Kathy, Dave, and Jim), one of Wichita’s aspiring bluegrass bands. Early Saturday evening, all the musicians gathered over at the Holiday Manor ballroom for the evening concert, with Alex kicking off the evening, followed by Shadow Creek, then Tullamore. Gráinne and Billy took the stage to perform on our last number, and remained for their own set. The audience was attentive and appreciative, and the performers made the most of being able to perform free from the... accompaniment... of any nearby bagpiper.

Sunday, was a bright and sunny day with a mild breeze. The audiences were back in force, the music again well-received. We had a pretty fruitful showing with our CD-sales, and the patrons were quite vocal all weekend long with their compliments and face-time with us. When it came time to leave, we couldn’t quite bring ourselves to leave the Festival entirely behind, so we left our CDs there. Of course this was the snafu to bookend the road-trip with, and was followed (50 miles later) with a slightly panicked call to Chuck to make sure the CDs were there. They were. It was good to see familiar faces - Ray, Fred, - and make new acquaintances - Lynn, Bill and Janice, Alistair and Moira, Sean and Alta (congratulations again!), Kristine and Larry, Clinton, Roger, and Mike and Kelly. Special thanks to Chuck and Jeff, the magicians behind the mixers, without whose help we could hardly have sounded so good.
 

September 9th-10th, 16th-17th
KANSAS CITY RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL

Our appearances at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival the past two weekends were two of the three we’d be making out there in total this Fall. The first was a fairly gray weekend, with Saturday being rather pleasant and Sunday being drizzly on and off. Rachel was up in Buffalo NY maid-of-honoring for a close friend, so Rachel 1.0 and Tara filled in for the weekend. Saturday was the usual first-day-out-at-fair... getting-back-into-the-routine, catching up with all of the visiting acts, and making a point to catch all the new bits folks had put into their shows. Some of the more noteworthy developments include Lisa Prosser-Dodds as Queen Elizabeth (huzzah!); the Jolly Rogers’ new backstage utopia; MentalPause’s new production numbers; Lezlie Revelle’s latest venture, Maiden’s Whymsie; the Washing Well Wenches; the Limeybirds’ arrangement of "I Used to Work in London"; and Chuy’s new joke. The Royal Cigar Smoker recaptured a sense of familiarity, returning to the Royal Deck and the tittilating and tasteful >snerk< direction of the Lord Mayor’s Company. Saturday evening saw us going different directions for dinner - Mary going with Kurt, Rachel, Tara, Tom and Kelly to Barley’s Brewhaus, and Mark visiting with the Limeys over sushi at Sakura. The highlights of the weekend were an impromptu performance for the Queen in the lane on Saturday morning (one that brought tears to her eyes, and no we’re not that bad), and Bill and Hazel’s visit to the fair Sunday afternoon.

The second weekend, Rachel was back and we were back up to speed. There were a couple of improvements in our schedule... the morning set at Hunter’s Glen (with Tartanic’s pipes and drums going eighteen ways ‘til Sunday 25 yards away) was replaced by a set at the Cup and Chaucer, Canterbury’s coffeehouse... and the afternoon set at Hunter’s Glen (with Tartanic’s pipes and drums...) was replaced by a set at the DaVinci Crane, the perfect location to snag a crowd of people as they were leaving the joust. Saturday started out pleasant and got hot. There were some delightful visits over the course of the day with Sean and Tina, Ray and Beth, and Mike. Dave (Chuy) unveiled a couple of more groaners for the Pub Sing. And that was the day. That evening, two-dozen-plus performers and friends descended on Sakura to get on board the sushi express. That epicurean extravaganza went on for a couple of hours before everyone cried ‘uncle’ and left. Sunday started out mild and became pleasant (notwithstanding Mark leaving his kilt at home and having to go back and get it). The highlight of the day was performing for Astral Sea, and the pleasant visit that followed.
 

September 1st-3rd
O’MALLEY’S PUB / KANSAS CITY IRISH FESTIVAL

The Fall run kicked off this past weekend with a mildly busy weekend that started Friday evening with a performance at O’Malley’s Pub. The evening started out with some tuning drama and a tiny delay. But the tiny crowd was patient and forgiving, and was presently rewarded. And it quickly grew into a larger, friendly-face-filled crowd. Marion was camped out before the music even began. Anthony, and Jason and SueAnn made an appearance. New faces also included Michael, and Kathleen, Cynthia, and Mike (a different Mike), who were there to celebrate Kathleen’s imminent departure for the Marines, and Jen who was there with a group of friends to celebrate her 22nd birthday. The evening kicked into high gear as we came out of our break, and the crowd remained strong almost all the way ‘til midnight.

Saturday afternoon, we returned to Crown Center to perform at the Kansas City Irish Festival. This year, we played at the Atrium Stage inside Crown Center following some incredible music by Tin Cup Prophette and the duo of Irish accordionist John Redmond and guitarist Mick Heffernan. The stage was not officially on the Irish Fest grounds, but the spirit certainly spilled over to it, and the gathering there responded heartily to our performance. we had the pleasure of some nice visits with Glen Road’s Mike Dugger, Kelly Dougherty and Something For the House’s Scott Moye and Kevin Kiley, along with Kevin’s wife Martha. And it was rewarding to see so many friends in the audience... kudos to Lloyd, Scott and Louise, Kristine and Charles, Michael, Steve, Diane and Peter, Mike and Karen, Todd and Stacy, Sara and family, Jason, Christopher, Judith, and Sandy.

From KCIF, it was back up to O’Malley’s Pub for Saturday night’s performance... but there wasn’t much of a need to rush as the Bilge Pumps were playing the opening set. They were up from Dallas playing at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, and were looking to get in some extra stage-time. And since we were going to have to race to get back to O’Malley’s in time for the 8:00 PM start... well let’s just say it was a match made in Heaven. They had their six-man, shanty-singing, big-energy mojo working, and the crowd was thoroughly entertained. We took the stage about 9:30, and finished up the night, cruising on the energy the Pumps had generated. Tara made a surprise showing, joining us for a few numbers as did Mike. And there was a large contingent of Tullies on Saturday night as well... kudos to Lloyd, Dan, Larry, Pat and Carol, Adam and Kim, Scott and Louise, Terry, Michael, Anthony, Kathleen, Rusty, and Jason.
 

June 10th
KANSAS CITY SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES / GOVERNOR STUMPY’S

We wrapped up our spring run and the first half of our busiest season ever this past weekend with performances at the Kansas City Scottish Highland Games and Governor Stumpy’s. This year, the Games found new digs, moving to E H Young Riverfront Park in Riverside. The park was a wonderful setting, with plenty of room for everything (the pipers, massed bands, dancers, athletes, vendors, and clan tents), and a pavilion for the bands. Friday evening’s ceilidh featured performances by Tullintrain West, Weel Gaun Wheelie, and the Elders... and Mother Nature was far kinder to the ceilidh than she was to Saturday’s festivities. But Saturday was still a great day, featuring great performances by Bob Reeder, Ellis Island, Rowan, Hazel Whyte, Weel Gaun Wheelie, and Tullamore.

After the Games, we hustled over to Waldo for our debut performance at Governor Stumpy’s. The grill-house is more of a restaurant then a pub, and there was some question as to how well our performance would go over. But a number of fans came by and helped grease the skids for the remainder of the crowd, which made for a fun evening overall.
 

May 26th-27th
O’MALLEY’S PUB / RIVERBEND ARTS FESTIVAL / CELTIC BLOCK PARTY

It was a marathon weekend for us that made last weekend look positively relaxing. Friday night found us ‘at home’ at O’Malley’s Pub where we played to a Twilight Zone audience... coming and going in large groups, ebbing between mild curiosity and a preoccupation bordering on disinterest... it was a genuinely peculiar night. To our enjoyment, Scott Garten made a guest appearance, doing an a capella mini-set of both comical and emotive pieces.

Saturday afternoon took us all the way up to Atchison for our debut appearance in the Kansas town’s 41st annual Riverbend Arts Festival. The Festival drew a crowd of thousands to see the work of dozens of artists from across five states and a variety of media, and to hear a diverse slate of musicians that included Kasey Rausch, Hazel Whyte, Glenfinnan, the Kahlers, Mark Twain’s Dog, the Konza Swamp Band, the Carlsons, Swink, Tenley Hansen & Michael Frazer, Tom Meehan, and David Hakan. And Tullamore (of course).

From there, it was over to the America Bowman for a tasty (not to mention filling) dinner prior to our Saturday night set at O’Malley’s. In the meantime, Hazel Whyte had already made it up to the pub and was keeping busy with her second performance of the day. Her stellar performance was followed by another one from Tullintrain West, Kansas City’s newest pipe-and-drum band. When they were through, we took the stage for an outstanding evening... a feast after Friday night’s famine. The audience was great, and their response overwhelming. We managed to coax Hazel back onstage, twice, to do a couple of joint numbers. Tullintrain West played a few more tunes during the break... and Ian and Karla (from Glenfinnan) joined in the guest-artist fun, doing a mini-set of their own. And as if all that wasn’t enough, we roped Scott Garten in for a few numbers, as well as co-proprietor Mike Coakley, before calling it a night.

The next afternoon, it was over to Waldo to perform for the Celtic Block Party. It was the fourth time around for the annual big block-party that raises funds for St Vincent’s Operation Breakthrough. The site was laid out a bit differently, with the stage skewed into a shady corner... allowing for more people to take advantage of the shady areas and still be close to the music, and allowing for the Party to keep Gregory Boulevard open and take advantage of the traffic. We were joined by regulars Fireside, Jim "Mr Stinky Feet" Cosgrove, and the Elders, as well as the new kids on the block-party, Flannigan’s Right Hook. Also making a debut at the party was O’Malley’s Irish Cream Ale. The weather was perfect, the party outstanding. A hearty congratulations to Governor Stumpy’s and Locks and Pulls for pulling off another great benefit.
 

May 20th-21st
JUBILEE OF ACOUSTIC MUSIC / SPIRITPATH CONCERT SERIES

It was a busy weekend for us that started Friday afternoon at the Jubilee of Acoustic Music. Held at Longview Community College, the JAM is a weekend-long series of acoustic music performances and workshops. Michael Connelly and Esther Kreek founded this event last year to further the preservation, instruction and performance of traditional music... bringing together 20+ performers from around the region and across the country convening 50+ workshops for the hammered dulcimer, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, mountain dulcimer, guitar, autoharp, harmonica, tinwhistle, and flute. On top of all that, there were nine spotlight performances throughout the day, both Friday and Saturday. Friday ended with a jam and a contra dance, with we three opting for the contra... which quickly wore us out. Saturday ended with a concert featuring Dana Hamilton, Walt Michael, and Tullamore. The concert wrapped up with a grand finale featuring all of the performers. The JAM was a great experience for us, and we look forward to next year’s.

Sunday, it was just down the road to Unity Village to kick off the SpiritPath Outdoor Concert Series. Dale Worley, Unity’s Director of Music for Retreats, revived one of Unity Village’s outreach programs in the summer Sunday-evening concert-series, and invited us to play for the inaugural performance. Perhaps 75 people showed up (and sat on the shady fringes of the amphitheatre), the majority of them staying until we wrapped up our sets at dusk (when it was too dark for Mary to distinguish one dulcimer string from another). The audience was well-entertained, and Dale was positively enthusiastic about our sound and the success of the evening.

May 6th
ANDERSEN-WELDELE WEDDING

As always happens once or twice each season, we had the pleasure of playing a wedding... this time for the reception of Meagan Anderson and Gerard Weldele. There’s always a certain amount of ambivalence associated with these performances... the two strongest sentiments being the reward-factor of being asked to be involved in one of the most important events in two peoples’ lives, and the risk-factor of possibly screwing up (at) one of the most important events in two peoples’ lives. So far, we’ve been batting 1.000 and Saturday night was no different. The reception took place in North Kansas City’s Finnegan’s Hall - which turned out to be far nicer inside than one might’ve expected, considering that it’s attached to a bowling alley - and was held in the biggest hall there, as there were probably a few hundred people in attendance. The masses began arriving around 5:00, and we started up with some planxties and some easier-going songs. Meagan and Gerard arrived and were announced, and the music kicked up a bit. We played well into dinner, and then went on a break while the traditional reception events took place. When we got started again, it was time to dance... beginning with the bride and groom dancing to our arrangement of You Are So Beautiful... followed by a handful of great step-dancing by Lauren, Allie, and Katie (three girls from the O’Riada Academy of Irish Dance), who then yielded the floor to a couple dozen intrepid volunteers who came up to learn a couple of ceilidh dances - Strip the Willow and Posties... which was topped off when the laptop was opened, and the mixing began. Then the crowds hit the floor, and that was all she wrote.
 

April 22nd
SPRING HOOLIE

Now a staple of our season, the Rogue’s Gallery Annual Spring Hoolie was back, and bigger and better than ever. Some good word-of-mouth on our folksy treatment of Celtic music had spread throughout VFW Post 7397 over the last year... and this year the partition was left open at the request of everyone in the hall, the juke-box was turned off, and a couple handfuls of vets even made their way over to where we were playing to get a better earful of the music. It certainly didn’t hurt that one of the surprises we’d prepared was an arrangement of Semper Fidelis for our hosts. In any case, the crowd was the biggest, and most diverse, it has been in the four years we’ve been there. Like the ones before it, the show turned into an all-request show, with the exception of a few ‘band’s choice’ requests thrown in, and some surprise solo pieces by each of the band-members. This year, Mary sang a number from her ClanDestine glory-days (The Parting Glass), Rachel threw in a Tori Amos piece (Caught A Lite Sneeze) and one by Van Morrison (Into the Mystic), and Mark pulled a couple Jimmy Buffet numbers (Pencil Thin Mustache and Come Monday) out of his dingy archive of a brain. The whiskey was flying, and there was even a complimentary baby bottle (12-year) of Glenmorangie for our Saviour of St Patrick’s Day, Larry. At the end of the night, Dan persuaded us (don’t ask how) to play the last hour ‘til closing time, and even finagled a guest-appearance by Kenny Hyland, who dusted off Plastic Jesus and a handful of his Dregs of Dublin hits. Nobody wanted the Hoolie to end. Okay... EVERYBODY wanted the Hoolie to end, but it was fun while it lasted.

April 14th-15th
O’MALLEY’S PUB 

It’s amazing how motivational National Tax Day is... for getting people out to the post office... and the bar. In this case, O’Malley’s Pub, where we spent the weekend entertaining the throngs of folks who’d come to drown their tax woes in a pint of their favorite and a song or two. And looking around, it was a breeze to spot the occasional person fortunate enough to be getting something back. It was a fun weekend overall, not a lot worth mentioning... birthday fun with the Volga-Boatman Birthday Dirge... the ordinary razzing (and rounds of drinks) from the Rogue’s Gallery... Mike joining us onstage for Danny Boy and Fields of Athenry. Oh yeah... someone had to flip Mark some shozbot about doing his ‘one rebel song’ for Marion... so Mark had to respond in kind by knocking out ten rebel songs in a row. Just the ordinary hijinks of a Tullamore weekend at O’Malley’s Pub. Also, for the record, the recent additions to the list of fine establishments where you can get a pint of O’Malley’s Irish Cream Ale on tap include Blayney’s of Westport, Governor Stumpy’s in Waldo, and Clancy’s Cafe and Pub in Blue Springs.
 

March 31st - April 2nd
NORMAN MEDIEVAL FAIR 

The Norman Medieval Fair consistently rates as one of our favorite road-trips of the year. It is a festival like no other. A period, costumed festival... complete with food-trailers, amplified stages, a net attendance in excess of 200,000 in a weekend... and absolutely free to the public. This past weekend’s appearance there numbers the ninth in ten years for us, with many more in the future, we hope. The weekend has traditionally been one of making ourselves at home courtesy of Cash Myers, but his departure to St Louis a couple of years back left us roughing it in some of the local motels. That ended this season with the incredibly kind invitation to crash at the home of Ron and Donna Deluca, king and queen at the Fair. Ron moonlights as an architect, so his home is unbelievable - inside and out. We’ve visited with them, occasionally, in previous years, and have even played a house-concert there. It was a genuine treat to share their hospitality and company, as well as Jerry’s. Ask them about the Seven Owls someday - it’s a fun story. This year, we had the distinct pleasure of sharing the Gryphon Stage with Queen’s Gambit (Bruce, Susi, Amber and Julia), the Counterfeit Bards (Lee, Anna, Leah, Lessa, and John), Harmless T Jester (Skip), and new friends Arabesque ( Steve and Miranda). A note of appreciation goes out to Dirk and Ronnie, the duo who took care of sound all weekend long. Saturday afternoon, we were invited by the Bilge Pumps (Craig, Dave, Josh, Trotter, Blue, and Christopher) over to their stage for several minutes of humor and humiliation... never a dull moment. And there was plenty of exceptional after-hours company fun to be had, both Friday night - joining and Sandy and Mary Kay Lee (Simpkin the Foole and the Rat Lady) and Skip for dinner at Applebee’s and the outstanding service of Cola... and Saturday night - joining Dave and Sarah, and Lloyd for a heavenly dinner at Johnny Carino’s, wonderful service courtesy of Mike. It was especially good to see our fan-friends... Delbert and Sherri, Jeremy and Sabrina... Ruby, Sissy, Matt, and Darius... John, Kathy, Ashley, and Dana... Kudos to Lloyd and Roger.
 

March 24th
CELTIC FOX 

Friday night’s performance at the Celtic Fox accounted for one of our four rare appearances in Topeka in nine+ years (notwithstanding its proximity to Kansas City). But with the good times that were rolling Friday night, things are likely to be looking up for Topekans and for our more frequent returns. The Celtic Fox is a really neat pub in Downtown Topeka... a fairly recent addition, it being in its third year of business. It is ordinarily home to a large audience of folk- and Celtic-music aficionados in the Topeka area. As it turned out though, what was our debut night there was also concert-performance night a few doors down for Anne Murray. And let’s be real for a moment, boys and girls... we might be good, but we ain’t that good. So our crowd was a fraction of what it might have been otherwise, which is not to say we didn’t have a blast. And as we were all laboring to get out from under the weather (Mark-bronchitis, Mary-strep, Rachel-chest cold), our performance was necessarily a bit off, which is not to say we didn’t have a blast. By and large, we had a blast... and we’re hoping the Celtic Fox becomes a regular entry in our schedule. Kudos to Beth and Ray, Steve and Georgia, Woods, Henry, Bill, Ed and Mary, and Lloyd (of course).
 

March 17th
ST PATRICK’S DAY @ O’MALLEY’S PUB

This past Friday was St Patrick’s Day, the day of promise for Celtic bands. But what might have been the highlight of the year so far for us turned into an episode of Three’s Company... things could not possibly have gone more wrong if they tried. With all of their efforts at re-opening the micro-brewery going full-tilt, O’Malley’s Pub didn’t have quite enough manpower to enter a float in the Kansas City’s St Patrick’s Day Parade. So the band floated about purposelessly... or ambled about floatlessly, one might say. The idea was to go back to McCoy’s Public House for lunch... but after paying a $5 cover to get in (at noon), it was quickly apparent that McCoy’s was doing their best to approximate the feel of the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. Evidently, with St Pat’s being on a Friday, a larger-than-ordinary number of people were given to take the day off and ‘celebrate’. The press of bodies gave the restaurant a mosh-pit feel...and since they couldn’t serve you food unless you were seated and since all of the tables were taken by people ‘celebrating’ (read ‘drinking’), it seemed nearly hopeless that we’d get a chance to have their famous four-cheese macaroni. That is until Cooper and Kristin came to our rescue and invited us to join them. A fun lunch ensued, complete with some - interesting - sight-seeing out the window that faced Westport Road. ‘Nuff said. Then it was up to O’Malley’s for our 4:00-8:00 set in the bottom cellar. Or so we thought... for on our drive up to Weston, we had just merged on to I-29 from US-69 when the transmission in the ‘band-van’ decided to stop cooperating with the remainder of the vehicle. Coasting to the side of the highway and eventually off into a neighborhood, a panic-stricken bout of cell-phone-based begging and wheedling began, culminating in the assurances from one of our biggest and bestest fans (Larry "Rogue/Marine #3" Park) that he could come rescue us and our gear and get us to the church on time... or O’Malley’s (which, pretty much, doubles as his church). Ellis Island had already been performing in the bottom cellar, so they stayed on-stage an extra half-hour until we arrived, and then vacated the stage. After setting up, there seemed to be some problems during the sound-check until it became obvious that the monitors had quit working (Corey’s and Sean’s legwork the next day revealed that the monitor-amp had decided to stop cooperating with the rest of sound-system). Okay... so all of that said... St Pat’s was a blast, Ellis Island was excellent (as usual), playing to the packed house was great, and we can’t wait ‘til next year. No kudos this time - there were way too many of y’all out there.
 

March 10th-12th
IRISH AMERICAN CLUB OF SHAWNEE / ST PATRICK’S IRISH FEST / ST PATRICK’S CHURCH

What is turning out to be our annual ‘Green Season’ whirlwind tour of Kansas City began Friday night with a return to Old Shawnee Town and a performance for the Irish American Club of Shawnee at their annual banquet. The mixer is one of the Club’s big social events, and provides the opportunity to recognize the Club officers (and other movers and shakers), as well as to acknowledge their guests from Shawnee’s Irish sister-city, Listowel (this year, Damian Stack and Dennis O’Mahony). Rachel was tied up at a strings-teacher’s conference, so Rachel B and Tara filled in. It was a pleasure for us to return to the banquet and touch base with the friends and acquaintances we made last year. Likewise, it was especially good to reconnect with Damian, who is quite a character... clever and gracious... who has developed a soft spot in his heart for the band (or is it Mary?)... and who we hope can help grease the skids for a ‘mini-tour’ of Ireland. Kudos to Dan, Pat, Mike, Kurt, Kenny, and Lloyd (of course).

The tour continued Saturday evening, this time at St Patrick’s Parish in North Kansas City, for another second-year-in-a-row performance at the their Irish Festival. The Festival is an annual fund-raiser for the parish, and this year’s line-up featured a great dinner, children’s activities, some traditional singing from Tom Meehan, Jody Watson’s invigorating piping, the Clanna Eireanne Dancers’ fine dancing, and the visual spectacle of the world-class O’Riada Academy of Irish Dance. It was a fun night all around. Kudos to Scott and Louise, Charles and Kristine, Roger, and Lloyd (of course).

The tour wrapped up Sunday with a third-year-in-a-row performance at the other St Patrick’s Church in Emerald KS. Each year, they have a dinner and raffle to raise funds for the church. The dinner is a bona fide epicurean delight - their corned beef wonderful, and their pies (ironically) sinfully delicious. Year after year, we’ve found a warm reception here. A special thanks to Joan Gagnon for her goodwill to us all. Kudos to Pat and Carol, and Tom. The overall sentiment from all three of these groups has been quite appreciative... we hope we can make an annual event of this mini-tour.
 

March 4th
AN EVENING IN IRELAND 

A little over a year ago, we had the pleasure of performing with Irish balladeer Rob Gavin at an Ancient Order of Hibernian’s fund-raiser at the Daily Limit. As it turned, one of the joys of Rob’s heart is a pet project he calls An Evening in Ireland - an annual fund-raiser for the Paola Community Center that he pours his time and vast energies into each winter. Previous engagements prevented us from participating in the event last year. But we were there - ready, willing, and able - for this past Saturday’s Evening in Ireland... as was everybody else. The benefit takes place in a wonderful, turn-of-the-century auditorium (formerly part of the Ursuline Sisters Academy) that now functions as Paola’s Community Center. The evening started with dinner downstairs to the sounds of Rob’s singing. An hour later, the entertainment kicked off upstairs in the theatre. Bob Reeder started the evening with a typically great performance for a full house. After Bob’s set, Blaine Dunlop, a young Paola fiddler took the stage with his teacher, Chuck Parcher, accompanying him on guitar, turning in a good performance for a novice fiddler. They were followed by a handful of kids - Patrick Kennedy, Ayla Fetters, Cody Ralston, Molly Hart, and Marie Gavin - who presented The Story of St Patrick. Then came Christine O’Riada’s Academy of Irish Dance with some incredible dancing... and no matter how many times you’ve seen them, you never cease to be amazed by how good they are. Up next was Marie Gavin, doing some fine fiddling of her own. By the time we took the stage, the program had stretched about a half-hour... and even the most iron-walled-bladdered people in the audience were showing signs of restlessness. Throughout the set, there was a fairly steady stream (ha!) of people to the... facilities... and back (or not). And as the crowd’s numbers dwindled, their interest grew until - by the time the last song was sung - there was an avid audience of maybe three dozen, singing along and what-not. It was a fun night for all, and a successful night for Rob and Paola. We’re looking forward to next year. Kudos to Roger.
 

February 27th
O’MALLEY’S PUB

Another fun Winter weekend ensued as we made our way back to O’Malley’s Pub. What would otherwise have been a typical weekend at the pub (pleasant Friday night, boisterous Saturday night) was made a weekend to remember with the debut of O’Malley’s Irish Cream Ale. Corey and Mike have been hard at work with the re-opening of the Weston Brewing Company, and their fevered efforts have yielded an ale they describe as "a smooth, sweet and creamy brew with a light floral hop nose, malty middle and smooth finish", and that has already been picked up by High Life Sales and is finding its way into Kansas City - beginning with the Hotel Phillips at 12th and Baltimore Streets, and The Peanut in Lee’s Summit. The boys held an exclusive commemorative dinner upstairs Friday evening in the upper cellar to celebrate the advent of their creation. And the rest of the weekend, the Ale was flying.
 

February 6th
MVFS METRO ARTISTS CONCERT 

This past Saturday evening saw Tullamore joining Eddie Delahunt and Friends for the seventh annual Metro Artists Concert, and the evening could hardly have gone better. The yearly series, held by the Missouri Valley Folklife Society, showcases two or three of the region’s standouts in Celtic, bluegrass, folk, or traditional music. This season, the concert was held in Bragg Auditorium at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church - currently ‘home’ to MVFS’ performances. The showcase turned out to be MVFS’ most successful concert in the last two seasons. The evening started out with a set by Eddie Delahunt and Friends (accordionist Brett Gibson and bodhrán-player Gabriel Reyes). The set was quintessential Eddie – his great songwriting and personal style – with some tasty accompaniment by Gabe and some pretty hot playing by Brett thrown in. The performance was, unbelievably, Eddie’s first in the MAC series, and was enthusiastically received.

After an encore and an intermission, we took the stage for the second set. The performance was the first to seriously test the mettle of our new line-up, and it was a stunning success (if the response from the audience was any indication). We had set for ourselves a fairly ambitious goal... that out of eight selections for this performance, five of them would be either brand new pieces or at least new arrangements, and two of them would be tune sets... and notwithstanding a handful of mental or technical mistakes (that, hopefully, went unnoticed by the audience), we delivered on our goal. The crowd was on their feet a second after the last note was played, and the show ended with the encore. By then, the night had run rather long. The auditorium was fairly quickly cleaned up and vacated, and the action adjourned to a post-concert party in the back room at Harling’s Upstairs. It was a terrific night for everyone.
 

January 23rd
O’MALLEY’S PUB 

We found ourselves, appropriately enough, in the bottom cellar of O’Malley’s Pub as we kicked off our tenth season. The mid-January weekend was uncommonly mild. Friday night’s audience almost filled the bottom level, with a handful of folks on the balcony. But they were so attentive it was almost like performing at a concert... everybody listening, singing-along, and clapping... as if on cue. It was a perfect audience given the circumstances - our first performance after the two-months’ holidays break... a couple handfuls of old material that needed some dust shook off it... a couple handfuls of new material to get ready for the new season - and they were utterly kind through all our moments... the good, the bad, and the ugly. Saturday night’s weather was a bit less kind, but that didn’t keep the crowd from being bigger and livelier. And you could tell that it had been a couple of months for them as well (at least for the Tullies who come out to harra-... er-... support us) as they were rusty themselves - dropping cues left and right, not clapping or hollering at the right moments. It was an excellent season-opener overall.

December 4th
HARP & SHAMROCK CELTIC MUSIC BENEFIT

The 2004 season went out with a big bang at Saturday's 4th Celtic Music Benefit, sponsored by the Harp and Shamrock (the Bob Reeder Fan Club), and hosted by Kyle's Taproom. Kathy Murphy-Revell and Bob Reeder conspired on yet another successful fund-raiser for the Children's Mercy Hospital Speech and Hearing Section, with a night of great entertainment, raffles, and auctions that doubled any of the previous three. Bob Reeder kicked the night off, and emceed throughout the night. Eddie Delahunt and friends - Mike Fraser and Timothy MacBain, and Wayne Kahre (from Kilkenny Road) - came on after Bob, and kept the crowd clapping. We followed, wrapping up "the show" with our set... but the real evening ended with the jam that immediately ensued. Special thanks to Dr Cynthia Jacobsen, Linda Enlow, Brian Greenstreet, Pat Albrecht, Steve & Teresa Sample, and Paula Musgrave.

November 5th-6th
O'MALLEY'S PUB

The weekend at O'Malley's Pub started out slow, with about six people sitting in the pub about five minutes before Friday night's first set. It was a very enjoyable evening, having turned out to be one of those 'coffeehouse nights' - the behavior being inexplicably good, the noise-level uncharacteristally low, and the crowd unusually attentive. All of this was due, in no small part, to the fact that the larger (noisier) part of our fans were holding out for Saturday night's CD RELEASE PARTY. What turned out to be one of the most rewarding nights in the life of the band started when the early party-ers began arriving at 4:30 (for an 8:00 show). The pub was full by 7:30, and people kept arriving... and boy howdy, were they in the mood to party or what?!? In addition to the music, there was a preview of the new CD One For the Road, a mix-CD of some special musical selections to honor our die-hard fans, and a ton of give-aways (courtesy of super-proprietor Sean O'Malley). Honorable mention goes to Donna (who came up from Oklahoma City) and Patrick, Danika, and Mike and Mary (all the way from Dallas), as well as superfan, friend, and Man of the Hour, Lloyd Camp, whose tireless prodding got us off our collective keisters and onto a CD.

October 8th-10th
WESTON IRISH FESTIVAL

Sean O'Malley could not have hoped for a better weekend for the 5th anniversary of his Weston Irish F
estival. The weather was gorgeous and the turn-out was huge for what has become the country's biggest small Irish festival. Between the upper cellar's intimate pub stage, the lower cellar's lively hall stage, and the outdoor courtyard stage, Sean packed such greats as the Makem & Spain Brothers, the Young Dubliners, the Clumsy Lovers, the Glengarry Bhoys, and Connie Dover, as well as regional and local favorites like the Elders, the Kissers, Brigid's Cross, Ellis Island, Shenanigans, Dublin's own Eddie Delahunt, and Bob Reeder. We opened the courtyard stage Saturday and Sunday to some very big and appreciative crowds, and had a set in the lower cellar later Sunday afternoon (where it was a bona fide madhouse). The real treat of the weekend was sitting through one of the Makem and Spain Brothers' utterly enjoyable sets. 

September 20th
OKLAHOMA SCOTTISH GAMES & GATHERING

One of the new festivals we've been fortunate to add to our fall line-up was this past weekend's Oklahoma Scottish Games & Gathering in Tulsa. After a big splash at the Robert Burns Gala this past January, both the Scottish Club of Tulsa and ourselves were more than eager to work with each other. The exceptional Men of Worth, Scotland Rising, and the Moore Dancers joined us onstage to make the Festival's silver anniversary a weekend to remember. It was our pleasure to spend the weekend trading songs and stories with Donnie and Jimmy, and visiting with Bryan, Daniel, John, and Lars. And Aaron, Dory, and Roger got in on the fun, making the trip to Tulsa with us. The weather was grand, and there was plenty to see AND buy. Which we did. We're definitely looking forward to year 26. 

September 3rd-5th
O'MALLEY'S PUB / KANSAS CITY IRISH FESTIVAL

It was a banner weekend for us as we made our 6th appearance of the year at O'Malley's Pub. From all appearances, Friday night looked to be a fairly mild night. Until about five minutes before show-time, at which point nearly 100 people came waltzing down the stairs - a wedding party, there to celebrate the upcoming nuptials less than a day away. It was was a big, busy, boisterous crowd that battled the P/A-system for dominance of the airwaves (which led to the occasional feedback demon rearing its ugly head). But they liked our music, so all was forgiven.

Saturday night was a band's dream-night... the crowd was big, loud, and appreciative - staying quiet to hear the music, and reacting big when the music was over. It was like being a band in a movie.

Sunday afternoon found us down at Crown Center for the second annual Kansas City Irish Festival. After a foot of rain washed away the first year's attempt in Berkeley Park, the Festival committee moved the location to Crown Center... and it was all great. A great location, great layout, great weather, great crowds, and great music. We were joined by a couple dozen other great acts including the McCabes, the Young Dubliners, the Elders, Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul, Shenanigans, Tin Cup Prophette, Eddie Delahunt, and Bob Reeder (to name a few). we're already looking forward to next year's festival. 

August 28th-29th
OHIO RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL

It was yet another month off, in the middle of an unusually slow Summer, before we made our annual pilgrimage to Harveysburg OH for our guest appearance at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. Friday's day-long drive out ended with a fun night of pizza and games (and a little computer-doctoring) with Dennis and Ellen at Chez Fox. Saturday brought with it the Ohio Valley's own muggy version of "fun in the sun"... "bet that you'll sweat". But a temperature of 93° and a humidity of 100% couldn't put the damper on a great day (or two) of catching up with our Ohio fans and friends, the Swordsmen, Minstrel Woode, Theatre in the Ground, Bob Ford, and Steven K Smith to name a few. Saturday evening found us having a killer dinner at Cincinnati's Dubliner Pub and grooving to the simply outstanding music of Roger Drawdy and the Firestarters. The weekend at the Festival was followed by a Sunday evening of friends and sushi at Ando's... which we serendipitously) managed to find after learning it had left Lebanon for the outskirts of Cincinnati. Monday morning, we bid adieu to Dennis and Ellen and made the l-o-n-g trip back to KC. 

July 30th-31st
O'MALLEY'S PUB

After a six-week break, we found ourselves back up at O'Malley's Pub where we dusted off the cobwebs from our performance for an unusually large mid-Summer crowd. And having been two full months since playing at O'Malley's, we were hard put to pull off a Friday night without being issued any PUIs. We three onstage were almost as giddy as the folks offstage, and a huge table of GIs made for a night full of banter between the crowd and ourselves. Saturday night was a fairly big night, what with the LIVE RECORDING SESSION. All of the die-hard fans showed up to be a part of what would become our second album - One For the Road. The night, overall, was a load of fun... the recording session was an absolute blast. And we're looking forward to a CD-release party when we play O'Malley's in a couple of months. 

June 12th-13th
KANSAS CITY SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES / JOYCE'S IRELAND / CELTIC BLOCK PARTY

We returned from our brief furlough and began the Summer with a mini-marathon weekend. Saturday morning found us out at Wyandotte County Fairgrounds to perform at the city's longest-running Celtic event, the Kansas City Scottish Highland Games. Tucked neatly between performances by Rowan and Trinity, we turned in a couple of very well-received sets before packing up and heading to Lawrence for a feature appearance following the Keynote Address of KU's Joyce's Ireland. Marking the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday, the celebration included a two-day interdisciplinary conference, readings of Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake, and live music all around Lawrence by Eddie Delahunt, Shenanigans, Uncle Dirtytoes, the Kelihans, Rowan, and Jonathan Ramsey.

Sunday afternoon found us back in Brookside, taking the stage with the Elders, Bob Reeder, the Kelihans, and Jim Cosgrove at Governor Stumpy's for their second annual Celtic Block Party benefiting Operation Breakthrough. It was one hot afternoon, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd who showed up in droves to make the fund-raiser a success.