Celtic Gigs in Atlanta
Attending Gigs
John C. Falstaff is a bastion of support for the live local Irish music scene,
supplying plentiful info not only on visiting musicians' play dates and venues,
but also on our own local talent, as well as hosting interviews and live music.
– Jim Alexander, Chair, Irish Music Traditions (Atlanta Branch of CCE)
Each Sunday on the show, we try to keep listeners informed about worthy upcoming
Celtic events: mostly concerts by notable out of towners, sometimes lectures,
reading or plays, and very occasionally films.
So do the websites below, which are also more likely to list recurring
sessions and dances and bar appearances by locally based artists than we are.
We recommend signing up for the regular mailings offered by several of these.
Atlanta Celts (Yahoo group)
Atlanta Irish Music
Celtic Atlanta
Irish Music Traditions
(Atlanta)
We also Tweet reminders about many of the shows of note, a day or two before:
@wrfgcelticshow
Hosting Gigs
Venues which host Celtic events once or twice a year include the "big boys" such
as Clayton State's Spivey Hall, Georgia Tech's Ferst Center, Georgia State's
Rialto Theater, Emory's Schwartz Center, the Atlanta Symphony Hall, and the Fox
Theater. Each October there is the Stone Mountain Highland Games (guess where).
Terrific more intimate venues, which book Celtic acts frequently, include the
Variety Playhouse (smaller shows are booked in the Red Light Cafe) and Eddie's
Attic.
Some of the Irish bars (Limerick Junction, Fado, the Harp, Olde Blind Dog, Ri Ra,
The Marlay, Mac Magee's) also book shows from time to time.
Over the years, the Celtic Show has received the support of many venues like
those mentioned above, both via offers of free tickets for WRFG listeners and
contributions of tickets as subscriber premiums for WRFG's fundraising marathons.
For these we are most grateful!
For a really unforgettable evening, watch out for house concerts in the
listings linked. Unamplified, in somebody's sitting room, you may see
rising stars Bua (a group from the midwest), Lissa Schneckenberger (fiddler and
singer from Maine), or bona fide legends such as English-born, American-resident,
Irish fiddler Kevin Burke.
Summer is a very quiet season for touring Celtic artists, whereas in the weeks
leading up to St. Patrick's Day there can be a glut of shows. Each October there
is the Stone Mountain Highland Games, and December always brings The Atlanta
Celtic Christmas at Emory.
Editorial
It's important to support worthy visiting acts if Atlanta is to continue to be
able to attract top talent. Considering the size of the population of the metro
area, it's dissappointing that we seem not to be on the radar screen of some of
the best live acts when they book their tours. These days, we're not getting
enough of the Scottish artists (Alasdair Fraser, Jim Malcolm), nor any Welsh ones
(Carreg Lafar, Sian James, Crasdant, Robin Huw Bowen). We're even missing out on
some of the fine touring Irish acts (Dervish). Many of those play in college
towns a few hours away from here, but give Atlanta itself a wide berth. One
wonders why.