PLEASE NOTE: You're viewing an archive of our OLD website through December 2017, please visit our new website at TheFreight.org
2020 Addison Street / Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 644-2020 / info@freightandsalvage.org
The Box Office window is open 12:30pm-7pm and during all performances.
Irish Christmas in America, the popular touring show now in its 9th season, presents outstanding Irish music and dance in an engaging performance rich in history, humor, and boundless energy. Produced by Oisín Mac Diarmada of the award-winnning Irish group Téada, this year’s program features Lumiere, an amazing vocal group from the town of Dingle in County Kerry, Séamus Begley, recently named Traditional Singer of the Year by the Irish television network TG4, champion dancer and California native Samantha Harvey, Sean Gavin on flute, whistle, and uilleann pipes, and Oisín on fiddle. Irish Music Magazine calls the show “captivating” and the website Folk Wax calls it “lively and reflective” and “a powerful evocation of the season.”
Lumiere, with Pauline Scanlon and Eilis Kennedy on vocals and Donogh Hennessey on guitar, has released two albums, including this year’s My Dearest Dear, with special guest Sinead O’Connor. The Irish Times has praised the group’s vocal harmonies, canny song choices, and “melodious West Kerry Irish.” Séamus Begley comes from one of Ireland’s most acclaimed musical families and is famous for his heartfelt singing and brilliant playing of the accordion, on which he performs jigs, slides, and polkas with astonishing energy and spontaneity. Samantha Harvey is a champion Irish dancer, pianist, and accordionist for Los Angeles. Chicago resident Sean Gavin learned uilleann pipes from his father Mick and his teacher Al Purcell and has been strongly influenced by flute legend Kevin Henry. He performs often with his musical family and tours regularly with the acclaimed groups Bua and NicGaviskey. Oisín Mac Diarmada, in the words of the Irish Echo, is “one of the most gifted and creative traditional fiddlers playing today.” He was recently appointed Chief Examiner of the Irish Traditional Music Examination System. Join this fine lineup for an evening of great music and dance imbued with the spirit of Irish Christmas in America. 
