Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, acclaimed Irish band The Chieftains will make a one-show stop at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 N. 12th St., Saturday evening, March 14.
Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. performance are on sale at http://liedcenter.org, at the box office, or by phone at 402-472-4747. UNL students can purchase tickets at a 50 percent discount with a valid NCard.
Winners of six Grammy awards, The Chieftains are the best-known traditional Irish band in the world. The group has uncovered the great wealth of traditional Irish music that has accumulated over the centuries, making the music their own with a style that is as exhilarating as it is definitive.
The Chieftains were formed in 1962 by Paddy Moloney from the ranks of the top folk musicians in Ireland. After recording what was supposed to be a one-off instrumental album, the band reunited in 1967 and began playing together full time in 1975, marking the event with a historic performance at Royal Albert Hall in London. The Chieftains have seen several changes over the years, with the current lineup featuring Moloney, fiddler Sean Keane, bodhrán player and vocalist Kevin Conneff, and flautist Matt Malloy.
In addition to the Grammys, The Chieftains have been named Ireland’s musical ambassadors and performed during Pope John Paul II’s visit to Ireland in 1979 in front of about 135 million people. In 2010, Moloney’s whistle and Malloy’s flute traveled into space with NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman. In 2011, the band performed for Queen Elizabeth II during her historic visit to Ireland.
The trappings of fame have not altered The Chieftains’ love of, and loyalty to, their roots. They are as comfortable playing spontaneous Irish sessions as they are headlining a concert at Carnegie Hall. After decades of making some of the most beautiful music in the world, The Chieftains’ sound remains as fresh and relevant as when they first began.
