The title “Beyond the Bog Road” refers to the paths in Ireland that led from farmers’ homes to their fields, Ivers wrote in the program notes of the Hop performance.
“One could either choose to stay in Ireland and survive — especially through many challenging times like the Famine and Great Hunger of the 1840s — or to go ‘beyond the bog road’ and emigrate to try to find a better life,” she wrote.
The performance will combine a variety of musical genres with dance and video footage from Ireland to relate this story to audiences.
“It is really a celebration of the Irish [immigrants] … who came to this country and brought their music, their songs, their styles of dance, their language, even, with them,” Ivers said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Ivers, who was born to Irish immigrants in the Bronx, will play an array of instruments in “Beyond the Bog Road,” including acoustic and electric violins and mandolin. Although Ivers’ music is heavily influenced by her Irish heritage, she said her New York upbringing helped form her approach to music by exposing her to a variety of performance styles at an early age.
“New York — or any big city, really — lends itself to, obviously, hearing a lot of music [and] playing with different musicians,” Ivers said. “I remember really going out a lot and hearing a lot of different forms of music, from world music to jazz to classical.”
Ivers has received international praise for the diversity of music in her past performances, and “Beyond the Bog Road” is no different. According to Ivers, the show incorporates a variety of roots music including Celtic, African, Cajun, bluegrass and blues. The dance component of the performance also crosses cultural boundaries, pointing out the folk influences behind some contemporary dance styles.
“We actually go into jazz swing a little bit with a Louis Armstrong tune from the 1920s,” Ivers said. “It’s called ‘Irish Black Bottom,’ and it’s this really wonderful tune [in which] we showcase the birth of tap that came out of African Juba dancing and Irish step dancing ... Our dancers that are with us in the show give a little story about that through dance.”
According to Ivers, “Beyond the Bog Road” uses these multicultural artistic expressions as a means of broadening the performance’s reach, reminding audiences of experiences that transcend culture. Although the performance deals concretely with the Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century and the subsequent emigration westward, it more abstractly tells the story of all immigrants.
“We all have a lot more in common than differences, and I think that’s another thing to celebrate,” Ivers said.
Ivers stressed the importance of crossing not only international and cultural boundaries, but age differences as well. According to Ivers, reactions to her January performance of “Beyond the Bog Road” at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville were overwhelmingly positive, especially from students. She described a young African-American woman who was shocked when she learned how similar the African and Irish processes of migration were.
“That was really wonderful — to see that experience with younger folks who come out and really find something intriguing about the show,” Ivers said.
Ivers also encouraged young people to attend “Beyond the Bog Road” for the exposure to different types of music the show provides. According to Ivers, everything on the radio, from pop to hip-hop, is inspired by roots music. Hearing roots music performed live allows audiences to recognize the similarities between popular contemporary music and the genres influencing it.
“It’s amazing,” Ivers said of the roots music she and her fellow performers explore. “The rhythms are as funky and as real as some of the [radio] stuff that is super-produced ... today.”
A nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion, Ivers has played with a wide range of names, from Sting to the London Symphony Orchestra. The Grammy-winning artist has also received critical acclaim for her solo performances, but said she still prefers to play in groups, as in “Beyond the Bog Road.”
“I love group performances because there’s such a power when you get the right bunch of folks together, and I’m so grateful and thankful,” Ivers said.
According to Ivers, the video footage from Ireland is meant to provide audiences with a concrete visual representation of the themes central to the performance.
“We actually edited down over 17 hours of high-def footage that we took in Ireland and interspersed it with some great archival stuff from the States, different stuff we found through the Library of Congress,” Ivers said.
The show will take place in Spaulding Auditorium at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a post-performance discussion with Ivers.
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