COLLEGEVILLE — When Eileen Ivers was a child, the golden days of summer meant a visit to the rugged shores and green fields of Ireland’s County Mayo.
“I remember going to the bog with my grandfather, digging up the bog as a source of fuel,” Ivers said. “The bog roads are these ancient roads. They led me back into Ireland, but they also led my parents and so many immigrants out of Ireland.”
Born in the Bronx, Ivers was the child of Irish immigrants who made a point of teaching their children the music and dance traditions of their homeland.
It was a lesson Ivers took to heart. She began playing Celtic fiddle at the age of 8 and became the winner of nine All Ireland Fiddle Championships.
Today Ivers is considered one of the world’s greatest interpreters of traditional Irish music. She’s plucked and played for presidents and royalty, carrying the music of Ireland from Kennedy Center to the London Symphony Orchestra.
On Saturday, Eileen Ivers and her band, Immigrant Soul, will once again follow the bog road out of Ireland as they trace the evolution of Irish music and dance in America. “Beyond The Bog Road” begins at 7:30 p.m. in the College of St. Benedict’s Escher Auditorium.
Musical travelogue
“Beyond the Bog Road” is a multimedia concert with music, story, dance and film. It celebrates the Irish immigrants’ journey, a voyage that brought the music and dance traditions of Ireland to the shores of North America.
In America’s great melting pot, the music of Ireland merged with the music of Native American, African-American and Appalachian cultures. The result, Ivers said, was “one of the richest cross-fertilizations of folk music styles in the world.”
“Irish music integrated with other North American music to form the root of everything from bluegrass to country,” Ivers said.
As impressive as Ivers’ virtuoso fiddling is, it is just one small part of the evening. She is joined on stage by an ensemble of 13 dancers and musicians.
Immigrant Soul members form the core of the group. They are ex-Blues Brother Tommy McDonnell on vocals and percussion, Buddy Connolly on accordion, whistles and keyboard, Greg Anderson on guitar, bouzouki and vocals, and Leo Traversa on bass guitar. Liz McNicholl, a folk and Celtic singer who hails from County Meath, Ireland, joins the band as lead female vocalist.... [continues]
