Oct. 2 Concert Coincides with Reno Celtic Celebration
Irish music legends Paddy Moloney with the Chieftains and special guests come to Reno for a one-night-only performance Oct. 2. The concert coincides with the 19th annual Reno Celtic Celebration, Oct. 3 – 4, and is the first in a series of post-season Artown performances.
“Artown, held every year for the entire month of July, has always strived to present artists that may otherwise not visit Reno to expand the local horizons of art and culture while providing the community the opportunity to experience new genres of music, dance, theater and other art forms,” Beth Macmillan, executive director of Artown, said. “We’re thrilled to have a world music group of the Chieftains’ caliber here especially at a time when we’ll be celebrating the culture of Ireland and Scotland at the annual Reno Celtic Celebration.”
The Chieftains, formed loosely in 1962 and solidified as a group in 1975, have set the benchmark for mainstream Irish traditional music in their more than four decades of partnership. The six-time Grammy Award winners were officially named Ireland’s Musical Ambassadors and are perhaps the best-known Irish band in the world. Their mostly instrumental folk sound draws from the origins of Irish music and strips out any pop influences to showcase the culture’s musical heritage. Founded by Paddy Moloney, who plays Uilleann pipes and tin whistle, the group includes Matt Molloy on flute, Sean Keane on fiddle and Kevin Conneff on bodhran and vocals.
The group burst into the U.S. consciousness with their first stateside tour in 1974 and earned recognition and a strong following almost immediately. The Chieftains music was played widely on Top 40 radio stations and even featured on the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick’s 1975 film, “Barry Lyndon.” Since then they’ve pushed boundaries throughout the world, collaborating with some of the biggest names in rock, pop and traditional music including the 1998 “Irish Heartbeat” album with fellow countryman Van Morrison and a 1990 performance of “The Wall” in Berlin with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.
Tickets to Paddy Moloney with the Chieftains and special guests are just $35, $45 or $55 and can be purchased at the Grand Sierra Resort Box Office, online at www.RenoIsArtown.com or by phone at 800-648-3568. The performance is at Grand Sierra Resort’s Grand Theater Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. Additional Artown post-season performances include contemporary dance troupe Pilobolus, Nov. 20, and violinist Itzhak Perlman with pianist Rohan De Silva, Jan. 21, 2010.
For more information on Artown, visit www.RenoIsArtown.com or call the office at 775-322-1538. For information on the Reno Celtic Celebration visit www.RenoCeltic.org.
