WASHINGTON — St. Patrick’s Day brings out the green in everyone.
Now, D.C. music lovers can thank their lucky shamrocks for the arrival of Ireland’s best-known traditional music band, Lúnasa, which chose the area for the St. Paddy’s stretch of its U.S. tour.
You can catch Lúnasa Tuesday at Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville, Virginia, or Wednesday at Reston Community Center in Reston, Virginia. These gigs follow weekend shows at the Blackrock Center for the Arts in Germantown, Maryland, and St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland.
Watch the video below as the band enters WTOP’s Glass Enclosed Nerve Center:
Since forming in 1997, Lúnasa has performed more than 1,500 concerts in Ireland, Great Britain, Switzerland, Spain, France, Holland, Finland, Australia, Japan and four tours of the U.S.
So what’s the secret to the band’s 18-year longevity?
“Separate rooms,” jokes guitarist Ed Boyd.
Boyd’s guitar forms an instrumental quintet with Trevor Hutchinson’s upright bass, Kevin Crawford’s flute, Cillian Vallely’s pipes and Colin Farrell’s fiddle. The combination makes for a unique blend of Irish traditional music, jazz harmonies and rock ‘n roll energy.
“It is traditional music at the core. We’ve got the flute, the pipes, the fiddle,” Crawford says.
“But we did kind of endeavor to come up with our own sound, and the contribution from the guitar and the double bass is quite unique and provides kind of a kick-ass thing behind the traditional stuff.”
The individual members also have seen success outside of Lúnasa. Hutchinson’s bass joined The Waterboys, while Vallely’s pipes were featured on Bruce Springsteen’s “High Hopes” album.
“The producer called me and he talked to me for a long time,” Vallely says. “Just before we were finished with the logistics, he mentioned, ‘Bruce just came in,’ and I said, ‘Oh, by the way, who is this I’m recording with?’ Because there had been no mention in two 10-minute conversations. … And then he said, ‘Bruce Springsteen.’ (I replied,) ‘Excellent.'”
Lúnasa had actually opened for Springsteen at England’s Glastonbury Festival the previous year. It was a highlight for the band, right up there with performing after Van Morrison.
Yes, Van Morrison was Lúnasa’s opening act.
“He’s OK,” Boyd quips, sarcastically.
Next month, Lúnasa goes on tour again with Mary Chapin Carpenter, whom country music fans will recognize from such ’90s hits as “Passionate Kisses” and “Down at the Twist and Shout.”
“She’s really into the tradition music and folk music,” Crawford says. “I bumped into her at Celtic Connections in Glasgow last year. … She showed me her iPod and (said,) ‘I was just listening to such and such, your new album! I still listen to the band. It would be nice to tour again.'”
That tour includes a stop at the beautiful Weinberg Center in Frederick, Maryland, providing another chance for you to see the band if you can’t make the St. Paddy’s Day celebration.
“It’s traditional Irish music, it’s dance music, it’s infectious, it’s got foot-tappin’ kind of stuff going through it. It’s happy music really,” Crawford says.
“There’s melancholy in there too, but essentially it’s music that gets people’s spirits kind of lifted and that’s our modus operandi at the gigs, I suppose. We like to send people home happy.”
Hear the full interview below:
