STARBRIDGE CELTIC FESTIVAL

This message is for those of you wondering where the North Georgia Celtic Festival has gone. Brian and Donna Sullivan, two of the original organizers of NGCF are pleased to call for bands, performers and lecturers for the Starbridge Celtic Festival on July 19th near Dahlonega, Georgia. Letters of inquiry can be addressed to brian@emeraldrose.com. The festival will feature Jim Malcolm, formerly of Old Blind Dogs from Scotland and local band Emerald Rose as the headline acts. We are looking for interesting bands and solo performers to compliment this lineup, but the festival is a one day event, so space is limited. The festival will be held at Starbridge Sanctuary near Dahlonega. Starbridge is also the site of the annual Hemlock Festival which works to provide support for the preservation of the Appalachian Hemlock Forest. The festival will feature vendors, bagpipers and live music on the shores of a 5-acre private lake in the North Georgia mountain foothills during the Full Moon of July. We hope to see you all there!

SATURDAY JULY 19^TH, 1 PM – 11 PM

JIM MALCOLM, Scotland’s Best Folk Singer/Songwriter!
(Lead Singer of Old Blind Dogs for seven years) (Scottish Songwriter of the Year 2004)

EMERALD ROSE High Energy Celtic Folk Rock
(One of the Southeast’s best known Celtic Bands!)

Join us for a great night of Celtic music under the Full Moon of July at Starbridge Sanctuary, home to the annual Hemlock Festival. Two powerhouse Celtic acts together for the first time!
*seating under the stars
*Gates open at 3pm to pay at the door; pre-registered guests may arrive at 1pm
*bring your own food and drink for a lakeside picnic
*Soft drinks and water will be available for sale
*5 acre “Lake Merlin” for swimming or fishing (Georgia fishing license required for those over age 11)

SUGGESTED DONATION TO THIS EVENT: $20 per person
Children 15 and under $10, 5 and under Free admission
Pre-registered groups of four or more: $15 per person
Overnight camping at Starbridge available for $10 per person per night!
Reserve tickets and or camping on paypal: donna@emeraldrose.com
Include names of all in your party!

Or send check and information to:
Starbridge Sanctuary
396 Starbridge Rd.
Murrayville, Ga. 30564

Contact: brian@emeraldrose.com or call 706-864-0882 for more information

Upcoming Celtic Events in the Atlanta Area

Celtic Duo of Danny Ray Cole and Ryan Flannagan will appear regularly on Thursday, July 3 starts 8 pm at Meehan's Vinings location

Mickle-A-Do is playing at the Georgia Independence Day Festival on July 3 & 4! Come out and experience Colonial Days with a Fireworks Extraganza each night! You'll also enjoy scenes of the revolution acted out right before your eyes by Ben Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and many more! There's live Colonial Music and Dancing, Strolling Actors, Living History, Festival Foods, Shopping, a Kids Zone, Pony Rides and Face Painting for the kids. Festival gates open at 3pm and MAD plays sets both days at 4:30, 6:00, and a special set at 8:30 for the audience to dance the Virginia Reel. All the festivities will be held at the Historic Nash Farm Park, 4361 Jonesboro Road in Hampton GA.

Welcome aboard a mini trip to Ireland at The Hungry Ear Coffeehouse, 1025 Mt. Vernon Highway, N.W., Sandy Springs, Atlanta, GA 30327 on July 5 at 8pm. The featured performers are Irish-born singer Kathleen Donohoe, and Debra Peterson on Harp and Flute/whistles. Throughout the evening Kathleen and Debra will showcase a selection of traditional and contemporary songs from Kathleen's self –produced CD "Irish Songs You’ll Love". Debra has also recorded two CD's on Harp with original and traditional compositions. $5 Admission. Proceeds go to charity. BYOB. Doors open 7:30.

Brian Sullivan's Music, Magic and Malted Beverages Tour of Ireland! June 28-July 7. Explore Southern Ireland to find stunning landscapes, fantastic food and drink and wonderful people. Includes visits to the Jameson Whiskey Distillery, Drombeg Stone Circle, Kinsale, Killarney and Dingle Peninsula, including the Blasket Islands! Contact Logan at brian@emeraldrose.com

Celtic Duo of Danny Ray Cole and Ryan Flannagan will appear regularly on Thursday, July 10 starts 8 pm at Meehan's Vinings location

`A Night of Irish Tradition', Saturday July 12, 8PM till 10PM hosted by Atlanta's own 17-year-old Mary Williams. Mary is an accomplished musician who has been living in the Atlanta area for many years. She has recently obtained Both Regionally and Nationally acclaimed titles in Irish music (Singing, Uilleann Pipes, Flute, and Tin Whistle). The concert will also feature many other acclaimed musicians. Guest performers from Atlanta include Michael Robbins, who will be there to rock the house with his Celtic finger style Guitar and accompaniment. You might know him from his rockin' Irish band `The Bordercollies'. Matt McNeely, a class A Uilleann piper and Tin whistler, is a new addition to the ensemble. He will be coming all the way from Knoxville TN to grace this humble night with his wonderful music. Lastly, Mary's own band, Shanveen, which consists of her family members Mickey, Patrick, JP, Theresa, Brigid, and Fredrick Williams, will all be there to add their own songs and tunes to the night's atmosphere. There will most likely be some last minute performers as well whose names at this time are not available. And if rockin' Irish musicians aren't enough to get your feet stompin, there will be World Class and local Irish Stepdancers to add an Irish `Flash' to parts of this concert. So if you're ready for a rollicking frolicking just great night out, please join us as we help send Mary off to Ireland once more!' Location: In the hall of St. Oliver's Church, 3200 Brooks Drive, Snellville, GA. Admission Fee: $10 at the Door (Children only $5) plus whatever you can afford to throw in!

Angelina Carberry & Martin Quinn will bring their lively and tightly-knit talents on tenor banjo and button accordion to Roswell for a house concert (5 minutes from the Harp Pub) on Saturday, July 12 at 7pm., followed by a session. They will also conduct a workshop (or separate workshops, depending upon student interest) from 3:30-5. Concert tickets are $15 per person, workshop $25, all by reservation only. Contact Ken Mitteldorf at ken1061@charter.net for reservations or more info, or call 7/573-2378. Directions sent with ticket confirmation.

The Celtic dynamic duo is back at it! After a vacation for both, Lance Jones and Julia McPeek Campbell, are having their first return gig at Wild Child Art Gallery for an open house on July 12th, 7-10pm. Their brand of Celtic music is very progressive and upbeat with Julia's stirring fiddle and Lance's bizarre sense of guitar and bouzouki. They both have their own original songs and tunes in addition to their own take on traditional favorites. The public is invited. For more information, check out www.wildchildarts.net.

Atlanta Clan na nGael and Na Fianna are hosting a childrens Youth League Clinic on July 26th. This free clinic is from 9 am to noon and open to kids ages 6 to 16 at Georgia Soccer Park to introduce them to Gaelic Football. Directions are available at www.georgiasoccerpark.com. Further information is available at www.atlantagaa.org or maryacollins@yahoo.com

Coming Weeks   Past Events

Music Event Note: The events posted in this schedule are oriented toward Celtic music and society. Many of the fine pubs and venues listed, even though Celtic or Irish, offer other great entertainment covering the full range of the music space, so please visit their official sites for updates and details.

Spotlights
TTrivia/ FAQ

Going to a summer camp or festival?

The IMT club has a limited number of bodhrans (some tunables), made by Vignoles/Claddagh Bodhrans. Prices vary and are negotiable. We also have tune books and CD's (Foinn I , II) - great large Irish music posters for mother, whistles and instruction books. Contact Kathleen at 404-949-3187, or at ceolcait@bellsouth.net

Irish Set Dancing

After a summer break, Irish Music Traditions will again present Set Dancing on most 1st and 3rd Sundays, 3 to 5PM, at the Harp Irish Pub in Roswell. All dances are taught, and beginners are welcome. Contact Tim or Sally at atl.setdancing@mindspring.com for details.

Sessions, Regular Music & Dance

Thistle & Shamrock
Fiona Ritchie
Join award-winning host Fiona Ritchie to explore the evolving Celtic musical traditions of Europe and North America. As Thistle surveys traditional Celtic music it also leads you to explore more distant landscapes and genres, investigating Celtic influences in World and contemporary music. Back on Atlanta's WABE NPR 90.1FM, Fridays, 9-10PM

WRFG's Celtic Show (Sundays from 5 to 7 pm), and the rest of the station's wonderful programming, is now broadcasting to the entire metro Atlanta area (and more) at 100,000 watts from our new tower/ transmitter. No more black out areas... no more flakey reception just a few miles NE of station. Try it for yourself: 89.3 FM! Available in streaming audio at: http://www.wrfg.org

"...a gathering of Irish traditional musicians for the purpose of celebrating their common interest in the music by playing it together in a relaxed, informal setting, while in the process generally beefing up the mystical cultural mantra that hums along uninterruptedly beneath all manifestations of Irishness worldwide."  --Barry Foy

Atlanta Area

The Alpharetta Session-- an Advanced Irish Session to be held at The Loafing Leprechaun at Windward Parkway (exit 11) the 2nd and 4th Saturday evening of each month from 6:30-9PM. This is a smoke free pub and will offer a drink tab and appetizers to musicians.

A Beginning/ Intermediate Session is held at The Harp Irish Pub, 1st and 3rd Sundays from 5-7PM; family friendly. Bring your instrument and your tunes! This new session is not a teaching session and not associated with any formal organization. Just a venue for working your tunes up to speed and a place to swap new tunes and musical ideas. For more info, contact Gary White. The Harp also provides Live Music every Friday & Saturday, 9PM, although many sessions are not Celtic..

Celtic Session at Manuel's Tavern, Second Sunday each month. The session normally start around 3:30 to 4PM.

Auburn Area

Irish musicians and dancers meet for session in the Auburn area on the second Tuesday of each month.  Welcoming to friends, fans of the culture and Irish dancers, this session apparently attracts folks from hours away - that's got to be good! This groups has met in the past at the Auburn Alehouse and the Blue Bagel. The current location is pending. For details and directions contact: miller.scott2@charter.net

Huntsville Area

Members of the Huntsville and Decatur Celtic music community host regular public Celtic session and tuneplay on the first Tuesday of every month at the Corner Grill and Pub in Huntsville. For details and directions, contact: gfband@hiwaay.net.

SlipJig Celtic band members and friends host a weekly session on Thursday nights at Finnegan's Pub on South Parkway in Huntsville, 7:30-10:30. Tunes and songs. Always a fine time!  Skilled players, interested on-lookers, and innocent by-standers are welcome! For additional information: Phil@slipjigband.com.

Birmingham Area

Regular Irish music session is offered on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month from 7:00pm - 10:00pm at CoolBeans in Homewood right next to New York Pizza and Broadway BBQ. CoolBeans Coffee House - is a non-smoking, family friendly environment. Musicians and fans welcome. For more details contact, Marty Bostick.

Mobile Area

Irish Music Session hosted by members of Mithril in the Fairhope area on Sundays, 6 to 8pm at Café Amore, 103B N. Bancroft Street, Fairhope. For more information: 251-928-0987 or 251-928-2719 or flyingfrog@aol.com.