Thursday, March 12, 2009 7:30 ” 10:00 PM, doors open at 6:30 PMInfinity Park Event Center, 4400 E. Kentucky Ave., Glendale, CO 80246A benefit to raise funds for local Healthcare Nonprofit organization ” Metro Community Provider Network (MCPN). Supporting medical and other related services for uninsured families and children in the Denver metropolitan area.Tickets are $50.00 and include beverage and appetizers form 6:30-7:30pmFor tickets and Information call MCPN at 303-761-1977 x1124or Celtic Events at 303-777-0502. All Ages Event. The Bridies, formerly with Michael Flatleys “Lord of the Dance” to perform benefit concert, St. Patrick”s Week at Glendale”s Infinity Park Event Center. Celebrate the luck of the Irish and revel in Celtic music, Song and Dance as the Bridies kick off their 2009 U.S. tour in the awesome new Infinity Park Event Center. This irrepressible group from Ireland is lead by fiery fiddle soloists, M”ire Egan and Brenda Curtin, who were standouts in Michael Flatleys ‘Lord of the Dance Show’ and are currently in his’Celtic Tiger’ Show, when not touring with their own band. The evening will be great fun for any age and will help The Metro Community Provider Network (MCPN) continue to be a lifeline to thousands of children and families in need of Health Care in Colorado underserved individuals in the State (It is estimated that in the State of Colorado there are over 800,000 people without health insurance).The Bridies have come to know MCPN having participated at the annual Green Tie event and have come to appreciate the organizations work.”What a cause. We were so impressed because we didn”t have a clue about the tremendous need for these services that MCPN provides,” said fiddler-soloist Maire Egan. All proceeds from their concert will go to MCPN.MCPN is a nonprofit organization and has provided medical and health education services to the underserved since 1989. Their mission is to provide excellent health-related services focusing on the underserved. Our current service areas encompass Jefferson, Arapahoe, Adams and Park Counties and the City of Lakewood and Aurora. MCPN has one of the largest population bases of any Community Health Center

BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award 2006 WinnerGaelic Singer of the Year Scots Trad Music Awards 2005 Best Up & Coming Artist (D”chas) Scots Trad Music Awards 2004 WinnersGaelic Singer of the Year Scots Trad Music Awards 2004  Saturday February 28, 2009 6pm doors, 7pm show at the Oriental Theater, 4335 West 44th Avenue Denver, Colorado 80212 Box office 303-455-2124.AWARDS and NOMINATIONSBBC Radio 2 Folk Music Awards 2008 Winner – Folk Singer Of The YearScots Trad Music Awards 2008 Winner – Album Of The Year (Cuilidh)Scots Trad Music Awards 2008 Winner – Gaelic Singer Of The YearBBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year 2007 NominationBest Folk Band (D”chas) Scots Trad Music Awards 2006 ”traditional music at its most seductive.” DAILY TELEGRAPH”sings with mesmerising beauty and passion.” WORD MAGAZINE”Sings the songs of the Outer Hebrides with coolest grace” SONGLINES”Fowlis could be the first Scottish Gaelic crossover star in the making”DAILY TELEGRAPHMark Radcliffe, BBC Radio, hailed her voice and songs as “enchanting, beguiling and asfascinating as songs by Kate Bush and Bj”rk” and KT Tunstall described hervoice as “formidable and amazingly rhythmic”. The elfin figure they aredescribing is Julie Fowlis, a talented singer and instrumentalist fromScotland. She is the BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year 2008 and in a fewshort years has taken the music scene by storm, gathering a small army offans around the world including an impressive list of celebrities includingthe afore mentioned Mark Radcliffe, KT Tunstall plus Ricky Gervais and PhilSelway from Radiohead. In 2007 she was invited to appear on “Later…withJools Holland” and was a special guest on the critically acclaimed”Transatlantic Sessions” series and has entertained millions of radiolisteners around the world with her engaging live sessions and liveperformances.However she is somewhat of an enigma as she sings in a language onlyunderstood by around 60,000 people – which accounts for only approximately1% of the population of Scotland. She sings in Scottish Gaelic and spendsher time touring around the world bringing ancient songs form the HebrideanIslands to new audiences. She is an accomplished musician as well – playingHighland bagpipes, smallpipes, whistles, oboe & cor anglais and threewaltzes on the one row melodeon.Recently Julie has delved a little into broadcasting, and has had theopportunity to present two flagship music programmes on BBC Scotland – thetraditional music programme “Travelling Folk” and the world music show”Global Gathering”. A one hour documentary on Julie and her musical travels,entitled “Bliadhna Julie/Julie’s Year” was also broadcast by the BBC in2007. She was publicly voted Gaelic Singer of the Year 2007 at the ScotsTrad Music Awards and her album “cuilidh”, produced with husband EamonDoorley, was voted “Album of the Year” at the same awards. She has a clutchof other awards, including BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award 2006 for Best EmergingArtist (the first ever Gaelic Artist to be nominated for such an award) andwas also voted Gaelic Singer of the Year 2005 at the Scots Trad MusicAwards. She remains the only singer to have won this prestigious awardtwice. She is very chuffed about this and her Mam and Dad have the awards upin the living room.Bringing centuries old songs from the windswept islands of the Hebrides to amodern audience, Julie remains steadfastly true to her roots in North Uist.If you haven t heard her before, be prepared to be surprised by her musicand her “breathtaking vocal power” (Folking.com).This is true Gaelic music. Come have a listen.www.JulieFowlis.com

(from February 09 Celtic Connection newspaper)Guinness Brewmaster Fergal Murray Reveals Denver Mission:The Pour – The Toast – The Proposition – The Bar Tab Bailout Plan(Editor”s note: In advance of his Denver visit this month, Guinness Master Brewer Fergal Murray sent this letter to our readers. On Feb 11 his Denver schedule was added to end of this article posted on www.CelticConnection.com) Celtic ConnectionWritten by Fergal MurrayMaster Brewer for Guinness BeerJan. 21, 2009I”ve been told by many beer lovers that I may very well have the world”s greatest job. As the resident GUINNESS and Smithwick”s Brewmaster since 1995, I”m experienced in all aspects of brewing the black stuff and Ireland”s oldest ale. My career as a Guinness and Smithwick”s Team Member has taken me from Nigeria to the United States and back to Dublin. Aside from overseeing quality assurance (yes, that includes tasting each batch), I also represent Guinness and Smithwick”s as a quality ambassador in cities around the world, which is part of the reason I will be in the Mile High city this month. More on that later, though. One of the most important things to Guinness is the quality or our beer. It is our goal to ensure that whether you”re enjoying a pint 5,280 feet above sea level in Denver, or having one in Guinness” back yard at a pub in Dublin; you”re experiencing the same fresh, perfectly crafted pint. To that end, I have developed a two-part, six-step process to pour the “Perfect Pint” that any bartender worthy of serving the black stuff should follow:1. Preparation: Use a clean dry glass; it should be a 20 ounce “tulip” glass (named for its tulip-shape with a wide rim) as opposed to the 16 ounce pint glasses used for most other beers 2. Hold the glass below the tap at a 45-degree angle and never allow the spout to touch the beer or glass 3. Part One: The Pour ” Pull the tap handle down and allow the beer to fill the glass to the GUINNESS logo; you will see the surge commence 4. The Settle: Allow the nitrogen bubbles to create the theatrical “surge event” thereby creating the beautiful, iconic creamy head; do this by setting the glass down and allowing it to sit for 119.5 seconds5. Part Two: The Top-up ” Now that the beer has settled (there should be distinct gap between the dark liquid and head), the glass is topped-up slowly to create a domed effect with the head proud of the rim. When doing this second pour, you should push the tap handle back, as opposed to pulling it down as was done in the first pour. Also, you want to hold the pint glass straight, not at a 45-degree angle as was done in the first pour6. The Presentation: Give the creation of the perfect pint to the adoring customer, with the logo facing towards the recipient so they can admire the work of art with their eyes before doing so with their lipsNow that you know what to look for next time you”re ordering a GUINNESS at your favorite pub, let me move onto the reason I”m visiting the U.S. in February and, more specifically, the city of Denver.Last year leading up to St. Patrick”s Day, you may have heard of Proposition 3-17: a movement to have March 17th (St. Patrick”s Day) recognized as a national holiday in the United States. GUINNESS supports that movement and I”m visiting cities around the country to raise awareness for the cause. You can support this movement by signing an online petition at www.Proposition317.com. And, because the folks at GUINNESS don”t want our social lives to suffer completely from the economic climate, we”ll be issuing a “Bar Tab Bailout Plan” this year; where we”ll be randomly surprising bar patrons with exciting prizes to help cover their food and beverage bill.But Proposition 3-17 isn”t the only reason I”ll be in Denver; I”m returning to once again lead the Great GUINNESS Toast. For anyone not familiar with the Great GUINNESS Toast, it”s an annual tradition embraced by residents of Denver like no other city in America. The Toast signifies the start of “St. Patrick”s Day Season,” which begins one month prior to the holiday itself. Here”s one of my favorites (below). If you”re at home with your friends or at another bar, please feel free to raise a pint and do the same:Hold your pints highAnd look all aboutA legion of GuinnessThe World”s favorite stoutMay you find true wisdomOn what matters mostA great pint of GuinnessAnd a great GUINNESS toast My best wishes for a happy and healthy St. Patrick”s Season!Slainte,Fergal Murray(Schedule added to article on Feb 11)The Great Guinness Toast!Friday February 13th 2009Group 1Fergal & Group @ Nallen”s 5:00 pmFergal & Group @ Cherry Cricket 7:00 pmFergal & Group @ Doughtery”s 7:45 pmFergal & Group @ Irish Rover 8:30 pmFergal & Group @ Irish Snug 9:30 pmFergal & Group @ Scruffy Murphy”s 10:15 pmFergal & Group @ Fado 11:00 pm Group 2Great Guinness Toast @ Finnegan”s 8:30-9:30 pmGreat Guinness Toast @ Burke & Riley”s 10:00-11:00 Group 3Great Guinness Toast @ Baker Street Belmar 7:000-8:00 pmGreat Guinness Toast @ Patrick Carrols 8:30-9:30 pmGreat Guinness @ Mead Street Station 10:00-11:00 Group 4Great Guinness Toast @ McCabe”s 8:30-9:30 pmGreat Guinness Toast @ Patrick Carrol”s 10:00-11:00 pm Group 5Great Guinness Toast @ Baker St. DTC 7:00-8:00 pmGreat Guinness Toast @ Celtic House Pub 8:30-9:30 pmGreat Guinness Toast @ Pogue Mahone”s 10:00-11:00pm Group 6Great Guinness Toast @ Lansdowne Arms 6:00-7:00 pmGreat Guinness Toast @ Celtic Tavern Riverside 7:30-8:30 pmGreat Guinness Toast @ Trinity Irish Pub 10:00-11:00 pm Group 7Great Guinness Toast @ Irish Hound 7:00-8:00 pmGreat Guinness Toast @ Jordan”s 8:30-9:30 pmGreat Guinness Toast @ Katie Mullins 10:00-11:00 pm Group 8Great Guinness Toast @ Conor O”neils 10:00-11:00 pm Group 9Great Guinness Toast @ Irish Snug 8:30-10:30 pm (in addition to Limo Group) Group 10Great Guinness Toast @ Scruffy Murphy”s 9:00-11:00 pm (in addition to Limo Group)

Denver”s historic Union Station (17th and Wazee) will be the starting point for the city”sStock Show tradition on Tuesday, January 13th. At high-noon rodeo and farm livestock followed by celebrities, marching bands, floats, horseback riders and performing cowgirls and cowboys, will walk down the streets of the Mile High City over the hour lunch-break, symbolically kicking off the yearly Stock Show celebrations that run from January 10 through the 25th. Orchestrating the event will be Denver native Ben Kelley, who began as a volunteer for the Parade 15 years ago, and for the past 10 years has been the Parade Coordinator. As Coordinator he takes care of all the logistics with responsibilities that include securing permits, coordinate with police, send out applications to parade participants, contact parade route businesses, and all the other details that must be done far in advance to help ensure a successful event. On Parade day he has the pressure of getting the entries staged properly at Coors Field parking lots and then move them several blocks away to the official Parade step-off.”Making sure entries stay in proper order can be a challenge -coming from Coors field to 17th and Wazee things can get jostled up a bit” chuckled Kelley who is know for his easy sense of humor.When asked if any of the “jostling” ever involved the impressive looking Longhorn cattlethat have been at the front of the parade for a number of years, Kelley”s chuckle and response sounded a little nervous, “Funny you should ask that…” Though hardly the running of the bulls at Pamplona, Kelley told the story of a lone Longhorn who wanted to do the parade his way. The incident took place at the staging area in Coors lots A & B two years ago when Denver received record snow weeks prior to the Parade. Kelley and company”s staging area was somewhat tight because of the huge piles of snow in the parking lot. “The Longhorns are usually on there best behavior and their handlers are very professional,” assured Kelley, ” But as we were letting them out of their holding pen one decided to go for a run through the staging area ” parting the Burlington High School Band and ran around the parking lot until it was lead back to its pen. Though there was no damage done it was decided to keep the rambunctious cow out of the parade.” Seeing the humor from a distance of time he reassured with a chuckle, ”Generally these animals are pretty docile and good for paraded because they tend to just follow each other.”Last year there was another case of parade route improv involving the Longhorns in conspiracy with Governor Bill Ritter.The Governor rode in the parade last year, and Kelley had to work out arrangements with his security detail. The arrangement were, that the Governor, on horseback, and his security detail, in car, would lead off the Parade with the Longhorns and then exit at the official parade ending at 15th and Tremont while the rest of the parade continued to travel back to Coors field parking/staging area. All was well towards the end of the parade as the Longhorns were veered off the parade route at the 1400 block of Tremont to be loaded on to waiting livestock trailers. However, the Governors security detail was in front of the Longhorns as they veered off and were now separated from their protectee.”The governors security detail is in front of the Longhorns, the Governor decided that it was such a nice day that he wanted to stay with the parade all the way to Coors -meanwhile his security detail can”t get out because there are 30 Longhorns blocking their way,” chuckled Kelley recalling the panicked protectors, “They didn”t catch up with him until Union Station!”Last month Kelley was at a function at the Governor”s Mansion and took the opportunity to thank the Governor for being in the parade and then lightly brought up the incidence of breaking off from the security detail. “The Governor is a big man,” said Kelley laughing, “he just looked down at me, smiled and said, “Yeah, I like to do that every chance I get”. This year the Parade will have the Longhorns again ” about 25 to 30 head according to Kelley. A relatively short parade “held over the lunch hour as not to impact business traffic of a work day, the Stock Show Parade brings out a good turnout of people each year and Kelley promises something for everyone. A sampling of the parade roster for this year includes the Burlington Marching Band, Strasburg High School Marching Band, Maggie Wild”s Shelties, antique tractors, mounted police patrols from Denver and Jefferson Counties, Two mounted teams from the Westernaires, Miss Rodeo Colorado, Miss Rodeo USA, local rodeo royalty, radio sponsor KYGO”s float, Grand Marshall Baxter Black, and of course lots more livestock. Kelley is also well known for his many years of volunteer activities in the Denver Irish community. The seventh of eight of children of Thomas and Agnes Kelley, the seeds of his Irish American identity were sown early. Born and raised in North Denver, he and his family would get together every St. Patrick”s Day with another big Irish family in the neighborhood, the Haney”s, who had 11 kids.Jim Haney, now a Lieutenant with Investigations of Pattern crimes for Denver Police Department (Brothers John and Mark are both Detectives in District 2) recalled the days.”I”ve known Ben since he was born,” laughed Haney who is a few years older then Kelley. “Every St. Patrick”s Day we would celebrate alternating hosting house each year. It was like the biggest holiday of the year- the Kelley boys would box the Haney boys “the dads loved that!”Kelley”s dad was quite the boxer even later in life as Haney described,”He was in his late 60″s, we were getting ready for a fight for a police department fundraiser – he got out there and was sparring with us ” I couldn”t believe how quick and good shape that he was still in!”The Denver St. Patrick”s Day Parade was also a part of Kelley”s life at an early age.”I use to go to the St. Pat”s parade when I was a kid.” he said, “that was back in the day when they painted donkeys green and goofy things like that.”Kelly began his official involvement in the Irish community as a volunteer for the parade in 1989.The first St. Patrick”s day parade he worked as a parade Marshall. “I was put on 10th and Bannock, the street that was then used to stage parade entries. One of my functions was to prevent people parking there who were not in the parade. Well, one of the businesses there was a methadone clinic, and Saturday is probably their busiest day”and trying to stop people to park in front of their methadone clinic to get their fix is really hard”Kelley continued to be involved with the St. Patrick”s Day parade and surrounding Irish events.The Colorado Irish Festival formed in 1995 and held its first annual event at the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver in August of that year. Kelly was one of the founding committee members and festival workhorse.In September of 95 he volunteered for Celtic Events, the Denver based production company who was hired by the Vail Celtic Festival ” to bring in headline talent and produce their concert at the Dobson arena. Kelley still lists the event as one of his most memorable. “That was a lot of fun, I was pretty green “no pun intended. I remember Cherish the Ladies and Joanie Madden who ran a tight ship.” And the music was magic. “That”s when I got hooked on Irish music- prior to that it was just “Oh Danny Boy” and “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” type songs.Doing 6 gigs in 4 days with the Irish band Reeltime was another of his favorites. Venues ranged from Beaver Creek to Denver, traveling over 100 miles each way through winter storms. And of course anytime Phil Coulter is in town you will see Kelley close by as driver and personal assistant.Kelley”s love for the music brought him to Ireland where he danced away at many ceili”s surrounding the Willie Clancy Summer School. He also acquired a noteworthy collectionof autographed CDs while working with Celtic Events.An employee of U.S Geological Survey over 25 years, Kelley continues to work in events on weekends and over summer vacation time. He works for a couple of event companies doing festivals, urban adventure races, and other community events including the “Celebrate Culture Parade”.Showing his special fondness for parades Kelley said, “The parades are a lot of fun – you work hard to put this event together to show the audience on the street, and to be able to see the different facial expressions from the kids to adults is well worth the effort.”Giving more insight to the joys of a successful special event Kelly continued his thoughts”The first year that I held the contract for the Stock Show Parade is still ingrained in my memory. I was at 17th and Wazee for the Parade step-off ” finally I could take a deep breath of relief ” that was such a good feeling- it was like “Wow, I put this thing together” But always empathetic and appreciative to the volunteer he added. “The day of the parade I would be lost without my volunteers, without them there would not be a show.”Postscripts:”As a touring performer, your link with the audience is your Promoter. He is the one that sorts out the date, does the public relations through the Media etc., and generally makes the whole thing happen. As in all areas of show business you get the Good, the Bad and the Ugly! In Denver I have had THE BEST! Pat McCullough and his team throw themselves into the job with passion, and leave no stone unturned to make sure the gig is a success. Through the years a critical member of that team has been Ben Kelley. He is always there, ready, willing and able. Nothing is too much trouble for Ben and his cheery demeanor and sense of humor have been so much a part of the Denver experience for myself, my wife Geraldine and all my crew. I am delighted that Ben’s contribution is being recognized and am so pleased to have the opportunity to salute him publicly. WELL DONE BEN. YOU’RE A HERO!”Phil CoulterTo make good things happen you need good people. Ben Kelley is the best. He can grasp the big picture as well as the many small details that can make or break an event.I first met Ben when we worked together on the inaugural Colorado Irish Festival. I was impressed with his work ethic that he brough,t unencumbered by ego or agenda. He was willing to do whatever he could to help make the event a success, including some of the less glamorous jobs, and did so with little recognition. The day after the fun and celebration of the festival, Ben was the first of the few whom returned to the fest site to pick-up the garbage from the event. Ben was like a Jack-of- all-trades at Celtic Events. There wasn”t anything that he wouldn”t do (well- he didn”t like to introduce the artists), from airport runs, load-in, load-out, and everything in between. He would bend over backwards to help the performers feel at home. Once a group of road-weary performers asked Ben if he knew of a place where they could wash their clothes. He drove them to his home where they used his washer and dryer while being treated to food and drink. Typical Ben Kelley ” helping above and beyond!Pat McCullough, Celtic Events

Cindy Reich Interviews Phil on eve of Celtic Thunder gig…Phil Coulter will be joining the wildly successful show, Celtic Thunder, when it arrives in Denver on December 12th at the Wells Fargo Theater. His accomplishments in the music world over the last 40 years are legend. Phil took time out of rehearsing at his home in Ireland to talk with Cindy Reich and the Celtic Connection about giving back, Celtic Thunder and his upcoming visit to Denver. CR: Phil, how in the heck are you? PC: Never better. For an aging rocker, I think I”m hanging together not so bad!CR: Tell me about Africa”what were you doing there?PC: Well, my wife and I discovered this country; it”s the smallest country in Africa, called the Gambia. It”s coastal. It”s sandwiched between northern and southern Senegal right on the Atlantic with huge Atlantic breakers and lovely beaches. It”s just beginning to establish itself as a destination. It”s not by any means sophisticated, it”s not by any means commercialized and it wouldn”t be everybody”s cup of tea.Apart from the attractions of the sun and the beaches, the people are so gentle, gracious and welcoming. There is another side that is about half an hour from the coastal side and the beaches and the resorts. There are no more than about 20 hotels in the whole country and that would include one star ramshackle places. But within a half hour of the coastal area, you are into third world Africa. It”s a real wake-up call when you see it firsthand. We went down with our kids”we have six kids, as you know, and it was a great lesson for them in the sort of stuff they take for granted. For example, the volume of waste in our household and most households in the Western world”what we squander. These people have so little. We have adopted a little kindergarten and there are 200 kids crammed into two little rooms separated by rush matting. They have one pencil for every ten students and each student has to take their turn with the pencil. They write on little scraps of paper that are torn out of copybooks. So we”ve set up a few little charitable things down there, including the school. The boy who became our guide over the years we”ve been going down there”we shipped down a big Land Rover jeep we had in Spain. We shipped it to Africa and set him up in business as a sort of a bush taxi and tour guide operator. It”s a very small operation, Cindy. I mean I”m not Bob Geldorf or Bono and God knows I have no desire to be, either, but it makes me feel good to be able to something like that. CR: Have your kids taken the message home? Now that they”re back home, are they more aware of how they use things? I”d love to say categorically, yes. But they need to be reinforced. We”re taking them all down to the Gambia for Christmas and our Christmas morning is going to be to pile into the Jeep and drive down to the compound of our guide and his extended family out in the bush. The kids are putting all of the money they would have been spending on themselves and their friends into a pool and we”ll buy bags of rice and bags of onions and a few drums of cooking oil. We”ll deliver that on Christmas morning along with a few bags of sweets and candies for the kids. It”s absolutely true what they say that there”s a real pleasure in giving rather than receiving. CR: What a nice way to give back. To those who are given much, there is a responsibility to give back and you are teaching your kids a valuable lesson as well as showing the people in Gambia that the rest of the world has an interest in them.PC: That makes a big difference. For people from abroad to take an interest in them. They think we are all millionaires and by their standards, we probably are. The average weekly wage there would be about five dollars. By their standards we are all rich. But you treat them with respect. It”s not just the money. You take the time to listen to their stories and show concern. Treat them with dignity. The Gambian people are very gracious and very warm. It is called the “Smiling Coast” and the people do smile a lot!We”re a small operation. We”re not building hospitals, but we”re affecting lives and we”re making people feel better about themselves. CR: Well, it”s a great thing to do, and maybe people will hear about this, both in Ireland, but also in a wider circle. PC: Strangely enough, Cindy, I”ve had a lot of response from the Celtic Thunder website. We each have our own forums on there. I log on to keep people up to date and when I told people about our African adventures it had precisely the effect you are talking about. A lot of people were e-mailing back to ask what they could do to help. You don”t need to gather hundreds of thousands of dollars, but every little bit helps. There are more good people out there than bad people, Cindy.CR: All it takes is one person to drop a stone into the water and let the ripples fan out. PC: Precisely.CR: Well, lets talk about Celtic Thunder, as a perfect segue. Last time we spoke, the tour was far in the distance. The show had just run in Dublin. Paul Byrom did a lovely interview with us, but it has been nearly a year since we had that conversation. I”ve seen the show on PBS since we”ve spoken”PC: A lot!! (Laughing)CR: Exactly. But the show has been huge with great reviews and of course it is coming to Denver in a few weeks. Has it met your expectations? Exceeded your expectations?Now that the tour has been on the road for a while in the U.S., what is your feeling, as composer and music director about the show?PC: A combination of feelings, with relief being one of the primary ones! (Laughing) Because it did represent a big investment of time, creativity, love, attention and patience. Not to mention a lot of dollars! There are no certainties in this game as you know better than most, so musically, you pull all of the strands together and you choose your five guys from a multitude of people in open auditions”and open auditions, as I”ve said before, is a tough way to find your talent, because you get the good, the bad and the ugly.But I think having persevered through all of that and finding our five guys”each with a very strong and distinctive personality and a very distinctive voice, then I team them up with songs. What my job is then, is alchemy. I”ve got to put the guys together with the songs and the songs together with the orchestrations and then pick the musicians. It is drawing on reserves of being 40 years in the game. It”s drawing on my reserves as a songwriter, doing orchestration, as a performer and record producer. Having performed in practically every state in the Union, I certainly know how to connect with those people and that”s what its all about. Connecting. It is not just good enough to have great music, great singers and a great orchestra if you don”t connect. It”s a mistake a lot of acts make”they fail to connect across the footlights. That”s the difference between being a performer and being an entertainer. In choosing the songs, and the batting order, and instrumentation”that”s drawing on 40 years of experience and you hope your instincts are correct. You can”t guarantee success, but what I can guarantee is “Shame on me if I sign off on a project like this and it would be shabby. Shame on me if I would sign off on a project like this if it would be nickel and dimed and cutting corners, Shame on me if I didn”t pay attention to detail. Having done all that, what are my expectations?My expectations are hopefully that I got it right and I think the gratification is that it seems like we did. I still have the sound of the standing ovations at the Radio City Music Hall in New York ringing in my ears. I love to read from a New York journalist who said, “This show has got the potential to make the same cultural impact as Riverdance if it stays on this trajectory”. That”s the kind of thing I like to hear.CR: Well, there is certainly no shame on you. There is no one of any age that wouldn”t enjoy this show and wouldn”t get a huge amount of entertainment from it. PC: That was the challenge, with five guys ranging in age from 15 to 40, to have as wide an a la carte menu as possible. One of the many treats I”ve gotten from this, is on the second night in Radio City Music Hall, who was sitting in the audience but Jimmy Webb. Jimmy Webb has been one of my heroes as a songwriter””Mac Arthur Park”, “By the Time I Get To Phoenix”, “Wichita Lineman”, “Galveston””so many hits.He came to the party after the show, and I spent about 15 minutes with him, just entranced by the conversation. We have a little bit of shared history, Jimmy and I–after “Mac Arthur Park” and the “A Tramp Shining” album he made with Richard Harris, they had a fight and Harris didn”t record for a year or so and I picked up Harris and produced his next album and out of that came the “My Boy” song, which was recorded by Elvis Presley. Jimmy was echoing what you were saying. He said, “I put it on one night (the DVD) when my wife was out and found myself being sucked into it with those five guys and each of them having different songs and a different personality. I was curious as to how you were going to treat it and it was lovely to see the respect the whole concept had for the songs.” And I think that”s the secret. The choosing of the songs was the critical part of the whole package for me. I picked songs that transcended the charts. I picked iconic songs. Songs that for many people were the soundtracks to their lives. They have that kind of resonance with people. CR: Phil, you are joining the show here in Denver while they are on tour here in America. You”ve really come to love Colorado, haven”t you?PC: It”s not by accident that I”m rejoining to take up the baton for the last lap, and where am I rejoining? Denver. Denver has been good to me for a long time. I remember the first time I played in Denver in the Paramont Theater and there was just warmth that came off the audience. You remember those sorts of things. My concerts are a two-way flow. I get lifted and inspired by the audience. I”ve always had great nights in Denver.I”ve made a lot of friends in Denver as well, and Pat McCullough is an absolute hero. A great man, a great friend and a great promoter of all things quality in the Celtic world. He is the kind of promoter that a guy like me dreams of. A guy who leaves no stone unturned and who will pull out a phone book and call up any name that sounded vaguely Irish and tell them that Phil Coulter”s coming to town! (Laughing) That”s what makes things happen.People ask me why I”ve been so successful over the last 40 years and I say that it”s because I show up to work every morning. If I”d waited for things to drop into my lap, I”d probably be teaching piano to ten year olds in my hometown. Stuff doesn”t happen–you make things happen. CR: What do you think has been the main key to the success of this production?PC: What has made this the success it has, thank God, become, is that the five guys were complete unknowns. Paul Byrom was the one guy that had professional experience. The other guys were complete unknowns, complete amateurs. So they were bringing to this a whole endearing innocence. They”re like five guys who have had their noses pressed against the window of the toy shop for years and then suddenly someone has opened the door to the toy shop and let them in. And they are having the time of their lives. There”s no cynicism, no weariness”just bring it on! They can”t wait for the next audience; they can”t wait for the next state. They”ve never been to Colorado”bring it on!They are really in a very privileged position. When we played Radio City, and we were onstage for the technical rehearsal, I got them on stage and made everyone get quiet. I said to the five guys and to the band, I said, “Just be quiet. Sit here and drink deep. I want you to sense this. I want you to smell it. I want you to see it. I want you to taste it. I want you to slow it down and lock it into your brain. Because this is very special and it is a great privilege to be on this stage in Radio City Music Hall. And you know what? It”s taken me 40 years to get here.”Celtic Thunder will be playing the Wells Fargo Theater on December 12th.www.celticthunder.ie For tickets and tour listing go to www.aeglive.com 

The musical partnership between Alasdair Fraser, long regarded as Scotland”s premier fiddle ambassador, and the sizzlingly-talented young California cellist Natalie Haas may not seem an obvious one. Fraser, acclaimed by the San Francisco Examiner as “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling,” has a concert and recording career spanning 30 years, with a long list of awards, accolades, television credits, and feature performances on top movie soundtracks (“Last of the Mohicans,” “Titanic”). Alasdair has been sponsored by the British Council to represent Scotland”s music internationally and received the Scottish Heritage Center Service Award for outstanding contributions to Scottish culture and traditions. Natalie Haas was just 11 when she first attended Alasdair’s Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School in California. She responded to Fraser”s challenge to find and release the cello”s rhythmic soul and four years later, when Natalie was just 15, they played their first gig together. Now regularly touring with Alasdair and creating a buzz at festivals and in concert halls throughout Europe and North America, Natalie is in the vanguard of young cellists who are redefining the role of the cello in traditional music.Don”t miss their dates in Colorado Springs and Denver.…………………………………Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas ConcertBenet Hill Center Auditorium2577 N. Chelton Road, Colorado Springs COFriday, December 5th 7:00pm, Doors at 6:30pmTickets available: 719- 494-0666 ………………………………..Fiddle and Cello WorkshopsBenet Hill CenterRooms 110 and 111, 2577 N. Chelton Rd,Colorado Springs COSaturday, December 6th10:00am-12:30pm. Players of all instruments welcomeCost: BRAS members $30 non-members $35For more info or to reserve a space at the workshops:Call Moira Theriault 719-494-0666……………………………….Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas ConcertCameron Church1600 S Pearl St, Denver, CO Saturday, December 6th8:00pm, Doors at 7:00pmTickets available: 303-777-1003

by Cindy Reich
Alan spoke with Cindy Reich
from the Celtic Connection
via phone from his home in Scotland.Cindy: The last time I spoke with you Alan, was a long time ago when the band were playing in Denver. John McCusker had just joined, which will tell you how long ago THAT was, and looked about 14 years old! However, you are the last man standing, Alan, as a founder member of the band. Did you ever think, thirty plus years down the road, you would still be touring, making albums and such?Alan: Not at all, Cindy. Brian McNeill was the original founder of the band and I joined a few months later. When we decided to quit our jobs and try music for a couple of years.. that was back in 1975 and I don”t think we ever dreamed the band would endure for thirty plus years. When you”re that age, you”re not thinking of what you”re going to be like when you”re middle aged. I remember thinking in my thirties, ach; I”ll probably retire when I”m fifty. I”ve passed that particular hurdle and I”m still going strong! Cindy: That”s a great testament to the success of the band. There”s tens of thousands of bands out there that became relatively popular and were finished in a few years. Alan: There aren”t too many bands who have spanned the decades we have and I tend to think of it as a phenomenon. An achievement that the band is still thriving and producing good music regardless of who is in the band. I think when you get a band that has lasted as long as we have there”s an interesting story to tell. I can think of other bands who are older than us. The Dubliners who are in our sphere of music and the Rolling Stones in another sphere of music. I think its just amazing these “institutions” if you can call them that, can last for decades and decades.I think what we have in common with the Rolling Stones if I can be so bold as to compare ourselves in any way whatsoever, is the fact that both bands really love playing live. I”m sure none of them need the money, so why do they still go out on the road and play? I”m sure they don”t need to do it, and yet they still do it for playing to live audiences. And that is one of the reasons I think we”ll still around. We”re willing to travel and we still like to play to live audiences, and the response we get is one of the things that keep us doing what we”re doing. Cindy: Well, that is still the best way to see The Battlefield Band ” in a live situation. The recordings are all nice and lovely, but my favorite album would be “Home Ground” which is a live album. The energy, the vibe and the spark off the audience is fabulous. When the pipes, which are such a trademark sound, when those pipes come on stage, it just electrifies everybody ” visually as well as listening. And to have the pipes in such an intimate setting as Swallow Hill should be fantastic. You have had a lot of great musicians come in and out of the band over the years, but the ability of the band to be a fluid entity has also been a part of its success. You maintain a great sound and the caliber of the musicians has always been of the highest order. The Battlefield Band is always The Battlefield Band. The sum seems to always be greater than the parts. Alan: I think that is what has made us a little bit different from other bands that have gone on for a long time. Although we have had a lot of people come through our ranks over the decades, basically, our lineup has been the same in terms of instrumentation. When a piper leaves, a piper joins, when a guitarist leaves, a guitarist joins. The basic sound of the band remains the same, although there are subtle differences. Battlefield Band aficionados have come to recognize over the years that no one is irreplaceable. If someone whom they”ve admired leaves, they can be assured that whoever replaces them will be equally adept. The standard we expect our members to aspire to never changes. Cindy: It is that standard of excellence I want to address, especially as it pertains to songwriting and the original tunes. Its what keeps me coming back to the band, as yourself and many others have penned so many great new tunes and great new songs.  Alan: I started writing songs about twenty-five years ago. One of the reasons I started doing that was that bands like us that were touring all seemed to be looking at the same resource books and looking to the same source singers for material. It never occurred to us to write an entirely new song instead of looking for an obscure song and putting a twist to it. It was quite a daring thing to even think of, never mind to actually do.Brian McNeill started and then I followed on and it has become something that really interests me in fact. Personally speaking, I am more interested and get more satisfaction from that than any other aspect of my musicianship. In more recent years, I”ve been writing more songs, especially about historical things in Scotland. I”m just about to bring out an album about the rise and fall of Bonnie Prince Charlie that”s going to be incorporating some quite well known traditional songs as well as five new songs I”ve written myself. Of course, I”m still writing for the band as well, so on every album that comes out, I have one or two songs on it. I”ve also got a whole album”s worth of material on the life of John Paul Jones, the hero of the American Revolution, who was born in Scotland. Cindy: You seem to be a bit of a historian, and one song of yours I really was interested in, as I knew nothing about it, was the failed colony in Panama called “Darien”. A lot of your songs are about historically significant events.Alan: I”m particularly interested in stories that are not well known. I”ve just recently written a song about the Scotsman called John Rae who was an Arcadian who went to work for the Hudson Bay Company. He ended up looking for the Lord Franklin expedition which had gone to look for the northwest passage and got lost in the north of Canada. This guy brought back the story that they had all perished and that some had even resorted to cannibalism. The establishment in England completely disregarded his information because it was based on the testimony of Inuit Indians and the English establishment said that these English gentlemen could never have succumbed to such a desperate act and they would not believe the word of savages. So this fellow was completely ostracized and ridiculed. And it was John Rae who actually did find the Northwest Passage. So when I look at that, I think, wow, that”s a great story and hardly anyone knows about it! I think I”ll make that into a song. Cindy: Ah, but see that”s a great example of the power of song. I became interested in Lord Franklin”s expedition from hearing the song, “Lord Franklin”. I just recently read a great book on it, called “The Terror” (one of Franklin”s two ships- “Terror” and “Erebus”) that was about 900 pages, but was fascinating. If it hadn”t been for hearing the song, I would never have delved into the story. Another Battlefield Band song that I truly love was written by the late Davy Steele ” “The Last Trip Home”. As a horsewoman, I really appreciated that song, and I know it was played at Davy”s funeral. I want to have it played at mine as well. It is a great example of some of the music to come out of the band. Alan: Davy was much loved by the audiences all over the world in the short time he was with the band. It was obvious when you were watching him that he was just having a ball and that he managed to transmit that joy to the audience. He had a beautiful voice as well”a great quality to it. I really enjoyed singing harmonies with him. An album came out here several years ago and every song on it was about Clydesdale horses (“Gentle Giants” Greentrax). Robin Laing compiled that album and he wanted “Last Trip Home” to be the first track on the album. I wrote a song as well, which appears on the album. It”s not just a folk album, there are some rock tracks as well, but every single song is about Clydesdale horses.Cindy: You released a new album last year, “Dookin” (Temple Records) and there”s an album and DVD out as well. What new material might you be bringing with you to Denver? Alan: The DVD was filmed a few years ago and most of the material is from the previous album, “The Road of Tears” but there are one or two tracks on it that didn”t make the album. Most of our material is still from Dookin” but we”re starting to incorporate some new tracks as well, which will appear on our next album which we will be working on soon. The Battlefield Band will be performing at Daniels Hall at Swallow Hill on Friday, November 7th. The show is at 8pm. For more information on The Battlefield Band, their website is: www.battlefieldband.co.uk

Denver resident Matt Updike recently qualified to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, September 6-17, as a member of the US Paralympic Cycling Team. While he”s been on the US Team for several years it”s his first time qualifying for a Paralympic Games. Although making the team was a tremendous accomplishment in itself, Matt can use your help and support down the home stretch toward his goal in China.”In order to help Matt perform his best in China we”ve decided to have a fundraiser so he can have the proper equipment and training needed to bring home a medal” hopefully one that”s gold.” said Andrew Toole, owner of Scruffy Murphy”s ” “Having the best when it comes to things such as wheels, tires, components, etc. and being able to afford to have sufficient time to train can make a huge difference in results and we want to give Matt his best shot at that gold.” The fundraiser for Matt will be Thursday, August 7 at Scruffy Murphy”s, 2030 Larimer Street, Denver. Folks interesting in helping can write a tax deductible check to: US Handcycling. “US Handcycling (501c3 non-profit) has been a long time supporter of mine,” said Matt, “It is a great organization that”s involved in putting on elite handcycle races as well as grass roots efforts such as getting kids with disabilities and newly injured people into handcycling.” If you can”t attend the fun at Scruffy Murphy”s but would still like to support Matt and US Handcycling please go to www.ushandcycling.org where you can make a donation online easily with your credit card. Born in 1971 in Syracuse, New York, Matt was injured in an automobile accident in the Fall of 1997 that left him paralyzed from the chest down, however, Matt immediately made his way back to skiing and cycling, his two passions prior to the accident. Matt began racing on the handcycling circuit in 2000 and showed dramatic improvement in a short time. He went from finishing near the back in his first season, to a National Time Trial Title and a Bronze Medal at the 2002 IPC World Championships in Germany. Through continued resolve and hard work Matt has become a dominate force in his race and has won multiple National Championships in the past few years and was most recently a member of Team MasterCard ” a select international group of handcyclists chosen to participate in events/races around the World. Matt”s speed often takes him first across the finish lines, but he also has a great deal of endurance. He proved this when he brook the 24 hour distance World Record, riding his handcycle over 463 km in 24 hours through the Dutch countryside.Andre Toole commented on Matt”s fortitude, “He is a real inspiration, he works-out every day and is built like a brick-shithouse; than he”ll take off on a Saturday for a 50 mile ride!Besides training and racing, Matt is currently working a residential mortgage banker with Universal Lending Corp ([email protected]www.denverloanracer.com). He enjoys volunteering at Craig Hospital as a peer counselor and with Adaptive Adventures helping kids get into handcycling.The August 7th fundraiser at Scruffy Murphy”s, 2030 Larimer Street, Denver 80205 (303-291-6992) runs from 6-8pm. $20 includes free drinks, etc. Tax deductible donations to Matt c/o U.S. Handcycling are greatly appreciated. 

Why would an Irish musician living in the Netherlands contact a blues-rock musician in Colorado?Mark Gilligan contacted someone he had never heard about before as he started to search for other musicians that were suffering from the same disease that he was, MS, multiple sclerosis. Mark has performed most of his life, including with Noel Redding from the Jimi Hendrix Experience and now performs with his band the John O Gods, a compelling mix of Irishmen and Dutchmen with an unmistakably Irish feel in their music. Born in Dublin, Mark and his bandmates live in the Netherlands.Though always a happy-go-lucky guy, MS is taking its toll, Mark was recently hospitalized because of his weakening legs. In 2005 he contacted Linda Storey, another musician with MS, in Colorado. Though an ocean away, MS has brought them together in the fight of their lives to find the cure and to inspire others with MS. Despite the fact that Linda is now in a wheelchair she continues to write and perform “soulful blues rock” with her daughter Jessica Storey with some of Colorado”s best Musicians.She also is President and Founder of CASE for MS and Rockin’ out MS, a nonprofit that raises funds to benefit those with MS. Their dream is to record and perform their original music together this spring, May 2008. They will record at John Macy’s studios in Denver and then perform their first gig together at the “Rockin out MS” concert and fundraiser, May 22nd, 8 pm at Fados Irish Pub in downtown Denver with special”guest”the Indulgers“from Denver. Dates continue May 23, 8 pm at Celtic Crossing, Castle”Pines, May 24, 8 pm at Avogadros, Fort Collins 8″ PM and May 25, 7 pm at RocknSoul Cafe, Boulder.”$10 donation for all concerts