St. Patrick’s Day is just one day in a month bursting with Irish music and merriment in Connecticut. It seems like every Irish-themed act on tour this month has a place to play in Connecticut, from the big dance and music spectacles to small Irish folk or rock ensembles.
Since St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Tuesday this year, this week and weekend is where the bulk of the acts can be found.
Hartford had its St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 7, but New Haven’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes place on March 15 at 1:30 p.m. along Chapel and Church Streets in downtown New Haven.
Indoor celebrations of Irish and Celtic spirit can be found throughout the state this week. One of the grander shows is “Celtic Woman: A New Era,” March 12 at 8 p.m. at the Stamford Palace at 61 Atlantic St in Stamford ($71.55-$107.95). This group of female vocalists has been around, with changing lineups, for decades. Celtic Woman will be back in the state on April 25 at 8 p.m. at the Oakdale Theatre at 95 S. Turnpike Road in Wallingford ($41-25-$336.90).
Celtic Woman is one of the internationally touring acts that owes a debt to the game-changing Irish stage spectacle “Riverdance,” the incredibly influential blend of Irish traditions and contemporary creative design and staging techniques that altered the pop culture landscape in the 1990s. Another post-“Riverdance” sensation is “Rhythm of the Dance,” a music/dance blend created by the National Dance Company of Ireland, coming March 12 at 7:30 p.m. to the Garde Arts Center at 325 State St. in New London ($39-$69).
Another high-end vocal group, The Irish Tenors, came up during the wave of “tenors” acts of the 1990s, starting with the operatic Three Tenors but later including Three Mo’ Tenors, Three Country Tenors, Three Redneck Tenors, etc. The Irish Tenors — currently Anthony Kearns, Ronan Tynan and Declan Kelly — perform on March 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Sacred Heart Community Theater at 1420 Post Road in Fairfield ($66.50-$86.50).
A “Riverdance”-style Irish dance/music/storytelling event on a smaller, more intimate scale, is “Dancing With the Celts” on March 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center at 300 Main St. in Old Saybrook ($65).
One of the rowdier acts to hit Connecticut this time of year, one that’s more on the Scottish side of the Celtic style than the Irish one, is the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, who play Irish-tinged rock music on bagpipes and more conventional instruments. The Pipers pipe twice this week: March 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Warner Theatre at 68 Main St. in Torrington ($42.50-$74.50) and March 15 at 7 p.m. at the Sacred Heart University Community Theatre in Fairfield ($46.50-$56.50).
The Red Hot Chili Pipers isn’t the only Celtic band that rocks out. Celtica Nova, formed in the U.S. 15 years ago, has performed at both international Celtic music festivals and major metal rock festivals. Celtica Nova plays on March 14 at 8 p.m. at Infinity Music Hall Hartford at 32 Front St. in Hartford ($42.27-$58.25).
One of the most celebrated Irish rock stars, Van Morrison, whose career has stretched from the garage rock of his early band Them to the his jazzy psychedelic solo phase of the ‘70s, gets a special tribute on March 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Park City Music Hall at 2926 Fairfield Ave. in Bridgeport ($20, $15 advance). “Van Morrison Night” features a band made up of Rob Maresca, Jake Habegger, Alex Swift, Chris Strange, Dave Savitsky, Brian Borrelli and Mike Strange plus special guests Nathaniel Hintz, Stephanie Harrison, Liz Ashkins and Kristin Lattin.
For more traditional Irish stylings, there are a number of St. Patrick’s season stalwarts who visit Connecticut just about every year around this time.
The High Kings, who play on March 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Garde Arts Center in New London ($44-$79) had a particularly good year, landing two of their songs — “The Rocky Road to Dublin” and “Go Lassie Go” — on the soundtrack to the movie “Sinners.”
The sweet and lovely yet also boisterous and funny female ensemble Cherish the Ladies return to The Kate in Old Saybrook on March 10 at 7:30 p.m. ($54). Cherish the Ladies was founded in the 1980s by a group of Irish-American women, mostly from the New York area, but came to include many players and singers from Ireland.
A Celtic band hailing from Scotland rather than Ireland, Tannahill Weavers has been around since the late 1960s and still boast two founding members, guitarist/vocalist Roy Gullane and flute/tin whistle/bodhrán player Phil Smillie. On March 14 at 8 p.m., Tannahill Weavers are at The Kate in Old Saybrook ($39).
Altan, the band from County Donegal that’s been around for 40 years and is led by vocalist Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, also comes to The Kate on March 18 at 7:30 p.m. ($48). And another traditional Irish band from Country Sligo, Dervish, is coming to The Kate on March 19 at 7:30 p.m. ($52).
Beyond all the usual theater concerts and dance shows, there are a couple of other events that will get your Irish spirit going.
There’s a free family-friendly matinee “St. Patrick’s Day at FTC” event on March 14 at 2 p.m. at Fairfield Theatre Company at 70 Sanford St. in Fairfield featuring two Irish acts: singer/songwriter Bobby Morrill and the five-piece band The Night Visitors.
And what’s an Irish celebration without comedy? Sea Tea Comedy Theater at 15 Asylum St. in Hartford is holding an event it’s inclusively calling “Everybody’s Irish: A St. Patrick’s Day Variety Show” on March 14 at 7 p.m. ($10). Sea Tea specializes in improv comedy sketches, but this show promises more than that.