Exploring Celtic Roots & Branches
Maeve Gilchrist, artistic director
Thursday, September 12 – Sunday, September 15, 2024
In partnership with Rockport Music, Edinburgh-born harpist/composer Maeve Gilchrist proudly presents the 5th annual Rockport Celtic Festival celebrating new and old music from Scotland to Scandinavia! As always, the Festival features an extraordinary variety of new and familiar musicians, singers and storytellers. Watch this video to get a taste of the Festival…
FEATURING
Maeve Gilchrist, artistic director & harp | Jeremy Kittel, fiddle (artist-in-residence) | Hannah Read, vocal | Väsen | Pine Tree Flyers | Darol Anger, fiddle | Bruce Molsky, guitar, fiddle | David Coffin, vocals | Jeremy Kittel Trio | Madelyn Monaghan, voice | Joey Abarta, Irish piper | Liz Carroll, fiddle, composer | Rasa String Quartet | Logan Coale, double bass
Schedule
Thursday, September 12 :: 7:30 PM
FESTIVAL CLUB: JEREMY KITTEL TRIO
Grab a drink at the bar and settle in for this folk-club style concert hosted by Maeve Gilchrist to kickstart the festival in style! Led by acclaimed violinist Jeremy Kittel (formerly of the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet), the Jeremy Kittel Trio inhabits the space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, and folk and jazz sensibilities. Location: Shalin Liu Performance Center Third Floor Reception Hall
Friday, September 13 :: 7:30 PM
WESTBOUND FROM SWEDEN
This night celebrates polskas, polkas and everything in between as we highlight the strong connections between our Swedish neighbors and their lasting impact on American culture and music. Few musicians alive today hold such influence over the Global acoustic music scene as Swedish folk group Väsen. Joining them are influential American instrumentalist duo Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger and Boston-based Uilleann piper, Joey Abarta.
Saturday, September 14 :: 11 AM
SALON SESSION WITH MAEVE GILCHRIST
Salon host Maeve Gilchrist visits with some of the Festival’s artists to discuss traditional music, techniques, collaboration and more. Hear American traditional music icons Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger discuss innovation versus tradition, and take a deep dive into the world of Funghi with Hannah Read. Location: Shalin Liu Performance Center, Third Floor
Saturday, September 14 :: 1 PM
“PUB” SING
with David Coffin
Join in on the fun with our second annual Rockport Celtic Festival pub-less Pub Sing! Led by our very own local Sea Chantey star David Coffin, this event brings together music lovers from various backgrounds to raise the rafters as the spirit of the Rockport Festival leaves the theater and resonates through the town. Free, no reservations required.
Location: Old Sloop Coffeehouse, First Congregational Church, Rockport
Saturday, September 14 :: 7 PM
FROM THE GROUND UP
In tonight’s wonderfully eclectic program, we hear a selection of music that spans the breadth of Celtic and Celtic-adjacent music from its most traditional form to the most absurd. We start the evening with the stunning solo Sean Nós voice of Madelyn Monaghan before shifting gears to the rip-roaring virtuosity of a take on Scottish fiddle by Jeremy Kittel and his incredible trio. We’re also thrilled to present US-based Scottish fiddler Hannah Read’s new project “The Fungi Sessions.”
Saturday, September 14 :: 9:30 PM
FESTIVAL CLUB: CEILIDH
Grab a drink at the bar and bring your dancing shoes for our Festival club, hosted by Maeve Gilchrist. Join Boston-based Scottish fiddler Katie McNally, pianist Neil Pearlman and fiddler/accordionist Emily Troll for an informal but exhilarating evening of fiddle music, socializing and dance. Location: Shalin Liu Performance Center, Third Floor Reception Hall
Sunday, September 15 :: 12 PM
WORDS & MUSIC: THE CELTIC SPIRIT
A meditative Sunday hour celebrating the time-old relationship between words and music. Join our artists as they share a selection of poems and prose accompanied by a soundscape both improvised and curated. One of our most unique and intimate events. Don’t miss it!
Sunday, September 15 :: 5 PM
TRANSATLANTIC
Join us for this year’s nautical adventure as we traverse the Atlantic Ocean from shore to shore. We welcome back local Sea Shanty star David Coffin as well as the Rasa String Quartet, who will be collaborating with our artist-in-residence Jeremy Kittel, as well as sharing some sea-themed repertoire from the Western Classical canon. In honorable memory of our founder Brian O’Donovan, we have commissioned a new collaboration between internationally acclaimed Irish fiddler and composer Liz Carroll and the Rasa String Quartet.
Thank you to our Rockport Celtic Festival Corporate Partners!
