Paddy Keenan and John Doyle to celebrate Georgia Celtic Day

Next weekend will see a grand day of Celtic Music happening in various locations around Metro Atlanta. The events are being organized to celebrate the new official Celtic Day which was made official by Governor Sonny Perdue in recent months. Most of the events will take place at Meehan's Pub in Alpharetta on Saturday May 15th from 10am until 2am on Sunday, a marathon of culture by any standards.

I am very pleased to say that your own JigTime host will be a part of all this revelry. I am very humbled and honored to have been asked to play guitar with Irish traditional music legend Paddy Keenan. Since I was a boy I have listened to the music of Paddy Keenan, from his days with the amazing Bothy Band to his most recent outing with guitarist and singer Tommy O'Sullivan.

Paddy and I will be at Meehan's at 4pm for a short set of tunes and then we will high tail it to the lovely Eddie's Attic in Decatur for a full show at 7pm. The set will have a myriad of tunes rom Paddy's long and distinguished career playing Uileann Pipes and whistles.

Other acts appearing at Meehan's on Saturday include The Bordercollies, Emerald Rose, The Charms and the Buddy O'Reilly Band, all acts who have been keeping Celtic music alive and fresh in Georgia for many years.

One of the highlights of the day will be appearances by Liz Carroll and John Doyle. Liz and John have been touring together for some time now between their many other projects. Liz is one of the most accomplished traditional fiddlers working the America today and has inspired generations of new young fiddlers all over the U.S.A. and Ireland . John Doyle is arguably the best traditional Irish guitar players in the world. His unique style and feel for both lead and tune accompaniment has left its mark on many projects from his days with Solas to his work with Tim O'Brien and many others in the world of roots music. He is as sought after in the studios of Nashville these days as he is in the Celtic world. I last saw John last weekend on stage with Alison Brown at Merlefest and despite lack of sleep from his brand new baby he was as fluid as ever on the guitar and blew the crowd away with his musical dexterity. As a duo John and Liz have a lovely warm yet exciting sound and this show in Alpharetta is one to look forward to.

Of course the real highlight of the day for me be the two shows I play with Paddy Keenan and if I don't fall over with nerves I look forward to seeing all my friends at the shows.

For more info on the events at Meehan's click Here

For more on Paddy Keenan click Here