[caption id="attachment_70217" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The McLean Avenue Band. "]
“Easy & Free,” that’s the name of the debut album from McLean Avenue Band. It’s also a great way to describe college students. Especially the Fordham University undergrads who were treated to a night of Irish music from the band on the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx recently.
The event, sponsored by Fordham’s Gaelic Society, featured music from the Yonkers-based band along with the fancy footwork of Dublin-born dancer, Joanna Barry Connolly. The band, who released their debut album last year, is led by none other than Padraig Allen – you probably know him from his work with the Whole Shabang or Derek Warfield & the Young Wolfe Tones. Padraig is a natural entertainer with an exceptional voice, an amiable demeanor, and a gift for putting a new spin on traditional songs. Pair him up with Jessica Semins, a passionate singer and fiddle player taught by renowned Galway fiddler, Pete Kelly, and you’ve got two vibrant young musicians who were born to be on stage. Other members of the band include the three time all Ireland accordion champion Buddy Connolly, guitarist and bass player Joseph Biancorosso, and the Tipperary-born drummer Tony Ryan. You’ll hear everything from traditional jigs, reels, and ballads to Bob Marley and the Cranberries at a McLean Avenue band show, and the addition of dance into the McLean Avenue experience is brilliant. Especially the contemporary style of Joanna Barry Connolly, founder of the dance company, Emerald Fire. The group has mastered the art of blending the old and new, embracing the traditional while adding their own signature sound – a sound that screams fun. The perfect band to give college students a lesson in Irish song and dance on a university campus.
As I enjoyed the show from the back of the room, it wasn’t just the music and dance that caught my eyes and ears. It was the heartwarming aura of community, of people brought together by the music. Students mingled with deans, undergrads greeted members of Fordham’s Jesuit community, a grandson sat and listened to the music with his grandparents who he had invited to campus, Gaelic Society members talked with their non-Irish friends about the songs that they grew up with. All these good feelings, the singing, the dancing , the celebration were enjoyed without a drop of alcohol. Just well done Irish entertainment and a community eager to come together to hear it.
McLean Avenue Band is keeping busy this month, including a show at Bergen Community College on St. Patrick’s Day. For a full line up of shows and more information about the band visit their website, mcleanavenueband.com
For some more St. Patrick’s Day fun check out Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill, Jameson’s Revenge , Shilelagh Law , and a Band of Rogues at Connolly’s in Manhattan, Black 47 at BB Kings also in Manhattan, or the Narrowbacks at The Rambling House in the Bronx.
And to all Irish Echo readers, Happy St. Patrick’s Day. May you find good Irish music wherever you go!
