Jamie O'Brien
Dervish is the best Irish band in the world - I just really like them.
Ken Kolodner is a superb musician, based in the Baltimore area. He plays hammered dulcimer and fiddle and among other projects, is a member of Greenfire with fiddler Laura Risk, and Helicon with Robin Bullock (guitar, cittern and more) and Chris Norman (flute);
Last Night's Fun is an Alaska-based Irish band. Jamie sat in on guitar with them when they toured Pennsylvania. He also plays with LNF's accordion player Dan Possumato when Dan is in the area. Dan is an occasional Launie;
Tim McCarrick is a great fiddler from the Philadelphia area, also plays with Jamie on occasions. He's an ex-Launie. He has a superb web site, one of the best and well worth a visit. ;
Lena McGinley & the Ceili Dancers - is a performance Irish dance group and great fun to watch! We've played music for them to dance to on numerous occasions. Find out what they're doing by following the link on the Appalachian Brewing Company page.
Bruce Young is a superb fiddler Jamie often accompanies based in central Pennsylvania. Get up-to-date with Bruce and his musical activities, go to his webpage;
Visit my friends in Philadelphia - Chris Brennan Hagy, the Mermaid Inn, and some of the best Irish musicians in town;
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Compass Records may be a relatively new label, but they're building up a superb catalog of Irish and American music;
Kells Music has released some of the most amazing traditional Irish music by the likes of Dervish, Brendan Begley, Seamus Begley & Stephen Cooney, Mike & Mary Rafferty, Gerry Harrington, Eoghan O'Sullivan & Paul De Grae, Sean Keane is still available - some of the best Irish music ever issued on CD. Go to the Rego Records site and follow the link to Kells Music;
Green Linnet Records has long been at the forefront of Irish and Irish-American music;
Shanachie Entertainment has also featured many classic recordings over the years;
Rounder and Temple Records also have a fine catalog of Irish and celtic music.
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Oxford Hall is the place to go when you're in the Harrisburg area - not only do they have all kinds of Irish and celtic things on sale (including Irish Edition and hundreds of CDs - Launie Tunes and My WIld Irish Boy are there!), but they also know everything about everything that's going on. Definitely worth a visit. (311 Bridge Street, New Cumberland);
PennCelts is an email list where you can find out about celtic performances in Central Pennsylvania. Send a message and ask for details on how to join;
The Laundry List is an email list letting you know where you can see performance details for Jamie O'Brien and his friends are playing.
The St. Patrick's Day Parade in the City of York, Pennsylvania, is an event well worth attending. Find out about the parade and other activities organized by the group.
Fanai is a traditional Irish band, based in Alaska - take a look at our web site
For more information on Jamie's music, click here and for more information on his writing, click here.
Irish & celtic links:
Cormorant's Fancy is a septet based in the Gettysburg area and plays music from the British Isles. Dan Diviney, bodhranista and whistle player with the group, often sits in with the Launies. Take a look at their web site.
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Laundry List, the up-to-date CALENDAR of what's going on.