Though many folks may choose to celebrate their Irish roots with beer and corned beef at a local pub on St. Patrick’s Day, authentic Irishness can be found in a different place this year. Seven well-known native Irish musicians will take the stage in Troy to bring the audience on a journey to the land of Ireland with music and story.
• What: Danú
• When: Sunday, March 16, at 4 p.m.
• Where: Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
• How much: $22-$37
• Info: www.troymusichall.org or 273-0038
Hailing straight from historic County Waterford in the Emerald Isle, Danú, a high-energy traditional Irish band complete with flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion and bouzouki, will perform at the Troy Music Hall on Sunday, March 16.
Benny McCarthy, a founding member of the award-winning band, plays button accordion in the band. He said the audience will get a true sense of what life was like in Ireland many years ago through the music.
“Our performance does take a journey to Ireland in the sense that we are from the four corners of Ireland,” McCarthy said. “We like to tell the audience the stories. Everybody in the group talks.”
McCarthy said the lyrics and titles of the band’s music all reference some sort of story from their native country.
“It might be a story of a song local to a place in Waterford, to a story like ‘County Down’ based in County Down. Basically everything has a story, and we like to tell it,” he said. “All the music is links to what has happened in Ireland over the years.”
Danú’s well-known song, “County Down” is one example.
“Everyone loves ‘County Down.’ It’s a beautiful song — a newly written song, and a story about immigration” he said.
Though Danú prides itself on its ancient tunes, the band plays both traditional and new music.
“Not all of our material is ancient music. We have newly written pieces written in the traditional vein. They sound as if they were old,” he said.
Named for a goddess in Celtic mythology, Danú has performed in venues around the world since coming together as a band in 1995 after an informal appearance at a music festival in Dungarvan, Ireland.
“We were playing for a festival and all kind of jamming together when we got an opportunity to go to a big Celtic festival in France. We decided we would go, and that’s where it all started. Before we knew it, we were a band. We didn’t set out to be a band from the start. All of a sudden, we found ourselves a name and doing a big concert, and we are still doing it,” McCarthy said.
That casual jam session was the start of big things for Danú. The group has since recorded seven albums and has toured North America, Europe and the Middle East.
McCarthy said the band, which consists of seven almost 40-year-olds, all came from some sort of musical background, which he says is pretty typical in Ireland.
“Most everyone plays music in Ireland — traditional Irish music. It’s a great tradition,” he said. “Since 6 or 7 years of age, it was our social life, our hobby, our passion. We were all playing music maybe 13 to 14 years before we made a career out of it.”
McCarthy explains how traditional Irish music can be described in a variety of ways.
“For instance, you have people playing music with kind of a Celtic rock, but ours is very acoustic with instruments. The music is anything from — let’s say foot-tapping — jigs with good foot-tapping tempo, to very emotional songs in both Irish and English,” he said.
Danú’s music is known to be both energetic and uplifting and capture the hearts of the audience.
“The music we are playing would have been handed down by ear … music that I would have learned from 90 year old musicians who would have learned from people before them. It’s tradition handing it down … strong tradition … very rich in that sense.”
McCarthy adds that he has been told people in the audience feel transported to a different time and place.
“There are seven Irish people on stage talking. A lot feel transported in some sense. We try to make it as intimate as we can. After many years of playing, we can make a few thousand seats intimate. We can talk to the audience and tell a story as if we are sitting in a pub in Ireland,” he said.
The band is about two weeks into their U.S. tour.
“Right now we are in Tucson, Ariz.; two days ago in Illinois; then we go back to Kansas. It’s an amazing country. You can just drive two hours and see a different climate,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said the band always enjoys performing in the United States.
“The audience is great fun and always up for a good time. In Ireland, you are playing for your own people who are used to your music. When we come to America, people appreciate us coming all the way from Ireland.”
McCarthy also finds that a lot of people in the American audiences have a link with Ireland that goes back to great, great grandparents.
“They feel a connection,” he said. “They are very touched by the night. Fun, emotion and passion — all of these things, which are very strong in our music and performance, and we try to portray that.”
Danú will take the audience on a musical journey to Ireland at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, 30 Second Street, Troy, on Sunday, March 16, at 4 p.m. Tickets are $22-$37 and are available by calling, 273-0038, in person, or online at www.troymusichall.org. For more information, visit www.troymusichall.org.