Boston Celtic Music Fest

THIS IS AN ONLINE EVENT

The 18th annual Boston Celtic Music Festival, known as BCMFest, returns to Club Passim January 14-18, 2021. Presented by Passim, a Cambridge-based non-profit that supports a vibrant music community through Club Passim, the Passim School of Music, artist grants and outreach initiatives, the 2021 festival will showcase Greater Boston’s deep tradition of music, song and dance from Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton and other Celtic communities.

The 2021 festival will be available for viewing via the Passim YouTube site; schedule information and workshop registration is available at www.passim.org/bcmfest.

BCMFest 2021 will kick off on Thursday, January 14, 7:00PM with the First Round Concert featuring Scottish Fish; Martin, Beaton & Brillhart; Joey Abarta; and Hanneke Cassel & Yann Falquet. 

The festival continues with the Roots & Branches Concert on Friday, January 15 from 7:00PM with Jenna Moynihan; the Atlantic Folk Trio; The Quartet of Irish Musicians with Laura Feddersen, Nathan Gourley, Cara Frankowicz & Alan Murray; and Katie McNally & Neil Pearlman. 

A full slate of performances is on tap for Saturday, January 16, with Dayfest (2:00-7:00 PM) with Molly Pinto Madigan; Elizabeth & Ben Anderson; Niamh McGillycuddy, Seamus Noonan & Yuriy and Misha Bane; The Treaty Trio; Will Woodson & Caitlin Finley; Rakish; Corner House; Yaniv Yacoby & Eric Boodman; Matt & Shannon Heaton; a screening of From the Floor, a “visual album” of Irish dance, and a showcase of young Boston-area Irish musicians (Niamh McGillycuddy, Seamus Noonan, and Yuriy and Misha Bane). 

The festival continues Saturday evening at 8:00 PM with the Nightcap concert with Irish singer-songwriter Karan Casey and the fiddle-cello duo Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas. Karen Casey is an Irish native with a background that includes classical and jazz as well as traditional Irish music. A founding member of the acclaimed Irish-American band Solas and the lead singer for the Boston-based fiddle ensemble Childsplay, Casey has built a successful career as a solo artist and released seven solo albums,  which showcase her songwriting as well as her interest in other musical forms, including jazz, blues and R&B. In 2018, she helped to found FairPlé, an organization aimed at achieving fairness and gender balance for female performers in Irish traditional and folk music.