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Award-winning band mixes jigs, jazz for new Irish sound Concert
of the Year—The David Munnelly Band "The David Munnelly Band is the best vocal- instrumental ensemble in the tradition. Shauna Mullin, their new vocalist, is the voice of the future of Irish traditional music. Extraordinary." -Bill Margeson, LiveIreland.com Ireland's David Munnelly Band bring their exuberant mix of Irish traditional music and swing, ragtime and early jazz to Horner Park on Friday, July 18 for a free performance at 8:00pm. The park is located in Chicago's North Side Irving Park neighborhood, at the major intersection of Montrose and California Avenues, and features a natural amphitheater along the Chicago River. Patrons may bring picnics and blankets for the show. Directions and more information are at www.hornerpark.org or call 773-478-3499. Based in County Mayo, Ireland, Munnelly and his band have exploded onto the international Irish music stage. They have won a number of awards including "Concert of the Year" by LiveIreland.com for their 2007 show-stopping appearance at Milwaukee's IrishFest. The group has had three acclaimed albums out in Europe, Japan and North America, television and radio specials on PBS, BBC and NPR, and concert dates throughout the world including The Kennedy Center in Washington. The band's new vocalist Shauna Mullin was also named "Newcomer of the Year" by LiveIreland.com. An All-Ireland champion from County Donegal, Shauna is a young singer with a distinctively rich, earthy alto. Irish button accordion virtuoso David Munnelly was raised in a musical family in County Mayo and learned traditional tunes from his grandmother. He toured with The Chieftains from the age of 21 to 25 and recorded on their Grammy-nominated CD Water from the Well. David's one-of-a-kind style of playing has been called a living link between two centuries of West-of-Ireland culture and the Golden Age of Irish American music, incorporating the sound and feel of the Irish-American dance halls of the 1920s and 1930s. His musical passions inspire the band's mix which also includes early swing, the "gypsy jazz" of Django Reinhardt, klezmer music and lively Quebecois dance tunes. "I have a massive interest in the early recordings, the 78 records that came from America by Irish musicians like the Flanagan Brothers," Munnelly says. "The sound they produced -- a jazz-influenced sound to jigs, reels and barn dances -- would be the backbone to our music. We include other ethnic influences from around that time period, namely Jewish music and bits of classical," he adds. Munnelly will be joined on stage by an exciting group of Irish musicians includes David's younger brother Kieran Munnelly on flute, percussion and backing vocals, Paul Kelly on fiddle/mandolin, Seanan Brennan on guitar, and the extraordinary dancing of "foot percussionist" Nic Gareiss.
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