Robbie O'Connell

Saturday, May 4, 2002, 8pm
First Parish of Watertown
35 Church Street, Watertown
General Admission: $15.00
FSSGB Members $10.00
Children 7-15: $5, Children 6 and under free
(Members' children 15 and under free)

Our May concert featuring Robbie O'Connell promises to be a pleasure. Robbie is known as a performer who ably bridges the traditional and songwriting worlds. A nephew of the Clancy Brothers, he began to play guitar and sing at age thirteen and soon became a regular performer at weekly folk concerts held at his parents' small hotel in Tipperary, Ireland. Later, during school vacations, he toured folk clubs in England and -- as an Irish entertainer -- in the United States. This latter experience he would later recall in his well known satirical song "You're Not Irish," based on all the requests he got for songs like "Danny Boy."

O'Connell has a rich and varied performing history. In 1977 he joined the Clancy Brothers and two years later moved to Massachusetts. Since then, in addition to his solo career, he has also performed with Jimmy Keane (as Aengus), as well as with his uncle Liam Clancy and Liam's son Donal.

He participated in the Festival of Mountain Music and Dance on a five nation tour of Latin America, and he won a prestigious Boston Music Award as Outstanding Celtic Act. He was also featured in the critically acclaimed TV series and album called "Brining It All Back Home," and in 1994 he headlined a celebration of Boston-based Irish music at Lincoln Center in New York.

In addition to his strong traditional credentials, O'Connell is a talented songwriter -- sometimes employing his keen sense of humor, and sometimes evoking more contemplative feelings. As one reviewer indicated, throughout his songs he demonstrates his "ability to take an everyday experience or thought and turn it into an effective structured song. All his material is melodic and accessible." In fact, his second solo album, The Love of the Land, was voted the #1 acoustic album of 1989 by WUMB's staff and listeners. He has performed on a number of albums, singing both solo and as part of a group.

In the past few years, O'Connell has taught songwriting classes at the Augusta Heritage Arts Workshop in Elkins, West Virginia. He also taught at WUMB's first Summer Acoustic Music Week, where I had the pleasure of working with him. He is warm and accessible, sharing his music and his insights with his students, and pulling his audiences into the spirit of his music. Expect opportunities to sing, to laugh, and to be moved by a variety of good songs!

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