Lights Dim for Blarney Star

AS a frequent attendee and long-time fan of traditional Irish music, I know the historic place that the Blarney Star concert series at 43 Murray Street holds in New York City lore.

Unfortunately, the honeymoon period of the last couple of months under the new ownership at Biddy Early’s pub has ended. The signals were sent that the series was not lucrative enough to justify a return in January after the usual holiday hiatus. A harsh reality but a reality nonetheless. And yet another reminder that while traditional music can be enjoyed in the pub environment, it may not be the same elixir for the publican and the punter who revels in it. 

At the same time, you have to celebrate how brightly the Blarney Star shone for what would have been a decade in January. It truly was the home for traditional Irish music in New York City, a jewel to be shared and envied throughout the Irish music scene worldwide. Under the loving tender of founding producer Don Meade, the weekly club cultivated an audience with a high trad IQ as well as those who came for other reasons.

They were seldom, if ever, disappointed with the talent on display. Whether it was well known Irish artists passing through the Big Apple on tour from Ireland, visiting musicians from other U.S. cities, well-established local players or those embarking on a performance career, they all got equal attention and billing from Meade. He operated the highly respected series with diligence and commitment under his tenure.

Perhaps we need more time and space to properly depict the legacy of the Blarney Star. As a testament to how great it was, so many ordinary nights became special because of who was there on stage and in the audience. There really wasn’t any separation between the performers and those who came to hear them – up close and personal like the music was meant to be. It had the look and the feel of those wood-paneled basements here in America where trad music survived amongst the Irish immigrants before grander stages beckoned.

Bruce Molsky, the bluegrass master, is the featured act this coming Friday as the Blarney Star concert series draws to a close there in the shadow of Ground Zero. One can hope that something more promising will come from this demise once the realization sinks in that there is no home for trad music like this on a regular basis in New York City. For the last time, I write that sets begin at 9 and 10:30 p.m. Good luck to Don Meade and Marlo Pajella who made us all so welcome each week and thanks for all the good times.

RIDE ON: In the first of three fiddle concerts in a series called “Fiddle Fire, A Celtic Journey” at the Merkin Concert Hall in Manhattan, you can catch Bonnie Rideout and her Scottish Trio along with special guest uilleann piper Jerry O’Sullivan this coming weekend.

A three-time U.S. Scottish Champion, Rideout appears with guitarist Bryan Aspey and percussionist Steve Holloway on Sunday evening, November 23 at 8 p.m. at the Merkin (129 West 67 Street), where early next year you can also see Natalie McMaster (January 12, 2004) and Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill (April 3, 2004). 

ON THE MOVE: Songstress Cathie Ryan makes a rare Manhattan appearance at the new world music club, Satalla, on Thursday, December 4 for two shows at 8 and 10 p.m. Satalla is located at 37 West 26th Street. (Call 212-576-1155 or visit www.satalla.com.)

Proving a girl very much on the move, Ryan will just be back from Ireland in time to participate in the largest exhibition ever mounted by the Smithsonian Institute called “America on the Move,” about transportation in the U.S. She is slated to perform live at 1 p.m. on their opening day, November 22, as part of a cast of musicians hosted by P.R.I.’s American Routes program presenter Nick Spitzer.

For more information on the event and the exhibit go to www.americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove or call 202-357-2700.

WINDY MUSIC: Chicagoans Liz Carroll and John Williams breeze into New England this weekend, first at the 104 year-old Barre Opera House in Barre, Vermont on November 22 at 8 p.m. (Call 802-476-8188 or visit www.barreoperahouse.org.) then at the Blackthorne Tavern (508-238-9680, www.blackthornetavern.com) in South Eastern, Massachusetts on November 23 at 8:30 p.m.

WELCOME: Chulrua, founded by boxplayer Paddy O’Brien and guitar vocalist Pat Egan, welcome everyone’s favorite fiddler from East of Clare (Paris actually) Patrick Ourceau into the group. Ourceau’s lovely Clare/Galway style of playing should pair nicely with tunesmith O’Brien on the accordion and be a suitable replacement for founding piper Michael Cooney and Tim Britton who succeeded him. Bon chance, Chulrua!

Contact at fromthehob@aol.com